Nélson Dias Morais (born 24 March 1974), is a former

Portuguese 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 ...

footballer who played as a full back.

Career

Born in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, Morais started is youth development at Ginásio Corroios at age 10, joining the larger Benfica in 1988. In 1992, he joined

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

, debuting for the ''Gilistas'' on 30 August 1992, in a home loss against

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 f ...

. In the two seasons he sent in Barcelos, he was mainly a reserve player, representing them in only 15 league games. In 1994-95 season, he joined

U.D. Leiria União Desportiva de Leiria, commonly known as União de Leiria (), is a Portuguese football club based in Leiria, central Portugal. Founded on 6 June 1966, it currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, holding home matches at Estádio Dr. M ...

, playing just 3 games, only one as starter. For the next seasons, Morais dropped down to the second tier, joining

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 ...

and becoming an undisputed starter, adding nearly 90 caps in the three seasons the team spent in the second tier. Acting as a

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

for Benfica, he represented the ''Reds'' on one occasion, a 0–2 home loss against

Vitória S.C. Vitória Sport Clube, commonly known as Vitória de Guimarães, is a Portuguese professional football club based in Guimarães that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top-flight of football in Portugal. Vitória de Guimarães have finished thir ...

on 30 May 1997. In 1998, he was loaned out 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 ...

, starting one match, a 0–5 home trashing by Benfica, on 29 November 1998. He returned to Alverca in January 1999, but did not have the same influence as before, with Valente and later

Gaspar Azevedo José Gaspar da Silva Azevedo (born 1 June 1975), known simply as Gaspar, is a Portuguese retired professional association football, footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Gaspar was born in Santo Tirso, Porto District. During t ...

being preferred choices. Morais left Alverca in 2001 and played the last two seasons of his career in the third tier, at

Seixal Seixal () is a Portugal, Portuguese city and municipality, located in the district of Setúbal District, Setúbal, in the metropolitan area of Lisbon region, Lisbon. Its population includes 184,269 inhabitants (2011), in an area of that includes ...

International career

Morais earned 33 caps for Portugal from under-17 to under-21 level, representing Portugal U20 in the 1993 FIFA U20.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morais, Nelson 1974 births Living people Footballers from Lisbon Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football defenders Gil Vicente F.C. players U.D. Leiria players S.L. Benfica footballers F.C. Alverca players Primeira Liga players Portugal men's youth international footballers