Hélder Postiga

Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: ; born 2 August 1982) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a striker.

Henrique">OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛldɛɾ puʃˈtiɣɐ]; born 2 August 1982) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a striker.

Hélder Postiga
Hélder Postiga
Postiga playing for Deportivo in 2014
Personal information
Full name Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga
Date of birth (1982-08-02) 2 August 1982 (age 41)
Place of birth Vila do Conde, Portugal
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1992–1995 Varzim
1995–2000 Porto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Porto B 37 (10)
2001–2003 Porto 58 (22)
2003–2004 Tottenham Hotspur 19 (1)
2004–2008 Porto 56 (15)
2006Saint-Étienne (loan) 16 (2)
2008Panathinaikos (loan) 11 (2)
2008–2011 Sporting CP 71 (12)
2011–2013 Zaragoza 70 (23)
2013–2014 Valencia 15 (3)
2014Lazio (loan) 5 (0)
2014–2015 Deportivo La Coruña 14 (1)
2015 Atlético Kolkata 1 (2)
2016 Rio Ave 10 (5)
2016 Atlético Kolkata 11 (2)
Total 394 (100)
International career
2001–2003 Portugal U21 16 (12)
2002 Portugal B 2 (1)
2003–2014 Portugal 71 (27)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Hélder Postiga Portugal
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up 2004 Portugal
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Poland-Ukraine
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

After beginning at Porto, where he won eight items of silverware along the way, he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 195 games and 54 goals over 11 seasons, with that club, Sporting CP and Rio Ave. He also played in six foreign countries, most notably in Spain where he totalled 27 goals in 99 La Liga matches for three teams.

A Portugal international since 2003, Postiga represented the country in two World Cups and three European Championships, helping the nation to reach the final at Euro 2004.

Club career

Porto

Born in Vila do Conde, Postiga began his career at nearby Varzim SC. In 1995, he joined FC Porto's youth system and continued to progress until he reached the reserve squad. At the time, coach Octávio Machado picked him for the first team on some occasions and the player performed well.

After José Mourinho was hired as manager, Postiga became a first-team regular. The 20-year-old scored 19 times in 2002–03, playing alongside Derlei as Porto won the treble. This included 13 in a victorious league run as well as five in an eventual conquest of the UEFA Cup, although he missed the final due to suspension. Following his successful season, he made his senior international debut for Portugal.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 25 June 2003, Postiga moved to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for £6.25 million (€9 million), a fee that could have risen to £8.36 million (€12 million). He signed a five-year contract, with manager Glenn Hoddle remarking "He is a player who will add definite striking quality to our squad and is a young player of proven ability. I'm sure our supporters will enjoy watching him over the coming seasons."

Postiga made his debut on 16 August 2003 in a 1–0 away defeat to Birmingham City, starting but being replaced by fellow new signing Bobby Zamora after 57 minutes. His first goal came on 3 December, the second of a 3–1 home win against Manchester City in the round of 16 of the League Cup, while his only in the league contributed to a 2–1 victory over Liverpool on 17 January 2004, also at White Hart Lane.

Porto return

Hélder Postiga 
Postiga as a Porto player in 2007

In summer 2004, Postiga returned to Porto in a deal that sent Pedro Mendes in the other direction, with the striker being valued at €7.5 million. New coach Víctor Fernández included him in the team for the upcoming campaign, but he had another disappointing year; however, following José Couceiro's appointment as manager, he managed to score three goals.

In 2005, after a promising preseason, Postiga was demoted to the B team as Co Adriaanse was not happy with his performances. In January of the following year, trying to earn a place in the 2006 World Cup, he moved on loan to AS Saint-Étienne, where he netted twice in Ligue 1, against FC Metz and Le Mans Union Club 72, both resulting in 1–0 away wins.

Back at Porto for 2006–07, Postiga found himself back in the main squad due to a managerial change. A regular starter in the beginning, he nonetheless fell out of favour towards the end of the season, losing his place to Brazilian Adriano though he still managed to score 11 league goals; in his two spells, he appeared in 165 games in all competitions and netted 48 times.

In mid-January 2008, after having again fallen out of favour, Postiga moved to Panathinaikos F.C. on a six-month loan. His first goal for the club came in the Athens derby against AEK Athens FC, in which he equalised (1–1).

Sporting CP

On 1 June 2008, Postiga moved to Portuguese rivals Sporting CP, signing a three-year contract for a reported transfer fee of €2.5 million, with the Lisbon side acquiring 50% of the player's rights. He scored his first official goal for his new club on 1 September, the only in a victory at S.C. Braga.

Postiga's second season as a Lion was disastrous, both collectively – Sporting finished fourth – and individually (he only found the net on 19 April 2010, closing the 2–1 home win over Vitória de Setúbal after just one minute on the pitch); although he began as a starter, he soon lost his job to youth graduate Carlos Saleiro.

Zaragoza

Hélder Postiga 
Postiga (kneeling) celebrating a goal against Athletic Bilbao

On 31 August 2011, the last day of the summer transfer window, Postiga joined Real Zaragoza of La Liga for €1 million. At the Spanish side, he reunited with his compatriots Fernando Meira and Rúben Micael.

After three disallowed goals in as many matches, Postiga opened his scoring account on 16 October 2011, netting twice in a 2–0 home defeat of Real Sociedad; this included a bicycle kick in the 11th minute of the game. He finished the season as club top scorer, in an eventual narrow escape from relegation.

On 10 November 2012, Postiga scored a brace to help the Aragonese to a 5–3 defeat of ten-men Deportivo de La Coruña. He scored a career-best 14 goals during the campaign, but his team was relegated.

Valencia

On 8 August 2013, Postiga joined Valencia CF for a fee of £2.6 million, replacing Tottenham-bound Roberto Soldado. On 1 September, in only the third match of the season, he netted twice late into the first half of the game against FC Barcelona at the Mestalla Stadium, but in an eventual 2–3 home loss.

Postiga was loaned to S.S. Lazio for the remainder of the campaign on 30 January 2014, with the option of a permanent move afterwards. He made his debut in Serie A on 26 March, playing 20 minutes in a 2–0 away defeat to Genoa CFC.

Deportivo

On 1 September 2014, Postiga terminated his link with Valencia, and subsequently signed a one-year deal with fellow top-division team Deportivo. He made his competitive debut two weeks later, featuring the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 win at SD Eibar. His first goal for the Galicians came in his fifth match on 31 October: coming on at half-time for Luis Fariña, he scored a consolation in a 1–2 home loss to Getafe CF. A week later, he was sent off in the 29th minute of a goalless draw at Córdoba CF, earning a second yellow card for a reaction when fouled by Íñigo López.

Postiga spent the better part of the season injured, as Depor went on to narrowly avoid relegation.

Atlético Kolkata

On 29 July 2015, Postiga signed as the marquee player of Indian Super League franchise Atlético de Kolkata; at 32, he was the youngest such player in the competition, and was deemed by the management to be less injury-prone than his predecessor Luis García. He made his debut on 3 October in the opening game of the season, scoring twice in a 3–2 win at Chennaiyin FC but leaving with an injury. He made no further appearances, as they went on to be eliminated by precisely that opponent in the play-off semi-finals.

Rio Ave

On 1 February 2016, Postiga returned to his homeland, signing for top-flight Rio Ave F.C. until the end of the season. In his second match, 26 days later, he opened a 2–1 away victory over Boavista F.C. which was his 50th goal in the division.

On 14 May 2016, in the last fixture, Postiga scored the winning goal as his team won 2–1 at C.F. União, qualifying for the Europa League and relegating their opponents.

Return to Kolkata

On 12 August 2016, Postiga returned to Atlético Kolkata as their marquee player. Early in his second match of the season, away to Kerala Blasters FC on 5 October, he suffered another long-term injury; the club's ownership admitted that due to such concerns they had wanted a different figurehead.

Postiga returned to the lineups and the side eventually won the championship, although he was substituted in the final.

