Marco António Bernardo Paracana Almeida (born 4 April 1977) is a Portuguese retired

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 played as a

central defender 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 ...

. He started his career with Sporting, going on to amass

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 ...

totals of 90 games and five goals over the course of six seasons, also representing in the competition Campomaiorense and

Alverca Alverca do Ribatejo () is a city (''cidade'') and a former civil parish in the municipality of Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Alverca do Ribatejo e Sobralinho. It covers an area of and had a pop ...

. He also played professionally in England, Spain and Cyprus.

Club career

Almeida was born in Barreiro,

Setúbal District The District of Setúbal ( ) is a district located in the south-west of Portugal. It is named for its capital, the city of Setúbal. Geography It is delimited by Lisbon District and Santarém District on the north, Évora District on the eas ...

, and played youth football with

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,

. He started his senior career with

Casa Pia A.C. Casa Pia Atlético Clube, commonly known as Casa Pia, is a Portuguese multi-sports club founded in 1920 and based in Lisbon, Portugal, best known for its professional football team, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after Casa ...

on loan, moving to

Sporting Clube Lourinhanense Sporting Clube Lourinhanense, simply Lourinhanense, is a Portuguese football club based in Lourinhã, Lisbon. It currently plays in the Regional Championships, and holds home games at ''Estádio Municipal da Lourinhã'', with a capacity of 2,000 ...

in 1996 as the latter acted as

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

to the

giants. For the 1998–99 season, still in the top division, he was again loaned, now to S.C. Campomaiorense. In July 1999, Almeida was signed by

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

's manager Dave Jones on a year's loan, with a view to a permanent move. After impressing in pre-season

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

he made his first-team debut as a 71st-minute substitute for

Claus Lundekvam Claus Lundekvam (born 22 February 1973) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Lundekvam began his career with Brann before moving to English side Southampton in 1996 where he played until his retirement in 20 ...

in a

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

match against

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 ...

at the Dell, on 19 September 1999: within eight minutes, he was alongside fellow substitute

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...

just outside the Southampton area, when the latter received a pass from

Tony Adams Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. Known as Mr. Arsenal, he spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre-back t ...

. He stumbled while trying to clear the ball, allowing Henry to wrap his foot around the ball and send a rocket of a shot into the far corner of the Southampton net, in what was the Frenchman's first goal in English football. Although Almeida made a few appearances for the Saints' reserves, including scoring in a 2–2 draw with Chelsea on 22 September 1999, he was never again called into the main squad and, in December, the loan was cancelled. Also in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, he would also have unsuccessful trials with

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

in September 2000 and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

(managed by former Southampton boss Jones) in 2007; subsequently he returned to Sporting, being released in the following summer after which he re-joined Campomaiorense, now as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. Almeida's most steady period came at

F.C. Alverca Futebol Clube de Alverca is a Portuguese Association football, football club based in Alverca do Ribatejo, Vila Franca de Xira. It currently plays in the Liga Portugal 2. History F.C. Alverca was founded on 1 September 1939. After many decades i ...

, which he helped promote from the Segunda Liga in 2002–03 by netting a career-best five times in 32 games. After three seasons he moved abroad again, going almost unnoticed at

Ciudad de Murcia Club de Fútbol Ciudad de Murcia, usually abbreviated to Ciudad de Murcia, was a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the namesake autonomous community. They played at the 16,000-seater ''Estadio de La Condomina''. Ciudad Murcia was reloc ...

– Spanish

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

– and he subsequently returned to his country, playing one campaign apiece with second level sides F.C. Maia and

Portimonense SC 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 Liga Portugal 2, the second division of Portuguese football ...

. In the following years, already in his 30s, Almeida alternated between the Portuguese lower leagues and Cypriot football.Marco Almeida: do Sporting a Portimão até chegar ao Nea Salamina (Marco Almeida: from Sporting to Portimão until reaching Nea Salamina)
Mais Futebol, 10 December 2007 (in Portuguese)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Almeida, Marco 1977 births Living people Footballers from Barreiro, Portugal Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Sporting CP footballers Casa Pia A.C. players S.C. Campomaiorense players F.C. Alverca players F.C. Maia players Portimonense S.C. players Premier League players Southampton F.C. players Segunda División players Ciudad de Murcia footballers Cypriot First Division players Cypriot Second Division players Nea Salamis Famagusta FC players Akritas Chlorakas players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus