Nélson Pereira

Nélson Alexandre Gomes Pereira, known simply as Nélson[1] (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈnɛlsõ], born 20 October 1975), is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Gomes and the second or paternal family name is Pereira.
Nélson
Personal information
Full name Nélson Alexandre Gomes Pereira
Date of birth (1975-10-20) 20 October 1975
Place of birth Torres Vedras, Portugal
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1986–1994 Torreense
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1997 Torreense 61 (0)
1997–2006 Sporting CP 66 (0)
2006–2007 Vitória Setúbal 8 (0)
2007–2009 Estrela Amadora 53 (0)
2009–2010 Belenenses 13 (0)
Total 201 (0)
International career
2002 Portugal 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Nélson was born in Torres Vedras, Lisbon. He started his football career with hometown club S.C.U. Torreense, and was primarily used as a backup at Sporting CP, first to Peter Schmeichel then to Ricardo, for nearly a decade. His best output for the Lions came in the 2002–03 season, between Schmeichel's departure from the Estádio José Alvalade and Ricardo's arrival, playing 19 Primeira Liga matches in an eventual third-place finish, 27 points behind champions FC Porto.

After 2005–06, Nélson moved to Vitória FC, but due to unpaid wages – a recurring problem in the club for the past seasons prior to his arrival – he left the sadinos, being out of work for almost six months before joining another Lisbon side, C.F. Estrela da Amadora, in July 2007.

Estrela would be relegated at the end of the 2008–09 campaign after continuing financial problems, even though it finished in mid-table, and Nélson subsequently moved to neighbours C.F. Os Belenenses. He suffered an injury in training in December 2009,[2] and never played again as the Estádio do Restelo side finished second from bottom and dropped down a division; aged nearly 35, he chose to retire, but returned to his main club Sporting the following year as goalkeeping coach.[3]

International career

Nélson was capped three times for Portugal, all in 2002, making his debut on 27 March in a 1–4 friendly loss to Finland in Porto; he came on as a half-time substitute and conceded the last goal.[4] After Quim was sent home for failing a drugs test, he was picked as third-choice for that year's FIFA World Cup.[5]

Honours

Sporting

References
  1. "Biografia" [Biography] (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  2. "Belenenses vai criar dificuldades, garante Nélson" [Belenenses will pose problems, Nélson assures] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  3. "Nelson treinador de guarda-redes – renova até 2018" [Goalkeeper coach Nelson – renews until 2018] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  4. "Portugal frente à Finlândia: Com a leveza da camisola nova" [Portugal against Finland: As light as the new shirt]. Record (in Portuguese). 28 March 2002. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  5. "Nelson". BBC Sport. 15 May 2002. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
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