Armando Miguel Correia de Sá (born 16 September 1975) is a Mozambican football manager and former player who serves as assistant coach of Canadian club

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 2 ...

. As a player, he played mainly as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He also held a Portuguese passport, and played professionally in four countries in a 16-year professional career: Portugal (six teams, including a two-and-a-half-year spell with Benfica), Spain, England (five months with

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

) and Iran.

Club career

Sá was born in

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,0 ...

. After playing for most of his early career with modest Portuguese clubs he joined Rio Ave F.C. for the 1998–99 season, and his performances there attracted attention from

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga () (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese ...

. In December 2001, after having played with the Minho side for only four months he, alongside teammates Ricardo Rocha and Tiago, left for the Primeira Liga with

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...

. Though not an undisputed starter at the latter team, he still managed to appear in a good number of games. Sá subsequently moved to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

with

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

in 2004–05, helping to a third-place finish after which he signed with fellow Spaniards

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...

. He finished 2006–07 on loan at Football League Championship's

, which eventually ranked last. He made his debut for the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

-based team as a substitute in a 1–3 away loss against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

for the campaign's

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, and ended up playing in several positions: right back, left back and also in

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

. In July 2007, Sá signed for Foolad FC, who competed in Iran's second level and were led by Portuguese coach Augusto Inácio, his father-in-law. After achieving promotion in his first season he switched to another club in the country,

Sepahan FC Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی فولاد مبارکه سپاهان اصفهان, ''Bâšgâh-è Varzeši-ye Fulâd-è Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan S.C., are an Iranian spor ...

International career

Sá was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

six times for the Mozambique national team.Mambas prepare for Cosafa Cup
BBC Sport, 25 May 2004

Managerial career

As of 2022, Sá holds

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

A and

Canada Soccer The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ...

A coaching licenses. In 2019, he became the owner and technical director of PRO11 Soccer Academy in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. On 10 March 2022, Sá signed with

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary national soccer league compe ...

side

as an assistant coach.

Honours

Benfica *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...

: 2003–04 Villarreal * UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2004 Espanyol *

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

: 2005–06 Sepahan *

Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

: 2009–10

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sa, Armando 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Maputo Mozambican footballers Association football defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players U.D. Vilafranquense players GD Bragança players Rio Ave F.C. players S.C. Braga players S.L. Benfica footballers La Liga players Villarreal CF players RCD Espanyol footballers English Football League players Leeds United F.C. players Persian Gulf Pro League players Foolad FC players Sepahan S.C. footballers Mozambique international footballers Mozambican expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Iran Mozambican expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Mozambican expatriate sportspeople in Spain Mozambican expatriate sportspeople in Iran Mozambican football managers Expatriate soccer managers in Canada Pacific FC non-playing staff