Henrique Sereno Fonseca (born 18 May 1985), known as Sereno, is a Portuguese former 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 played as a

central defender 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 ...

Club career

Guimarães

Born in

Elvas Elvas () is a Portuguese municipality, former episcopal city and frontier fortress of easternmost central Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about east of Lisbon, and about west of the Spanish fortress ...

, Alto Alentejo, Sereno joined

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória ...

for 2005–06 from hometown's O Elvas CAD, and served a loan stint during the latter part of that season at lowly

F.C. Famalicão Futebol Clube de Famalicão, commonly known as Famalicão, is a Portuguese association football, football club from Vila Nova de Famalicão. Founded on 21 August 1931, its senior team currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top tier of Portugu ...

. In the 2007–08 campaign he, alongside Brazilian

Pedro Geromel Pedro Tonon Geromel (born 21 September 1985) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and is captain for Grêmio. Geromel also holds an Italian passport because of his grandfather. Club career Early years Born in Sã ...

, formed a solid defensive partnership as Vitória came from the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

into a final third

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, ...

position. On 9 March 2008 he scored a rare goal, in a 2–0 home win against

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

. Sereno spent the vast majority of 2008–09 in the sidelines after having undergone surgery to both knees, only appearing in six games. After beginning the following season again in the starting XI (nine matches, one goal), he eventually terminated his contract and, on 1 February 2010, signed with

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colo ...

in Spain for five months. Sereno made his debut for his new team on 20 March 2010, playing the entire 2–0 away victory over

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They currently p ...

Porto

In late June 2010, after Valladolid's relegation in

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 ...

, Sereno returned to his country, signing with

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

on a free transfer. On 20 August 2011, deemed surplus to requirements as practically all Portuguese players, he joined German club 1. FC Köln on a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

-long loan deal. Sereno made his

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

debut on 27 August 2011, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–3 away defeat of

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

. He featured regularly during the campaign, but his team suffered relegation. Sereno returned to Valladolid and Spain's top flight for 2012–13, still under contract with Porto. He scored his only goal for the former on 24 February 2013, in the 2–1 away win against

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Lig ...

Later years

In summer 2013, Sereno joined

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits. The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also fini ...

from Turkey. He made his

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

debut on 15 September, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw at Gençlerbirliği SK. He ended the season with 22 matches and three goals, in an eventual relegation as last. On 27 July 2015,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Sereno returned to Germany by penning a two-year deal with 1. FSV Mainz 05. The following 15 June, however, after no competitive appearances, he was released. Sereno scored his first goal for his next club, Atlético Kolkata, on 18 December 2016. It proved to be the equaliser as they went on to win

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

penalties 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 ...

, against

Kerala Blasters FC Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established ...

. On 31 January 2017, Sereno signed a six-month contract with

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

side

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001, when it was renamed ''Unión D ...

. On 15 September he returned to the Indian top tier, joining

Chennaiyin FC Chennaiyin Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014 during the inaugural season o ...

for free and going on to act as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

for the eventual champions. Two years after announcing his retirement at the age of 34, Sereno became president of

U.D. Vilafranquense União Desportiva Vilafranquense is a Portuguese football club from Vila Franca de Xira, Lisbon District. It currently plays in the Liga Portugal 2, the second tier of the Portuguese football league system, following its promotion in 2019. The oth ...

, with the Portuguese second-tier club overcome by severe financial problems.

International career

Sereno made his debut for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

on 10 June 2013, playing the second half of a 1–0 friendly win against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

in Geneva.

Personal life

On 24 June 2016, the Elvas city hall commended Sereno for his sporting achievements.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Porto *

: 2010–11 *

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 seaso ...

: 2010–11 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Kayserispor *

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...

: 2014–15 Atlético Kolkata *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Chennaiyin *Indian Super League: 2017–18

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sereno, Henrique 1985 births Living people People from Elvas Sportspeople from Portalegre District Portuguese footballers Association football defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players O Elvas C.A.D. players Vitória S.C. players F.C. Famalicão players FC Porto players La Liga players Segunda División players Real Valladolid players UD Almería players Bundesliga players 1. FC Köln players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players Süper Lig players TFF First League players Kayserispor footballers Indian Super League players ATK (football club) players Chennaiyin FC players Portugal under-21 international footballers Portugal B international footballers Portugal international footballers Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in India Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in India