Adelino André Vieira de Freitas (born 24 January 1986), known as Vieirinha (), is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger or a full-back for Greek club PAOK, for which he is captain. Ambidextrous, he started playing for

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, but spent most of his professional career with PAOK and

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's he ...

. With the first club, for whom he appeared in over 200 competitive matches, he won the

2018–19 Super League Greece The 2018–19 Super League Greece, or ''Super League Souroti'' for sponsorship reasons, was the 83rd season of the highest tier in league of Greek football and the 13th under its current name. The season started on 25 August 2018 and concluded o ...

and three Greek Cups. Vieirinha made his debut with the Portugal national team in 2013, and was part of the squads at the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

and

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

, winning the latter tournament.

Club career

Porto

Formed in the youth ranks of local Vitória SC, Guimarães-born Vieirinha caught the interest of FC Porto and eventually finished his football grooming there. After a six-month loan at

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

's F.C. Marco he joined the first team in the 2006–07 season, being given a four-year professional contract. Vieirinha played his first official game for Porto on 11 August 2006, in the Portuguese Supercup against Vitória de Setúbal, coming on as a substitute in the 70th minute and scoring the game's last goal in the 89th, in a 3–0 final result. Alongside teammates Diogo Valente and Paulo Machado, Vieirinha was loaned to Primeira Liga promotees Leixões S.C. for 2007–08. All proved instrumental as the Matosinhos side retained their league status at the end of the campaign.

PAOK

Vieirinha then returned to Porto, being immediately loaned to

PAOK FC P.A.O.K. FC ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΟΚ, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινουπολιτών, '' Panthessaloníkios Athlitikós Ómilos Konstadinoupolitón'', "Pan-Thessalonian Sports club, Athlet ...

of Greece, which had expressed interest in the player as his compatriot Fernando Santos was at the club's helm at the time. A season-long loan was eventually arranged, as the player teamed up with compatriot

Sérgio Conceição Sérgio Paulo Marceneiro da Conceição (; born 15 November 1974) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who mostly played as a right winger. He is the current manager of Porto. Throughout his career, he played for ...

. After only a few games, he picked up a serious injury (torn ankle ligament) in a

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

against Aris Thessaloniki FC, caused by Vitolo, a player who would join PAOK the following year. In mid-July 2009, PAOK came to terms with Porto to make the move permanent for roughly €1 million, following Vieirinha's wish to continue playing under coach Santos. He renewed his link late in the year until June 2013, with a €15 million buyout clause. On 4 November 2010, diminutive Vieirinha scored with his head in a 1–0 home win against

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

in the group stage of the

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. ...

. He was also named the Super League's most valuable player, the second individual accolade in a row whilst at the

Toumba Stadium Toumba Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Τούμπας) is a football stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is property of AC PAOK. The official name of the stadium is simply PAOK Stadium ( el, Στάδιο ΠΑΟΚ), but through the years it has become ...

, and his team finished in third position and qualified to the Europa League. Despite considerable transfer market speculation owing to his increased potential, Vieirinha started 2011–12 in the same place, helping the side progress to the Europa League group stage. He played 126 matches in all competitions, scoring 28 goals and making 21 assists.

Wolfsburg

With a short statement on 3 January 2012, PAOK announced the club had come to terms regarding the transfer of Vieirinha to German side

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

; the player signed until June 2015, for approximately €4 million. He made his

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

debut on the 21st, playing 45 minutes in a 1–0 home victory over 1. FC Köln. Vieirinha scored his first official goal for the Wolves on 9 March 2013, contributing to a 5–2 away rout of

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...

with a volley from outside the box. In September, during a

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

game against

VfR Aalen Verein für Rasenspiele 1921 Aalen e.V., known simply as VfR Aalen, is a German football club based in Aalen, Baden-Württemberg. The football team is part of a larger sports club which also offers its members gymnastics, table tennis, and cheer ...

, he ruptured his knee ligaments, going on to be sidelined until April of the following year. Vierinha played at

right-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 ...

as Wolfsburg won its first domestic cup on 30 May 2015, with a 3–1 win over

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

, and featured in the same position on 1 August as they conquered the DFL-Supercup against FC Bayern Munich in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. On 8 December, again as a winger, he was one of three players on target for the hosts as they defeated Manchester United 3–2 in the last round of 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 competi ...

's group stage and progressed at the expense of their adversary.

Return to Greece

On 31 August 2017, PAOK announced the signing of Vierinha on a €1 million fee. He scored his first goal in his second spell on 20 November, netting from a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

in a 2–1 home win against Atromitos FC. On 12 May 2018, a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

from captain Vieirinha helped the club overcome

AEK Athens F.C. AEK FC ( el, ΠΑΕ A.E.K. ; Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; ''Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos'', meaning ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a Greek professional football club based in Nea Filade ...

in the final of the

Greek 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 ...

at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

, a 2–0 victory to help renew the supremacy in that tournament. For his display, he was named the ''

Player of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

''. Vieirinha suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

injury against Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. on 14 April 2019, going on to be sidelined for approximately six months. In spite of this, he still took the field in the 89th minute of the final league fixture with Levadiakos F.C. the following weekend, as the side were crowned champions for the first time since

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and third overall. On 5 March 2021, aged 35, Vieirinha renewed his contract until the summer of 2022. On 22 May, he scored the first goal from the spot as PAOK won 2–1 against league winners Olympiacos in the domestic cup final. On 24 February 2022, Vieirinha scored in a 2–1 home victory over

FC Midtjylland FC Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the western part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Supe ...

in the

knockout round play-offs A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

of the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on thei ...

, helping his team reach the round of 16 in Europe for the first time in 48 years after a penalty shootout. In June, he agreed to a one-year extension.

International career

Vieirinha featured for every youth level of the Portugal national team, from under-16 to under-21, earning a total of 83

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

and scoring 28 goals in the process. In November 2011 he received his first callup to the main squad, replacing the injured Danny for the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

playoffs 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 eit ...

against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. Vieirinha finally made his debut for Portugal on 22 March 2013, playing the last 30 minutes in a 3–3 draw in

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 ...

for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. On 19 May of the following year he was named in the final 23-man squad for the finals in Brazil and, on 11 June, scored his first international goal, netting his team's fourth in a 5–1 friendly win over the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

in the United States four minutes after replacing Silvestre Varela. He featured once in the final stages, playing 21 minutes in the 2–1 group stage defeat of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

as Portugal went out on goal difference. On 17 November 2015, Vieirinha captained the side for the only time in a 2–0 friendly victory away to

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. At

, under former PAOK boss Santos, he was the first choice right-back during the group stage but lost his place to

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 ...

Cédric Soares Cédric Ricardo Alves Soares (born 31 August 1991), known simply as Cédric (), is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right back for club Fulham, on loan from Arsenal, and the Portugal national team. Cédric's career starte ...

in the knockout phase.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

Honours

Club

Porto * Primeira Liga: 2006–07 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

: 2006 Wolfsburg *

: 2014–15 * DFL-Supercup: 2015 PAOK * Super League Greece: 2018–19 *

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 imp ...

: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21

International

Portugal *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

UEFA European Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Under-17 Championship, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain is the most successful team in this ...

: 2003

Individual

*Super League Greece Best Foreign Player: 2010–11, 2018–19 *Greek Football Cup Final MVP: 2017–18 * Super League Greece Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2018–19 * PAOK MVP of the Season: 2010–11, 2017–18, 2018–19

Orders

Commander of the Order of Merit

References

External links

* *
National team data
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vieirinha 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Guimarães Portuguese footballers Association football wingers Association football utility players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players FC Porto B players FC Porto players F.C. Marco players Leixões S.C. players Super League Greece players PAOK FC players Bundesliga players VfL Wolfsburg players Portugal youth international footballers Portugal under-21 international footballers Portugal international footballers 2014 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2016 players UEFA European Championship-winning players Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in Germany Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Germany