Marco António Bernardo Paracana Almeida (born 4 April 1977) is a Portuguese retired

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 ...

. He started his career with Sporting, going on to amass

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, ...

totals of 90 games and five goals over the course of six seasons, also representing in the competition

Campomaiorense Sporting Clube Campomaiorense, more commonly known as Campomaiorense, is a Portuguese football club from Campo Maior, Portalegre District. The club was founded on the 1 July 1926. The club currently plays at the Estádio Capitão Cesar Correia wh ...

and

Alverca Alverca do Ribatejo () is a city (''cidade'') and a former civil parish in the municipality of Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Alverca do Ribatejo e Sobralinho. It covers an area of and had a pop ...

. He also played professionally in England, Spain and Cyprus.

Club career

Almeida was born in

Barreiro Barreiro may refer to: People * Bruno Barreiro (born 1965), American politician * Gustavo Barreiro (1959–2019), American politician * Manu Barreiro (born 1986), Spanish footballer Places * Barreiro, Portugal ** Barreiro Municipality, a munic ...

Setúbal District The District of Setúbal ( pt, Distrito de Setúbal ) is a district located in the south-west of Portugal. It is named for its capital, the city of Setúbal. Geography It is delimited by Lisbon District and Santarém District on the north, Év ...

, and played youth football with Sporting CP. He started his senior career with

Casa Pia A.C. Casa Pia Atlético Clube is a Portuguese multi-sports founded in 1920 and based in Lisbon, Portugal, best-known for its football team, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after Casa Pia, a Portuguese children's charity, and many ...

on loan, moving to

Sporting Clube Lourinhanense Sporting Clube Lourinhanense, simply Lourinhanense, is a Portuguese football club based in Lourinhã, Lisbon. It currently plays in the Regional Championships, and holds home games at ''Estádio Municipal da Lourinhã'', with a capacity of 2,0 ...

in 1996 as the latter acted as farm team to the

giants. For the 1998–99 season, still in the top division, he was again loaned, now to

S.C. Campomaiorense Sporting Clube Campomaiorense, more commonly known as Campomaiorense, is a Portuguese football club from Campo Maior, Portalegre District. The club was founded on the 1 July 1926. The club currently plays at the Estádio Capitão Cesar Correia whi ...

. In July 1999, Almeida was signed by

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

's manager Dave Jones on a year's loan, with a view to a permanent move. After impressing in pre-season

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

he made his first-team debut as a 71st-minute substitute for

Claus Lundekvam Claus Lundekvam (born 22 February 1973) is a Norwegian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Lundekvam began his career with SK Brann, Brann before moving to English side Southampton F.C., Southampton ...

in a

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

match against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

at the Dell, on 19 September 1999: within eight minutes, he was alongside fellow substitute

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...

just outside the Southampton area, when the latter received a pass from Tony Adams. He stumbled while trying to clear the ball, allowing Henry to wrap his foot around the ball and send a rocket of a shot into the far corner of the Southampton net, in what was the Frenchman's first goal in English football. Although Almeida made a few appearances for the Saints' reserves, including scoring in a 2–2 draw with Chelsea on 22 September 1999, he was never again called into the main squad and, in December, the loan was cancelled. Also in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, he would also have unsuccessful trials with

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

in September 2000 and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

(managed by former Southampton boss Jones) in 2007; subsequently he returned to Sporting, being released in the following summer after which he re-joined Campomaiorense, now as a

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 ...

. Almeida's most steady period came at

F.C. Alverca Futebol Clube de Alverca is a Portuguese Association football, football club based in Alverca do Ribatejo, Vila Franca de Xira. It currently plays in the Portuguese 3rd Division. History F.C. Alverca was founded on 1 September 1939. After many ...

, which he helped promote from the Segunda Liga in 2002–03 by netting a career-best five times in 32 games. After three seasons he moved abroad again, going almost unnoticed at

Ciudad de Murcia Club de Fútbol Ciudad de Murcia, usually abbreviated to Ciudad de Murcia, was a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the namesake autonomous community. They played at the 16,000-seater ''Estadio de La Condomina''. Ciudad Murcia was reloca ...

– Spanish

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 ...

– and he subsequently returned to his country, playing one campaign apiece with second level sides

F.C. Maia Futebol Clube da Maia is a Portuguese football club based in Maia, Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto. Founded on 4 April 1954, it currently plays in the Porto Regional League, holding home matches at the Estádio Professor Doutor Vieira de Carv ...

and

Portimonense SC Portimonense Sporting Clube is a Portuguese sports club based in Portimão. Founded on 14 August 1914, it is most notable for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. It a ...

. In the following years, already in his 30s, Almeida alternated between the Portuguese lower leagues and Cypriot football.Marco Almeida: do Sporting a Portimão até chegar ao Nea Salamina (Marco Almeida: from Sporting to Portimão until reaching Nea Salamina)
Mais Futebol, 10 December 2007 (in Portuguese)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Almeida, Marco 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Barreiro, Portugal Portuguese footballers Association football defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Sporting CP footballers Casa Pia A.C. players S.C. Campomaiorense players F.C. Alverca players F.C. Maia players Portimonense S.C. players Premier League players Southampton F.C. players Segunda División players Ciudad de Murcia footballers Cypriot First Division players Cypriot Second Division players Nea Salamis Famagusta FC players Akritas Chlorakas players Portugal youth international footballers Portugal under-21 international footballers Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus