Héldon Augusto Almeida Ramos (born 14 November 1988), known simply as Héldon and sometimes nicknamed Nhuck (pronounced �uk, is a

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

an professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

. He spent most of his career in Portugal, primarily in representation of Marítimo, and joined Sporting CP in 2014. In the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

, he also appeared for

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Football in Portugal, Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which ...

and Vitória de Guimarães, for a total of 174 games and 25 goals. A full international since 2008, Héldon played for

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

at two

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

tournaments.

Club career

Early years and Marítimo

Born in

Sal Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to: Personal name * Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname Places * Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality * Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Ca ...

, Héldon made his professional debut in 2007 with

C.F. Caniçal Clube de Futebol Caniçal also known as CF Caniçal is a Portuguese football club from Machico, Madeira and founded in 1981. CF Caniçal currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal. They currently play their home games at Campo de Futebol do ...

, in the

Portuguese third division Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. He moved to

C.D. Fátima Centro Desportivo de Fátima, simply known as Fátima, is a Portuguese football club based in Fátima, in the municipality of Ourém. Founded in 1966, it holds home matches at ''Estádio Papa Francisco'', with a capacity of 1,545 spectators. Clu ...

in the following year, helping them win promotion to the second tier. In August of the following year, Héldon signed with

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Liga. ...

of the

. On 26 November 2011, he scored his second official goal for the

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

club – first in the league – a last-minute

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

in a

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

against

C.D. Nacional Clube Desportivo Nacional, commonly known as Nacional and sometimes Nacional da Madeira (), is a Portuguese football club based in Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Founded on 8 December 1910, it currently plays in the Liga Portugal 2, Portug ...

(2–2 away draw, his team played the entire second half with ten players). On 8 December 2013, against the same opponent but in a home fixture, Héldon scored twice for the same result, as Nacional in turn played nearly 30 minutes with one man less.

Sporting CP

On 31 January 2014, Héldon joined fellow league side Sporting CP in a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

1.5 million deal. He made his debut on 11 February, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 2–0

loss at S.L. Benfica. He scored his tenth goal of the season and first for his new team on 12 April, when he came on as a substitute for Diego Capel with two minutes remaining and confirmed a 2–0 win over

Gil Vicente F.C. Gil Vicente Futebol Clube (), commonly known as Gil Vicente, founded in 1924, is a Portuguese football club that plays in Barcelos. It competes in the Primeira Liga, the top division of football in the country, and it is named after the Portugues ...

at the Estádio José Alvalade. Héldon signed with

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), (from the 2020–21 season onwards competing under the umbrella of Unión Futbolística Cordobesa, S.A.D.) is a Spanish football club based in Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1951 as ...

on 28 January 2015, on loan until the end of the campaign. He made his

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's ...

debut three days later, starting and being booked in a 1–0 away defeat against

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...

. He failed to find the net during his spell with the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

ns, who suffered relegation. On 8 August 2015, Héldon was loaned to

Rio Ave F.C. Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlanti ...

for the upcoming top-flight season. He attained his first goals for the Vila do Conde-based side on 19 September, a first-half brace in a 3–0 victory at

F.C. Paços de Ferreira Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira () is a Portuguese football club based in Paços de Ferreira, Porto district. Founded in 1950, the club competes in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at the 9,077-seater Estádio da Mata Real, a municipal stadi ...

. Héldon spent the following two years still on loan, at Rio Ave and Vitória de Guimarães. He scored his first goal for the latter on 24 September 2017, netting in the last minutes of a 2–1 home win against former club Marítimo.

Middle East

On 2 July 2018, Héldon joined

Al Taawoun FC Al Taawoun Football Club ( ar, التعاون, lit=Cooperation) is a professional multi-sports club based in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia. The football team competes in the Saudi Professional League, the top tier of Saudi Football. The club play the ...

on a two-year contract. He scored 11 competitive goals in his debut campaign in the Saudi Professional League, also

winning Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * '' Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Foot Pole, 2022 ...

the

Kings Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...

. Héldon agreed to a one-year deal at

Shabab Al Ahli Club Shabab Al-Ahli Club ( ar, نادي شباب الأهلي) is a Emirati professional association football club based in Dubai, that currently plays in the UAE ADNOC Pro League. Al-Ahli is one of the most successful clubs in the UAE. Al Ahli FC ...

of the UAE Pro League on 26 September 2020. The following 12 July he moved back to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Orobah FC of the First Division League on a two-year contract, leaving on 1 February 2022 by mutual consent.

International career

Héldon made his international debut for

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

on 11 October 2008, replacing

Ronny Souto Walder Alves Souto Amado, known as Ronny (born 7 December 1978) is a Cape Verdean footballer who plays professionally in for CS Fola Esch. He previously played in Cape Verde for SC Praia and in Luxembourg for CS Oberkorn and F91 Dudelange. Inter ...

during

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

of a 1–3 away loss against

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

qualifiers. He scored his first goal in his next game, opening a 2–0

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

win in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

on 4 September 2009. He was the country's top scorer during the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football ( ...

qualifying campaign, recording two goals in a 4–2 victory over

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

on 26 March 2011. Héldon was named to the squad that participated in the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

held in South Africa, and featured in every game as the nation reached the quarter-finals. In their final group against

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, he came on as a 46th-minute substitute and scored a last-minute winner, making it 2–1 and causing his team to advance. He was also selected for the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

, where he won and converted a penalty to equalise in a 1–1 draw against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in the team's opening game. Héldon was also a gold medallist with the under-20 team at the

2009 Lusofonia Games The 2009 Lusophony Games was the 2nd Lusophony Games ( pt, 2.os Jogos da Lusofonia), a multi-sport event for delegations representing Portuguese-speaking National Olympic committees. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 11 to 19 July 2009. The ...

in Portugal. He scored five goals in the tournament, including a hat-trick in a 7–1 win over India.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Cape Verde's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Héldon goal.''

Honours

Al Taawoun *

King Cup The King Cup (sometimes spelled King's), officially known as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Cup ( ar, كأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين), is the Saudi Arabian football knockout cup competition, run by the Saudi Arabian Foot ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Shabab Al Ahli *

UAE League Cup The UAE League Cup ( ar, كأس رابطة المحترفين الإماراتية) or the Pro League Cup is a knockout tournament for clubs in the UAE Pro-League. The first edition of the tournament was played in the 2008–2009 season. In the 2 ...

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heldon Ramos 1988 births Living people People from Sal, Cape Verde Cape Verdean footballers Association football midfielders Batuque FC players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players C.D. Fátima players C.S. Marítimo players Sporting CP footballers Rio Ave F.C. players Vitória S.C. players La Liga players Córdoba CF players Saudi Professional League players Saudi First Division League players Al-Taawoun FC players Al-Orobah FC players UAE Pro League players Shabab Al-Ahli Club players Cape Verde international footballers 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Cape Verdean expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Spain Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates