Miguel Ângelo Leonardo Vítor (; born 30 June 1989) is a 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 a

centre-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 ...

for Israeli club

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The cl ...

, where he is also

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 ...

, and for the Israel national team. He spent most of his career with Benfica (mostly as backup), PAOK and

. Born in Portugal, Vítor represented Portugal at youth level before switching his allegiance to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 2022.

Club career

Benfica

Vítor was born in Torres Vedras, Lisbon District. Having been promoted from S.L. Benfica's junior squad for the 2007–08 season, he made his debut for the first team in August 2007, appearing in both 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, ...

, against Vitória de Guimarães, and the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

, facing

F.C. Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...

in the third qualifying round; this was because habitual starters

Luisão Ânderson Luís da Silva (born 13 February 1981), known as Luisão, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Luisão started his career at Juventus-SP in 1999 before moving to Cruzeiro the year later, where h ...

and

David Luiz David Luiz Moreira Marinho (born 22 April 1987) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Flamengo. Primarily a centre back, he can also be deployed as a defensive midfielder. After starting out at Vitoria, David Luiz moved to Ben ...

were sidelined with injuries. Like

Romeu Ribeiro Romeu Oliveira Ribeiro (born 13 January 1989) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Dumiense CJPII Futebol SAD. Club career Born in Vieira do Minho, Braga District, Ribeiro began his youth career with lo ...

, Vítor was loaned to

Liga de Honra The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier Prim ...

side

C.D. Aves Clube Desportivo das Aves (), commonly known as Desportivo das Aves, or simply as Aves, is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila das Aves, Santo Tirso. The club was founded on 12 November 1930 and plays at the Estádio do Clube ...

in January 2008 until the end of the season. Subsequently, he returned to Benfica, being relatively used in his first full campaign. In early July 2010, Vítor joined English Championship club Leicester City in 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, teaming up with compatriots

Moreno Moreno may refer to: Places Argentina *Moreno (Buenos Aires Metro), a station on Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro *Moreno, Buenos Aires, a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina *Moreno Department, a depatnent of Santiago del Estero Province, A ...

and manager Paulo Sousa. He made his debut on 21 September in a 2–1 win over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

the third round ''The Third Round'' (1925) was the second silent film adaptation of the Bulldog Drummond character, starring Jack Buchanan and Betty Faire, adapted by Sidney Morgan from the novel of the same name by H. C. McNeile, and directed by Morgan. Cas ...

of the League Cup at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

. On 6 November he scored his first professional goal, heading from a

Martyn Waghorn Martyn Thomas Waghorn (born 23 January 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Huddersfield Town on loan from Coventry City. He is a former England under-21 international. Waghorn had be ...

free kick after 18 minutes in an eventual 2–0 victory against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

Oakwell Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports development in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used primarily by Barnsley Football Club for playing their home fixtures, and those of their reserves. While the name 'Oakwell' generally refers to the main s ...

. On 19 December 2010, Vítor suffered a pulled hamstring in a 3–0 away defeat to

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

, being sidelined for three months. He netted twice on his return, a 3–0 win at

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

on 12 March 2011. Vítor subsequently returned to Benfica, being completely ostracised by manager

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. He started his career with Sporting CP, going on to play for 12 ...

– as practically all Portuguese players – and even being demoted to

the B team The B Team is a global nonprofit initiative co-founded by Sir Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz. It advocates for business practices that are more centered on humanity and the climate. History In 2013, a group of leaders came together following ...

. After he refused to renew his contract, he left in late May 2013.

PAOK

On 24 June 2013, Vítor signed with

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

club PAOK FC. He scored his first goal for his new team – also their first in

the new season ''The New Season'' is a collaboration album by American rappers Brotha Lynch Hung and MC Eiht. It was released January 24, 2006 on Real Talk Entertainment. The album was produced by Big Hollis, Brotha Lynch Hung, MC Eiht and Vince V. It peaked a ...

– on 17 August, netting through a header in a 3–0 home win against

Skoda Xanthi FC Xanthi Football Club ( el, Α.Ο. Ξάνθη Π.Α.Ε.) is a Greek professional football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace and plays at Xanthi FC Arena. The club resigned from the Super League 2 due to financial issues. Founded in 1967, Xa ...

. Vítor was first choice during his spell in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, scoring twice in 33 games in the 2014–15 campaign to help his side finish third. On 10 June 2016, it was announced he would be released as his contract would not be renewed.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

On 1 July 2016,

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 ...

Vítor agreed to a three-year deal at Israeli Premier League champions Hapoel Be'er Sheva FC, for an undisclosed fee. He won the national championship in his first two seasons, totalling three goals in the process. Vítor extended his contract in November 2017, to last until 2021. He became

, and accompanied by compatriots

David Simão David Martins Simão (born 15 May 1990) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Primeira Liga club F.C. Arouca. Club career Born in Versailles, France, Simão played most of his youth career at S.L. Benfica, ha ...

and Josué Pesqueira, won the

State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in Israel, Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first he ...

on 13 July 2020 with a 2–0

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 ...

victory over Hapoel Petah Tikva FC. In February 2022, Vítor's link to his club was extended by another year, to June 2023.

International career

Portugal

Vítor earned 33 caps for Portugal at youth levels, starting with a 2–1 win for the under-18s against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in Montemor-o-Novo on 30 November 2006; he scored the opening goal. His final appearance was his sole game for the under-23 team on 23 March 2011, a 3–2 victory over an Italian

Lega Pro The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

XI in

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...

Israel

In October 2021, Vítor declared his wish to naturalise himself as an

Israeli citizen Israeli citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Israel. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1950 Law of Return and 1952 Citizenship Law. Every Jew in the world has ...

and to play for the national team, a decision supported by Austrian manager

Willibald Ruttensteiner Willibald "Willi" Ruttensteiner (born 12 November 1962) is an Austrian businessman and football administrator and manager who serves as head coach of the Israel national team as well as the head of the youth development program "Project12". Foll ...

Israel Football Association The Israel Football Association (IFA; he, ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל, ''HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael'', literally "The Association of Football in Israel") is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a variet ...

chairman Oren Hasson sent the player's official application to the government – the Minister of Culture and Sport

Hili Tropper Yehiel Moshe "Hili" Tropper ( he, יְחִיאֵל מֹשֶׁה "חִילִי" טְרוֹפֵּר; born 22 April 1978) is an Israeli educator, social worker and politician. He is currently a member of the Knesset for National Unity and served as ...

recommended it to the

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

Ayelet Shaked, who granted Vítor's application to become a citizen on 1 May 2022. Vítor's naturalisation was criticised by some in Israel as motivated only by his footballing ability. His case was contrasted with that of African-American Jewish basketball player Jared Armstrong, who was refused citizenship despite his religion and was only given a temporary residency permit. Vítor made his debut on 2 June 2022 at the age of 32 years and 11 months, starting in a 2–2 home draw against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

in the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

Personal life

Vítor resided in Israel since 2016, having moved to the country along with his wife and three daughters.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Benfica *

: 2009–10 *

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...

: 2008–09, 2011–12 PAOK *

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

runner-up: 2013–14 Hapoel Be'er Sheva * Israeli Premier League: 2016–17, 2017–18 *

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involve ...

: 2019–20, 2021–22 *

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League ( Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. Fro ...

: 2016–17 *

Israel Super Cup The Israel Super Cup, also known as the Champion of Champions ( he, אלוף האלופים, Aluf HaAlufim), is an Israeli association football club competition played as a single match between the winner of the latest Israeli top league champion ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Individual *

Young Player of the Month: September 2008 *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

Team of the Week: 2016–17 *

Israeli Footballer of the Year The title Footballer of the Year of Israel has been bestowed annually since 1960 by the Israeli newspaper ''Maariv'' at the end of each season. In the years 1963, 1966 and 1991 two players have been honoured. Mordechai Spiegler Mordechai "Motal ...

: 2017

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vitor, Miguel 1989 births Living people People from Torres Vedras Israeli people of Portuguese descent Portuguese emigrants to Israel Naturalized citizens of Israel Sportspeople from Lisbon District Portuguese footballers Israeli footballers Association football defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players S.L. Benfica footballers C.D. Aves players S.L. Benfica B players English Football League players Leicester City F.C. players Super League Greece players PAOK FC players Israeli Premier League players Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. players Portugal youth international footballers Portugal under-21 international footballers Israel international footballers Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in Israel Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Israel Israeli Footballer of the Year recipients