Orlando Carlos Braga de Sá (born 26 May 1988) is a Portuguese former 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 played as a striker. After spending his early career with

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

and

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, appearing sparingly for both, he travelled abroad in 2011, going on to represent clubs in England, Cyprus, Poland, Israel, Belgium, China and Spain and win the

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

and the

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

with

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

. Sá earned one

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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

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 ...

Club career

Braga

Sá was born in Barcelos,

Braga District The district of Braga ( ) is a district in the northwest of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Braga, and it is bordered by the district of Viana do Castelo in the north, Vila Real in the east, Galicia (a Spanish autonomous commu ...

. He started his career in the youth ranks of

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. Best known for the men's professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese foo ...

, and was promoted to the first team for the 2007–08 season only to be loaned immediately to lowly

SC Maria da Fonte Sport Clube Maria da Fonte ''(abbreviated as SC Maria da Fonte)'' is a Portuguese football club based in Póvoa de Lanhoso in the district of Braga. Background SC Maria da Fonte currently plays in the Terceira Divisão Série A which is t ...

( third division). Sá returned to Braga in 2008, making his

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 ...

debut on 5 January 2009 by playing one minute in a 2–0 home win against

C.F. Os Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses (), commonly known as Os Belenenses or simply Belenenses, is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 19,856 ...

. He scored his first goal in the competition on 8 March, as a late substitute in a 2–2 draw at

C.F. Estrela da Amadora Club Football Estrela Amadora SAD (), sometimes just Estrela da Amadora, is a Portuguese professional sports club (predominantly football) based in Amadora, northwest of Lisbon. The team is currently competing in the Primeira Liga, after winnin ...

. During his period in Braga, Sá gained attention from English club Chelsea, but nothing ever materialised.

Porto

On 1 June 2009, Sá moved to league champions

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

for an estimated fee of

€ 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 ...

3 million. Braga retained 20% economic rights on any future transfer fee, with an additional 20% being held by unknown parties. Having arrived still injured from his previous club, he only made his competitive debut on 2 January 2010, starting in a 2–0 away victory over

U.D. Oliveirense União Desportiva Oliveirense (UDO), commonly known as Oliveirense, is a Portugal, Portuguese sports club from the city of Oliveira de Azeméis, in Aveiro District. The club was founded on 25 October 1922. The main football (soccer), football te ...

in the fourth round of the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de 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 Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

. Sá spent

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

on loan to

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 ...

, appearing sparingly due to injury and technical decisions. His highlight was scoring the winner in a 2–1 home defeat of

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 " ...

on 21 August 2010, and he finished the season with six official goals, plus one for the Portuguese under-23.

Fulham

At the end of the 2011

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Sá joined

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 ...

club

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on a free transfer, with Porto retaining 25% of his economic rights. He made his official debut for his new team in a

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

tie Tie has two principal meanings: * Tie (draw), a finish to a competition with identical results, particularly sports * Necktie, a long piece of cloth worn around the neck or shoulders Tie or TIE may also refer to: Engineering and technology * T ...

against Chelsea at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

on 21 September (

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 ...

loss), and first appeared in the

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

three days later, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw. Sá scored his first and only goal for Fulham on 31 December 2011, putting the visitors ahead in the seventh minute of the tie against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, in an eventual 1–1 draw. Early into the season, he struggled with the pace of the

English game English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, but went on to adapt physically after a few months in the country, also stating he was improving his ability in the English language. Before the 2012–13 campaign started, Sá said he was going to improve at Fulham and told the club's official website: "I feel that this is a really important pre-season for me, I want to be really prepared ahead of the new campaign because I want this year to be my year. I hope that I can score more goals like the one I got against Norwich. That was a good moment for me and I hope I will have many more moments like the one I experienced at

Carrow Road Carrow Road is a association football, football stadium in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship club Norwich City F.C., Norwich City. The stadium is east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. ...

". On 30 June 2012, however, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement.

AEL Limassol

On 30 July 2012, Sá signed a three-year contract with

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...

. He scored his first goal in European competition on 6 December, helping his team achieve a 3–0 home win against

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...

in the group stage of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. Sá kickstarted the 2013–14 campaign by netting five times in only three

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

matches. Coincidentally, the three opponents that suffered his accuracy in the first round of matches,

Ethnikos Achna FC Ethnikos Achna Football Club (), commonly known as Ethnikos Achna, or simply Ethnikos, is a Cypriot professional football club based in the village of Dasaki Achnas. Founded in 1968, the club currently plays in the Cypriot First Division. Ethn ...

APOEL FC APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...

and

Enosis Neon Paralimni FC Enosis Neon Paralimni Football Club (, ''Enosi Neon Paralimniou''; ), commonly referred to as ENP, is a Cyprus, Cypriot association football, football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the Cypriot First Division, first division, it holds ...

, met the same fate in the second.

Legia Warsaw

On 14 February 2014, Sá moved to Poland by joining

on a three-and-a-half-year deal. He had arrived in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

to undergo a medical the previous day. Sá made his

debut on 22 February 2014, in a 3–0 win over

Górnik Zabrze Górnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Górnik Zabrze S.A. or simply Górnik Zabrze (), is a Polish association football, football club from Zabrze. Górnik is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history, winning ...

. He scored his first goal on the last day of the

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

and contributed to a 3–1 victory at

Zagłębie Lubin Zagłębie Lubin S.A. () is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Lubin. Founded in 1945 as ''OMTUR Lubin'', the club competes in the Ekstraklasa. History The football team was founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin by lo ...

, as the Legionaires eventually won their tenth national championship.

Reading

On 29 June 2015, Sá signed for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut for the club on 8 August in the season opener away to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, having an added-time

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 ...

saved by

Tomasz Kuszczak Tomasz Mirosław Kuszczak (; born 20 March 1982) is a Polish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He was most recently the goalkeeping coach of the Poland national fo ...

in a 1–2

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

defeat. Sá scored his first goal on 29 August, heading home in a 3–1 away win against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

. In the following match, he hit a

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 Wick ...

in a 5–1 rout of

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (), currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in EFL League One. It also provides the ...

. He totalled five goals from 21 appearances across all competitions, with his presence eventually limited by new manager Brian McDermott.

Maccabi and Standard

On 26 January 2016, Sá signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with

Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club (; ''Moadon Kaduregel Maccabi Tel Aviv'') is an Israeli professional football club from Tel Aviv and part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Sport Club. Founded in 1906 in Jaffa as the HaRishon Le Zion-Yafo Association, i ...

for an undisclosed fee. On 31 August, however, he joined

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

for four seasons. He scored a career-best 17 goals – 20 across all competitions – in his first season with the latter, but they could only finish in ninth position in the

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

. On 28 February 2018, Sá transferred to

Henan Jianye F.C. Henan Football Club (), currently known as Henan F.C. Jiuzu Dukang () for sponsorship reasons, is a Chinese professional football club based in Zhengzhou, Henan, that competes in . Henan plays their home matches at the Hanghai Stadium, located wi ...

in the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

. Within five months, however, he signed for Standard again.

Málaga

Sá moved teams and countries again on 13 August 2020, after agreeing to a one-year deal with

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...

of the 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 ...

. On 26 May 2021, exactly on his 33rd birthday, he announced his retirement from professional football due to an

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

injury.

International career

On 18 November 2008, in one of his first

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 the Portugal under-21 team, Sá scored a hat-trick against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in a 4–1 friendly home win. Only three months later, he was surprisingly called up to the senior squad by coach

Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football manager. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Iran, Colombia, Egypt and Qatar, leading ...

for a friendly with

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, and replaced

Hugo Almeida Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida (born 23 May 1984) is a Portuguese former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre-forward. After failing to establish himself at FC Porto, Porto, being loaned several times during his ...

at the hour mark in an eventual 1–0 victory in Faro.

Personal life

Sá married

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

singer Teresa Villa-Lobos.

Career statistics

Honours

Porto *

: 2009–10 Legia Warsaw *

: 2013–14 *

: 2014–15

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sa, Orlando 1988 births Living people 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Barcelos, Portugal Men's association football forwards Primeira Liga players Segunda Divisão players A.D. Esposende players S.C. Braga players FC Porto players C.D. Nacional players Premier League players English Football League players Fulham F.C. players Reading F.C. players Cypriot First Division players AEL Limassol players Ekstraklasa players III liga players Legia Warsaw players Legia Warsaw II players Israeli Premier League players Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players Belgian Pro League players Standard Liège players Chinese Super League players Henan F.C. players Segunda División players Málaga CF players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Poland Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Israel Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in China Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain