Pedro Mendes (footballer, Born 1979)

Pedro Miguel da Silva Mendes (; born 26 February 1979) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He works as a football agent.

Starting his career with home town club Vitória de Guimarães, Mendes won the UEFA Champions League with Porto in the 2003–04 season. He then moved to the Premier League, initially with Tottenham Hotspur in 2004, where he famously scored a 45-yard ghost goal against Manchester United that was wrongly not given by the officials despite goalkeeper Roy Carroll having fumbled his catch and clawed the ball back from at least a yard behind the goal line. He then moved to his second English club, Portsmouth, before a stint at Scottish Premier League side Rangers.

Mendes was capped twelve times by the Portugal national team and was a member of their squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Mendes began his professional career with Felgueiras, on a one-year loan from Vitória de Guimarães. He returned to Guimarães and stayed for four seasons before moving on to Porto. At Porto, he won the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, Primeira Liga and the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup under manager José Mourinho.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 8 July 2004, Mendes joined Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in a part-exchange deal which saw Hélder Postiga moving in the opposite direction. Tottenham received €7.5 million for Postiga while paying Porto €3 million for Mendes. His debut was on 14 August in a league match at home to Liverpool. Mendes scored his first goal for the club on 1 January 2005 in a 5–2 league win over Everton.

Mendes' second goal for Tottenham should have come in his next game three days later. However, he was the victim of a controversial and key decision against Manchester United at Old Trafford. His speculative shot from 55 yards out should have been a relatively easy catch for goalkeeper Roy Carroll, who was backtracking from the edge of his penalty area, but the United goalkeeper fumbled the ball over his own goal line. What would have been the game's only goal was not given, as referee Mark Clattenburg deemed the ball not to have crossed the line, despite TV replays showing the ball had clearly gone over the line.

In his second season with Tottenham, Mendes was reduced to a peripheral role. He made only six appearances in the first half of the season, so it came as no surprise that in the January 2006 transfer window, then-Tottenham coach Martin Jol sought to offload him.

Portsmouth

Mendes joined Portsmouth on 12 January 2006 in a combined deal that included Sean Davis and Noé Pamarot for a fee of £7.5 million. He became a pivotal player and goal scorer in the club's fight to avoid relegation. Mendes made his Portsmouth debut in a Premier League match against Everton on 14 January. His first and second goals earned him a place in Portsmouth folklore as they came in a crucial match against Manchester City on 11 March. Both goals were 25-yard shots, the first to give Portsmouth the lead on the hour mark and the second, in the 93rd minute, gave the club a 2–1 win.

On 23 August 2006, during another match against Manchester City, Ben Thatcher clattered into Mendes with his elbow, the force of which knocked Mendes head-first into a billboard. The injury was so severe Mendes was knocked out and required oxygen at pitchside. He suffered a seizure while being transferred to hospital, where he spent the night. He was discharged from hospital the next day, but remained under medical supervision. Thatcher only received a yellow card for the foul at the time. Despite the severity of the incident, Mendes was back playing for Portsmouth two weeks later. However, he expressed his shock at the challenge and stated that he had considered quitting the game due to his injuries. Thatcher was fined and suspended by Manchester City, and was charged by The Football Association, but was not sued by Mendes. When they next faced one another in January 2007, Mendes shook hands with Thatcher pre-match, despite claiming beforehand that he would not do so.

In the 2007–08 season, Mendes won his first and only footballing honour during his spell in English football – he started in the Portsmouth side that won the FA Cup after a 1–0 win over Cardiff City in the final on 17 May 2008. Mendes returned to Wembley Stadium three months later as part of the Portsmouth team that contested the 2008 FA Community Shield on 10 August. The match ended 0–0 after extra time, where Manchester United later triumphed 3–1 on penalties.

On 21 February 2012, Mendes signed up to the Portsmouth Supporters Trust to join a group of over 5,000 other ''Pompey'' fans uniting in their attempts to take over the ownership of Portsmouth Football Club.

Rangers

On 15 August 2008, Mendes completed a £3 million transfer to Rangers, signing a three-year contract. He made his debut one day later, starting and winning the man of the match award in the 2–0 Scottish Premier League win over Hearts. He scored his first goal for the club in the first Old Firm match of the season on 31 August 2008. Mendes scored the fourth goal of the match (and Rangers' third) when he received the ball from a Steven Davis corner and drilled it from 25 yards out into the Celtic goal. He was named SPL Player of the Month for August after a string of impressive performances. He scored the second goal of the game in Rangers' title winning game against Dundee United in May 2009 but missed the 2009 Scottish Cup Final due to injury. He won the BBC
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