Ricardo Jorge Vaz Tê (born 1 October 1986) is a Portuguese 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. Vaz Tê has previously played for English clubs

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 ...

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

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 ...

and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, Greek club

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

club Hibernian, Turkish side

Akhisar Belediyespor Akhisarspor Kulübü (Akhisar Sports Club), commonly known as Akhisarspor, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Akhisar.

, and Portuguese club

Portimonense 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 al ...

Early life

Vaz Tê was 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 ...

, but moved a year later to live with his father in

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

, where he remained until he was 11 years old. He returned to Portugal and received professional coaching at

SC Farense Sporting Clube Farense, simply known as Farense, is a Portuguese professional association football, football club based in Faro, Portugal, Faro in the Faro District, district of the same name and the region of Algarve. Founded in 1910, the club wi ...

. Vaz Tê played youth football with his local club Real Massamá, a team which also included

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

winger Nani. Nani went to play for

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 ...

while Vaz Tê left for England to play for Bolton Wanderers. They also represented the Portugal Under-21s.

Club career

Bolton Wanderers

Vaz Tê went on trial with Bolton Wanderers in 2003 and he was signed on a three-year youth academy contract. He made such an impression at youth level that Vaz Tê quickly found himself part of the Bolton first-team squad. He made his debut in their

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

tie with

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

in January 2004. Just over two months later, he made his Premier League debut in a 2–0 defeat at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. He made his first full start in the game with Manchester United at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

in December 2004. In 2005–06, Vaz Tê was again involved in first-team action, starting 7 games and coming on as a substitute in another 22. He scored 6 goals in all competitions, one of which a late equaliser shortly after coming on as a substitute on 24 November 2005, at

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 (b ...

. In March 2007, Vaz Tê joined Hull City on a month's loan from Bolton. He had an unlucky beginning to the 2007–08 season, damaging his

ligament A ligament is the fibrous connective tissue that connects bones to other bones. It is also known as ''articular ligament'', ''articular larua'', ''fibrous ligament'', or ''true ligament''. Other ligaments in the body include the: * Peritoneal li ...

s on the opening day. He only appeared in one more game throughout that season, a 0–1 defeat to

Sporting Lisbon 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 ...

in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

in which Bolton Manager

Gary Megson Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager. He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers and ...

played mostly a reserve team. In August 2008, there was confusion regarding the player, when it was widely reported that he had signed for

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system ...

on loan as part of a swap deal that would see fellow striker

Euzebiusz Smolarek Euzebiusz "Ebi" Smolarek (; born 9 January 1981) is a Polish former professional footballer who is youth manager at Dutch club Feyenoord. He played primarily as a striker or winger, representing clubs in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Engla ...

go the other way. However, although Smolarek did join Bolton, the Portuguese striker also remained at the club. He made only two appearances in the 2008–09 season and none in the 2009–10 season, as he required four operations on his right knee and one on his left knee. On 11 May 2010, Vaz Tê was released by Bolton Wanderers.

Panionios

On 30 June 2010 it was reported that Vaz Tê had signed a three-year deal with

Greek Super League 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 Panionios. In December 2010, after less than six months in Greece, it was announced that Vaz Tê and Panionios had come to an agreement to mutually terminate his contract. Panionios had suffered financial problems, which meant that Vaz Tê went four months without receiving any pay.

Hibernian

Vaz Tê went on trial with

club Hibernian in February 2011 and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Colin Calderwood Colin Calderwood (born 20 January 1965) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is the assistant manager at Northampton Town. As a player, he was a centre-back who notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hots ...

stated that both parties were in discussions about a contract. The signing was confirmed on 28 February. Vaz Tê made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

on 5 March as a substitute. He scored one goal for Hibs, in an

Edinburgh derby The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any football match played between Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian (Hibs), the two oldest professional clubs based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The two clubs have a fierce r ...

against Hearts. His contract was not renewed at the end of the season. Vaz Tê later said that he had played for Hibs for "no money", but had chosen to go there due to the "visibility" of Scottish football in neighbouring England.

Barnsley

Vaz Tê went on trial with

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

club Barnsley in July 2011, every other Championship club having rejected that opportunity. He impressed the club management and scored a goal in a friendly against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

. On 3 August 2011 he agreed a contract with Barnsley until the end of the 2011–12 season. He scored his first goal for Barnsley in a 2–0 win against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

on 18 October 2011. Vaz Tê scored his fifth Barnsley goal on 6 December 2011 against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

after only 8.5 seconds, the fastest goal in Barnsley history. He scored again later in the game to give Barnsley a 2–1 win. On 31 December, Vaz Tê scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 win against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

, after coming on as a substitute. ''

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

'' reported on 1 January 2012 that Vaz Tê had rejected Barnsley's offer of a new contract. He scored both of the Barnsley goals in a 4–2 defeat against

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

in an FA Cup third round tie.

West Ham United

Vaz Tê signed for then Championship club

on 31 January 2012, for an undisclosed fee on a -year deal with an option for a third year. Vaz Tê made his debut for the club, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for

Carlton Cole Carlton Michael George Cole (born 12 October 1983) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He scored 52 goals in 288 Premier League appearances for four clubs. Cole began his career at Chelsea ...

in the London derby against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

on 4 February. The game finished 2–1 to West Ham United. On 21 February 2012, Vaz Tê scored his first goal for the Hammers, in a 4–1 victory at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Nicky Maynard Nicholas David Maynard (born 11 December 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Macclesfield. He began his career at Crewe Alexandra, following over a decade in the club's Academy, and scored on his senior debut ...

and

Gary O'Neil Gary Paul O'Neil (born 18 May 1983) is an English former professional football midfielder and the current manager of Premier League club AFC Bournemouth. O'Neil has previously played for Portsmouth (where he was the Player of the Season in 2 ...

also scored their first professional goals for the club. Vaz Tê scored his first hat-trick for West Ham on 14 April 2012, in West Ham United's 6–0 home victory against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. West Ham finished 3rd behind

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 ...

entering the play-offs against

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 ...

. They won the first leg at the

Cardiff City Stadium The Cardiff City Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd) is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team. Following expansion of the Ninian Stand in July 2014 ...

2–0 and the second leg 3–0 at the Upton Park, with Vaz Tê scoring the second goal of the second game. West Ham progressed to the

play-off final The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

with a 5–0 aggregate victory. In the play-off final at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

on 19 May 2012, Vaz Tê scored the winning goal in the 87th minute against

. It was the 24th goal Vaz Tê had scored in the 2011–12 season. He was in the starting line-up from the beginning of the 2012–13 season scoring his first Premier League goal for West Ham in their 2–1 away win at

QPR Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus R ...

on 1 October 2012. In the very next game, on 6 October 2012 at home to

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 ...

, Vaz Tê dislocated his shoulder, an injury which kept him out of the team for nearly 3 months. Vaz Tê returned to the side on 29 December in an away game at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, he was brought on with 23 minutes remaining and his side down 1–0 and went on to miss a glaring opportunity to draw the match, as West Ham lost.

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English association football, football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent most ...

said it was one of the "easiest" chances to score in the Premier League. He started the 2013–14 season as a 90th-minute substitute, replacing

Joe Cole Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger in the Premier League, Ligue 1, League One and United Soccer League. He is regarded as one ...

, in a 2–0 home win against

. He scored his first goal of the season in a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

second round fixture against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

on 27 August 2013, when he scored the opening goal from a free-kick in 42nd minute of the match, which ended a 2–1 win for West Ham. He later received a ''Goal of the Month'' club award for that goal. After the Cheltenham win, on 28 August 2013, Vaz Tê handed in a transfer request. His statement regarding this said, "The statistics are evident to all but, despite this, it has been made obvious to myself and my representatives that I am not in the manager's plans. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I submit a transfer request and look to join a club where my approach to the game will be appreciated." He has remained at West Ham for at least until the winter transfer period and has committed himself to the club. Following his transfer request Vaz Te played four games in September 2013, scoring once and three games in October scoring twice, in games against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

and

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. These proved to be his last goals for the club. In his next game, on 27 October 2013, he dislocated his shoulder against

. He did not return to the first team until 15 April 2014 when he played 12 minutes against

in a 1–3 defeat. In the 2014–15 season he was rarely picked by manager

making only four league appearances and one in the League Cup. His last game came on 22 November 2014 in a 2–1 away defeat to Everton and on 17 January 2015, his contract was terminated by the club.

Akhisar Belediyespor

On 18 January 2015, Vaz Tê joined

Turkish Süper Lig Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

side

Akhisar Belediyespor Akhisarspor Kulübü (Akhisar Sports Club), commonly known as Akhisarspor, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Akhisar.

on a six-month contract. He played just 14 games; scoring on five occasions.

Charlton Athletic

On 13 November 2015, Vaz Tê signed for

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

on a free transfer until the end of the season. However, he was released from his contract in February 2016.

China

On 14 July 2017, Vaz Tê transferred to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

side

Henan Jianye Henan Songshan Longmen Football Club (), previously known as Henan Jianye Football Club (), is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team ...

. Vaz Tê transferred to

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

side

Qingdao Huanghai Qingdao Football Club () was a professional Chinese football club that participated in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Qingdao and their home stadium was the Qingdao Gu ...

in February 2019.

Portimonense

After his stint in China, Vaz Tê moved back to

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 ...

, signing for

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, ...

club

. Following the end of the 2020/21 season, Vaz Tê had his contract mutually terminated and was released by the Portuguese club.

International career

In the summer of 2005, Vaz Tê took part in the annual

Toulon tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

for Portugal U-20s, in their game with South Korea. He then played regularly for the Portugal under-21 team. Vaz Tê could still play for

, as he has not yet been selected by

Career statistics

Honours

West Ham United *

Football League Championship play-offs The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Qingdao Huanghai *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

External links

*
Stats and profile at futebol365.pt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaz Te, Ricardo 1986 births Living people Portuguese people of Bissau-Guinean descent Portuguese footballers Portuguese expatriate footballers Association football forwards Portugal under-21 international footballers Portugal youth international footballers Footballers from Lisbon Real S.C. players S.C. Farense players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Panionios F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Henan Songshan Longmen F.C. players Qingdao F.C. players Akhisarspor footballers Charlton Athletic F.C. players Black Portuguese sportspeople Portimonense S.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players Chinese Super League players China League One players Süper Lig players Primeira Liga players Super League Greece players Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in Scotland Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in China Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in China