Abel José Carvalho Pereira (born 15 April 1990) is a Portuguese

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 lea ...

who plays for ADC Santa Marta de Penaguião as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Club career

Born in

Alijó Alijó (), officially the Town of Alijó (), is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal, located in the district of Vila Real. The population in 2021 was 10,486, in an area of 297.60 km2. History There are several megalithic structur ...

Vila Real District The District of Vila Real ( ) is a district of northern Portugal. With an area of , the district is located east of the port city of Porto and north of the Douro, Douro River. Vila Real has always belonged to the historical province of Trás- ...

, Pereira started playing with Atlético Clube Alijoense in his hometown, at age 9. In 2006, he joined

S.L. 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'', Benfica is one of the " ...

's under–17 team, where he completed his development. After getting a professional contract, Pereira made his senior debut on loan at C.D. Mafra from the third division. Due to the lack of playing time, he moved to fellow league club C.D. Tondela for the remainder of the season, also on loan. Pereira first reached the professional leagues when Benfica loaned him to Segunda Liga side

C.D. Fátima Centro Desportivo de Fátima, simply known as Fátima, is a Portuguese football club based in Fátima, in the municipality of Ourém. Founded in 1966, it holds home matches at ''Estádio Papa Francisco'', with a capacity of 1,545 spectators. C ...

for the 2010–11 campaign. However, after six months without making an appearance, he returned to the third tier with

Gondomar SC Gondomar Sport Club is a Portuguese football club based in Gondomar, Porto District. Founded on 1 May 1921, it currently plays in the fourth-tier Campeonato de Portugal, holding home games at '' Estádio de São Miguel'', with a capacity of 2. ...

. In June 2011, Pereira was part of massive influx of Portuguese footballers to

Doxa Katokopias FC Doxa Katokopias FC () is a Cypriot professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word) ...

in the

Cypriot Second Division The Cypriot Second Division () is the second highest association football, football division of the Cypriot football league system. Administered by the Cyprus Football Association, it is contested by 16 teams, with the top three teams being Prom ...

. He helped them promote to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

in his first year, and was regularly used the following seasons. On 24 June 2014, Pereira returned to Portugal after signing a one-year deal with

Varzim S.C. Varzim Sport Club () is a Portuguese football club based in Póvoa de Varzim. The club was founded on 25 December 1915, and has played at the Estádio do Varzim Sport Club since its foundation. The club plays in Liga 3, following relegation in ...

and reuniting with former Gondomar coach

Vítor Paneira Vítor Manuel da Costa Araújo (born 16 February 1966), known as Vítor Paneira, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a right midfielder, currently a manager. He excelled in the late 80s and early 90s with Benfica, to ...

. After 18 months, which included promotion from division three, he re-signed with Doxa.

International career

Pereira won 15

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 Java ...

for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, across four youth levels. He helped the under–16 team reach the final of the Val-de-Marne Tournament in October 2005, and won the 2008 Lisbon International Tournament with the under–18s. The following year, Pereira represented the under–19 side in the elite qualifying round of the 2009 UEFA European Championship, in which the nation did not progress.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira, Abel 1990 births Living people People from Alijó Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football defenders Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players S.L. Benfica footballers C.D. Mafra players C.D. Tondela players C.D. Fátima players Gondomar S.C. players Varzim S.C. players Clube Oriental de Lisboa players Casa Pia A.C. players S.C.U. Torreense players Cypriot First Division players Cypriot Second Division players Doxa Katokopias FC players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Footballers from Vila Real District 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen