Héldon Augusto Almeida Ramos (born 14 November 1988), known simply as Héldon and sometimes nicknamed Nhuck (pronounced �uk, is a Cape Verdean 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 lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He spent most of his career in Portugal, primarily in representation of Marítimo, and joined

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

in 2014. In the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

, he also appeared for

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlant ...

and

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 * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

, for a total of 174 games and 25 goals. A full international since 2008, Héldon played for

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

at two

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

tournaments.

Club career

Early career and Marítimo

Born in Sal, Héldon made his professional debut in 2007 with

C.F. Caniçal Clube de Futebol Caniçal also known as CF Caniçal is a Portuguese football club from Machico, Madeira and founded in 1981. CF Caniçal currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal. They currently play their home games at Campo de Futebol do C ...

, in the Portuguese third division. He moved to

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 ...

ahead of the 2008–09 season, helping them to win promotion to the Segunda Liga. In August 2010, Héldon signed with

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M (), commonly known as Marítimo or Marítimo da Madeira, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in the city of Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Established in 1910, Marítimo is best known for its football team ...

. On 26 November 2011, he scored his second official goal for the

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

club – first in the league – a last-minute

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

in a

derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

against

C.D. Nacional Clube Desportivo Nacional (), commonly known as Nacional da Madeira and sometimes just Nacional, is a Portuguese football club based in Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Founded on 8 December 1910, it currently plays in the Liga Portugal , P ...

(2–2 away draw, his team played the entire second half with ten players). On 8 December 2013, against the same opponent but in a home fixture, Héldon scored twice for the same result, as Nacional in turn played nearly 30 minutes with one man less.

Sporting CP

On 31 January 2014, Héldon joined fellow league side

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

in a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

1.5 million deal. He made his debut on 11 February, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 2–0

Lisbon derby The Derby de Lisboa or Dérbi de Lisboa (English: Lisbon derby) is the biggest List of association football club rivalries in Europe#Portugal, football derby match in Portugal. It is played between Lisbon-based clubs S.L. Benfica, Benfica and Spo ...

loss at

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 " ...

. He scored his tenth goal of the season and first for his new team on 12 April, when he came on as a substitute for

Diego Capel Diego Ángel Capel Trinidad (; born 16 February 1988) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left winger. He made his senior debut with Sevilla at 16, going on to appear in 173 competitive matches for the club over seven La ...

with two minutes remaining and confirmed a 2–0 win over Gil Vicente F.C. at the

Estádio José Alvalade The Estádio José Alvalade (; ') is a Football (soccer), football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the Estádio José Alvalade (1956), older stadium. The stadium is named afte ...

. Héldon signed with

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Córdoba, Andalusia, Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1954 after the dissolution of RCD Córdoba. Currently it plays ...

on 28 January 2015, on loan until the end of the campaign. He made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut three days later, starting and being booked in a 1–0 away defeat against

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

. He failed to find the net during his spell with the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

ns, who suffered relegation; he was also the first player in their 60-year history to lose his first five games. On 8 August 2015, Héldon was loaned to Rio Ave F.C. for the upcoming top-flight season. He attained his first goals for the

Vila do Conde Vila do Conde (, ; "the Count's Town") is a municipality in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,533, in an area of 149.03 km2. The urbanized area of Vila do Conde, which includes the parishes of ...

-based side on 19 September, a first-half brace in a 3–0 victory at F.C. Paços de Ferreira. Héldon spent the following two years still on loan, at Rio Ave and

. He scored his first goal for the latter on 24 September 2017, netting in the last minutes of a 2–1 home win against former club Marítimo.

Middle East

On 2 July 2018, Héldon joined

Al Taawoun FC Al Taawoun FC () is a professional multi-sports club based in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia. The football team competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of Saudi Football. The club plays their home games at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in B ...

on a two-year contract. He scored 11 competitive goals in his debut campaign in the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

, also

winning Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * Winning (film), ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * ''Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Fo ...

the

King's Cup King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King's Cup (Bahrain), the premier national knockout football tournament * King's ...

. Héldon agreed to a one-year deal at

Shabab Al Ahli Club Shabab Al Ahli Club () is an Emirati professional football club based in Dubai, that currently plays in the UAE Pro League. It is one of the most successful clubs in the UAE. Al Ahli FC has won 9 league titles, 11 UAE President Cup titles, 5 A ...

of the

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

on 26 September 2020. The following 12 July he moved back to Saudi Arabia to join

Al-Orobah FC Al-Orobah FC () is a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Sakakah, that will compete in the Saudi First Division. History They won the 2012–13 Saudi First Division and were promoted to the Saudi Pro League, the top level of Saud ...

of the First Division League on a two-year contract, leaving on 1 February 2022 by mutual consent.

International career

Héldon made his international debut for

on 11 October 2008, replacing Ronny Souto during

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

of a 1–3 away loss against

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

qualifiers. He scored his first goal in his next game, opening a 2–0 friendly win in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

on 4 September 2009. He was the country's top scorer during the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (C ...

qualifying campaign, recording two goals in a 4–2 victory over

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

on 26 March 2011. Héldon was named to the squad that participated in the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange S.A., Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the Association football, footbal ...

held in South Africa, and featured in every game as the nation reached the quarter-finals. In their final

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

against

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, he came on as a 46th-minute substitute and scored a last-minute winner, making it 2–1 and causing his team to advance. He was also selected for the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was org ...

, where he won and converted a penalty to equalise in a 1–1 draw against

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

in the team's opening game. Héldon was also a gold medallist with the under-20 team at the

2009 Lusofonia Games The 2009 Lusofonia Games was the 2nd Lusofonia Games (), a multi-sport event for delegations representing Portuguese-speaking National Olympic Committee, National Olympic committees. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 11 to 19 July 2009. The ...

in Portugal. He scored five goals in the tournament, including a hat-trick in a 7–1 win over India.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Cape Verde's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Héldon goal.''

Honours

Al Taawoun *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Shabab Al Ahli *

UAE League Cup The UAE League Cup () is a knockout tournament for clubs in the UAE Pro-League. The first edition of the tournament was played in the 2008–09 Etisalat Emirates Cup, 2008–2009 season. In the 2008–09 season, UAE League Cup replaced the UAE Fed ...

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heldon Ramos 1988 births Living people People from Sal, Cape Verde 21st-century Cape Verdean sportsmen Cape Verdean men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Batuque FC players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players C.D. Fátima players C.S. Marítimo players Sporting CP footballers Rio Ave F.C. players Vitória S.C. players La Liga players Córdoba CF players Saudi Pro League players Saudi First Division League players Al Taawoun FC players Al-Orobah FC players UAE Pro League players Shabab Al Ahli Club players Cape Verde men's international footballers 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Cape Verdean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Spain Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates