Daniel João Santos Candeias (born 25 February 1988) 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 ...

who plays as a winger for Turkish club

Kocaelispor Kocaelispor is a Turkish football club based in İzmit. They were founded in 1966 and played in the top level between 1980–1988 and 1992–2003. Their best finish was in 1992–93 season, where they finished fourth. They have won the Turkish C ...

. He was on the books of both

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 ...

and Benfica, where he was mostly loaned out, and amassed most of his 134 Primeira Liga appearances and 15 goals while at Nacional. He also played over 100 games in the Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

with

Alanyaspor Alanyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Alanya in Antalya Province. Formed in 1948, the club colours are orange and green. Home matches are played at Kırbıyık Holding Stadium. The most recent club ma ...

and Gençlerbirliği, and had spells in Spain, Germany, France and Scotland.

Club career

Porto

Born in

Fornos de Algodres Fornos may refer to the following places in Portugal: * Fornos (Castelo de Paiva), a civil parish in the municipality of Castelo de Paiva * Fornos (Freixo de Espada à Cinta), a civil parish in the municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta * Forno ...

Guarda District The district of Guarda ( pt, Distrito de Guarda ) is located in the Centro Region of Portugal, except Vila Nova de Foz Côa, which is in the Norte Region. The district capital and most populous city is Guarda. Municipalities The district con ...

, Candeias started his professional career with FC Porto in the 2008–09 season, after emerging through the club's youth ranks and having served a loan at Varzim S.C. in the Segunda Liga. He made his official debut for the former in late August, in the 2–0 defeat to

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 ...

in the

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 ...

. After having appeared scarcely throughout his first year (also playing ten minutes in the 4–0 loss against Arsenal in the group stage 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 ...

), Candeias was loaned in late January to league strugglers

Rio Ave FC Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde Vila do Conde (, ; "the Count's Town") is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,5 ...

, until the end of the campaign. For 2009–10 another loan ensued, as he moved to

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, 2 days before Christmas, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play i ...

in the Spanish Segunda División. However, after a few months during which he appeared infrequently, Candeias returned to Portugal in late January 2010 to join

F.C. Paços de Ferreira Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira () is a Portuguese football club based in Paços de Ferreira, Porto district. Founded in 1950, the club competes in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at the 9,077-seater Estádio da Mata Real, a municipal s ...

, again on loan. His first match for his new team was a 1–2 home loss against G.D. Chaves in the quarter-finals of the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...

. His maiden appearance in the Primeira Liga for them occurred on 7 February, as he featured 12 minutes of the 2–1 away victory over

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 ...

Nacional

In October 2010, Candeias moved to C.D. Nacional in the same league on a co-ownership deal. He was immediately loaned to Portimonense SC, appearing regularly as a starter but suffering top-flight relegation. Upon returning to

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its high ...

, Candeias made his debut in 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. ...

second qualifying round The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

against

Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar ( en, Hafnarfjörður Gymnastics Club), commonly referred to as FH, is an Icelandic multi-sports club based in Hafnarfjörður. The club competes in football, handball, athletics, and fencing. It was founded in 19 ...

of Iceland; he came on as a late substitute in the second leg on 21 July 2011 and scored to conclude a 2–0 win (3–1 aggregate). He netted 15 more goals for the side, including the winner with his first touch from the bench in a 2–1 comeback against

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Lig ...

in the

Madeira derby Throughout the history of football in Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Loca ...

on 21 April 2013, and the opener of a win of the same score against his former club Porto the following 30 March, in which he also assisted the decider by

Mario Rondón Mario Junior Rondón Fernández (; born 26 March 1986) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga I club Sepsi OSK. Club career Born in Los Teques, Miranda, Rondón arrived in Portugal at age 18, finishing his jun ...

at the

Estádio da Madeira Estádio da Madeira, formerly named Estadio Eng. Rui Alves and informally known as Estádio da Choupana is a football stadium in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. It is primarily used as the home stadium for C.D. Nacional. The stadium is currently ab ...

Benfica

On 3 July 2014, Candeias signed for Portuguese champions

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...

, promising to "give everything" for the club. He failed to appear in any competitive games, however, being successively loaned to 1. FC Nürnberg in Germany,

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021� ...

in Spain,

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league sys ...

in France and

in Turkey.

Rangers

On 11 June 2017, Candeias joined Scottish club Rangers on a two-year deal, for a reported transfer fee of £700,000. He made his debut 18 days later, playing 31 minutes in a 1–0 home win over

FC Progrès Niederkorn Football Club Progrès Niederkorn is a football club based in Niederkorn, in south-western Luxembourg. History During the German occupation of Luxembourg, the club played in the Gauliga Moselland under the name of FK Niederkorn, where it finis ...

in the

. Candeias scored his first goal for his new team on 9 August 2017, in a 6–0 rout of

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

. He netted in an

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

game on 11 March 2018 to give Rangers a 2–1 lead in a 3–2 loss to Celtic at

Ibrox Park Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . ...

; three days later, he extended his contract until the summer of 2020.

Return to Turkey

On 22 July 2019, Candeias signed a two-year contract at Gençlerbirliği S.K. of the Turkish

. His three goals of his first season in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

were all scored on 19 October in a 6–0 win at

Antalyaspor Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Antalya. The club's colours are red and white. They play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the club won the First League twice in 1982 and ...

, in which he added two assists to his

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 ...

. Having suffered relegation, Candeias returned to Alanyaspor on a deal of the same length in June 2021. Accompanying compatriots José Marafona,

Wilson Eduardo Wilson Bruno Naval da Costa Eduardo (born 8 July 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Turkish club Alanyaspor. He was formed at Sporting CP, but spent most of his time out on loan. In 2015 he joined Braga, with whom h ...

and

João Novais João Pedro Barradas Novais (born 10 July 1993) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Turkish club Alanyaspor as a midfielder. He played 129 Primeira Liga games and scored 13 goals for Rio Ave and Braga, winning the 2019–20 T ...

, he scored his first goal of his new spell away to Galatasaray S.K. on 19 September, coming off the bench to decide the game with three minutes remaining. Remaining in the same country, but now in its second tier, 35-year-old Candeias signed for

on 20 July 2023.

International career

After having made his Porto debut in 2008, Candeias was soon called up to the Portugal under-21 team. He won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

on 5 September of that year, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute for

Vieirinha 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 f ...

in a 2–0 away loss to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for the 2009 UEFA European Championship qualifiers.

Career statistics

Honours

Porto * Primeira Liga: 2008–09 *

: 2008–09 Individual *

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

top assist provider: 2017–18

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Candeias, Daniel 1988 births Living people People from Fornos de Algodres Sportspeople from Guarda District Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football wingers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players FC Porto players Varzim S.C. players Rio Ave F.C. players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players Portimonense S.C. players C.D. Nacional players S.L. Benfica footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Recreativo de Huelva players Granada CF footballers 2. Bundesliga players 1. FC Nürnberg players Ligue 2 players FC Metz players Süper Lig players TFF First League players Alanyaspor footballers Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers Kocaelispor footballers Scottish Professional Football League players Rangers F.C. players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in France Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Scotland