International career

"Hélder is one of the most promising youngsters I've seen in Europe."

 — Luiz Felipe Scolari, June 2003

Postiga earned the first of his 71 caps for the Portugal national team (27 goals) on 12 February 2003 in a friendly with Italy, where he came on as a substitute for Tiago Mendes in the 70th minute – this game was also Luiz Felipe Scolari's first as manager. He was handed his first start on 10 June in the 4–0 win over Bolivia, where he scored his first two international goals.

Hélder Postiga 
Postiga in action for Portugal in a friendly against Argentina on 9 February 2011.

Even though he had arguably a poor year with Tottenham, Postiga was selected for UEFA Euro 2004. In the tournament, he managed to save his team from defeat against England during the quarter-finals, netting an 83rd-minute equaliser to level the score at 1–1 as Portugal would prevail in the penalty shootout 6–5 after a 2–2 draw. He converted his attempt with a "Panenka-style" shot, but did not feature in the final, lost 1–0 to outsiders Greece.

Postiga was included in the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, starting against Mexico in a 2–1 win at the end of the group phase. In the quarter-finals, after replacing captain Luís Figo, he again scored to eliminate England on penalties, as the nation eventually finished fourth.

In Euro 2008, Postiga was also mainly used from the bench. In the quarter-finals against Germany, he scored a late goal by heading in a cross from fellow replacement Nani, although Portugal lost 3–2.

After more than two years of absence from the national team setup, Postiga was called up for two Euro 2012 qualifiers with Denmark and Iceland, in October 2010. On 12 October, against the latter, he netted in a 3–1 away victory. On 17 November, he put two past world champions Spain in a 4–0 friendly win in Lisbon.

On 4 June 2011, Postiga scored the only goal in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Norway played at Estádio da Luz, which made him the tenth highest scorer in Portugal's history. He added a brace on 15 November that year, in a 6–2 play-off second leg defeat of Bosnia and Herzegovina which secured a place in the competition.

Picked by Paulo Bento for the finals in Poland and Ukraine as first-choice striker, Postiga scored in the group-stage fixture against Denmark, the second in an eventual 3–2 win. He injured his right thigh in the first half of the national side's 1–0 quarter-final victory over the Czech Republic, being sidelined for the rest of the tournament.

Postiga scored six goals in the qualification campaign for the 2014 World Cup. On 6 September 2013, he was sent off in the first half of a 3–2 win in Northern Ireland for headbutting Gareth McAuley; at the finals, he started the second game against the United States after an injury to Hugo Almeida in the opener, but was himself substituted 16 minutes later due to physical problems as Portugal were eliminated in the group stage.

Personal life

A childhood fan of S.L. Benfica who went on to play for their two main rivals, Postiga grew up in the Caxinas fishing neighbourhood of Vila do Conde, as did his long-time international teammates Bruno Alves and Fábio Coentrão.

Postiga's younger brother, José, was also a footballer and a forward. He played youth football at Sporting.

Career statistics

Club

Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Porto 2001–02 Primeira Liga 27 9 3 3 10 1 40 13
2002–03 31 13 3 0 13 5 47 18
Total 58 22 6 3 23 6 87 31
Tottenham Hotspur 2003–04 Premier League 19 1 2 0 3 1 24 2
Porto 2004–05 Primeira Liga 24 3 1 0 7 0 1 0 23 3
2005–06 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2006–07 24 11 0 0 7 1 31 12
2007–08 6 1 1 1 0 0 4 0 11 2
Total 56 15 2 1 0 0 18 1 1 0 77 17
Saint-Étienne (loan) 2005–06 Ligue 1 16 2 0 0 0 0 16 2
Panathinaikos (loan) 2007–08 Super League Greece 11 2 1 0 2 0 3 0 17 2
Sporting CP 2008–09 Primeira Liga 21 5 2 0 3 0 5 0 1 0 32 5
2009–10 22 1 1 0 2 0 7 0 32 1
2010–11 25 6 2 0 3 1 12 4 42 11
2011–12 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 0
Total 71 12 5 0 8 1 26 4 1 0 111 18
Zaragoza 2011–12 La Liga 33 9 1 0 34 9
2012–13 37 14 4 0 41 14
Total 70 23 5 0 75 23
Valencia 2013–14 La Liga 15 3 3 1 5 0 23 4
Lazio (loan) 2013–14 Serie A 5 0 0 0 5 0
Deportivo 2014–15 La Liga 14 1 2 1 16 2
Atlético Kolkata 2015 Indian Super League 1 2 1 2
Rio Ave 2015–16 Primeira Liga 10 5 1 0 11 5
Atlético Kolkata 2016 Indian Super League 11 2 11 2
Career total 357 90 27 6 11 2 74 11 5 0 474 109

International

Hélder Postiga 
Postiga taking on Germany's Mats Hummels at Euro 2012
Portugal
Year Apps Goals
2003 4 2
2004 7 4
2005 10 3
2006 6 0
2007 4 1
2008 3 1
2009 0 0
2010 3 3
2011 9 5
2012 11 4
2013 9 4
2014 5 0
Total 71 27
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 June 2003 Estádio Nacional, Oeiras Municipality, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Bolivia 3–0 4–0 Friendly
2 10 June 2003 Estádio Nacional, Oeiras Municipality, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Bolivia 4–0 4–0 Friendly
3 5 June 2004 Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Lithuania 4–1 4–1 Friendly
4 24 June 2004 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal Hélder Postiga  England 1–1 2–2 UEFA Euro 2004
5 8 September 2004 Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Estonia 2–0 4–0 2006 World Cup qualification
6 8 September 2004 Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Estonia 4–0 4–0 2006 World Cup qualification
7 26 March 2005 Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, Barcelos Municipality, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Canada 3–0 4–1 Friendly
8 30 March 2005 Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia Hélder Postiga  Slovakia 1–1 1–1 2006 World Cup qualification
9 17 August 2005 Estádio de São Miguel (Ponta Delgada), Ponta Delgada Municipality, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Egypt 2–0 2–0 Friendly
10 2 June 2007 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Hélder Postiga  Belgium 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
11 19 June 2008 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland Hélder Postiga  Germany 2–3 2–3 UEFA Euro 2008
12 12 October 2010 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland Hélder Postiga  Iceland 3–1 3–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
13 17 November 2010 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Spain 2–0 4–0 Friendly
14 17 November 2010 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Spain 3–0 4–0 Friendly
15 4 June 2011 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Norway 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
16 10 August 2011 Estádio Algarve, São João da Venda, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Luxembourg 1–0 5–0 Friendly
17 7 October 2011 Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Iceland 3–0 5–3 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
18 15 November 2011 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Bosnia and Herzegovina 4–2 6–2 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
19 15 November 2011 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Bosnia and Herzegovina 6–2 6–2 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
20 13 June 2012 Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine Hélder Postiga  Denmark 2–0 3–2 UEFA Euro 2012
21 7 September 2012 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hélder Postiga  Luxembourg 2–1 2–1 2014 World Cup qualification
22 11 September 2012 Estádio Municipal de Braga, Braga, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Azerbaijan 2–0 3–0 2014 World Cup qualification
23 16 October 2012 Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Northern Ireland 1–1 1–1 2014 World Cup qualification
24 6 February 2013 Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Ecuador 2–1 2–3 Friendly
25 22 March 2013 Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel Hélder Postiga  Israel 2–3 3–3 2014 World Cup qualification
26 7 June 2013 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Russia 1–0 1–0 2014 World Cup qualification
27 15 October 2013 Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal Hélder Postiga  Luxembourg 3–0 3–0 2014 World Cup qualification

Honours

Porto

Sporting CP

  • Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2008

Atlético Kolkata

Portugal

Orders

References

  • ^ a b c d e f g h "Hélder Postiga". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  • ^ "Hélder Postiga". European Football. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  • ^ "Hélder Postiga" (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  • ^ "Sporting vence o primeiro troféu da época" [Sporting win first trophy of the season] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  • ^ "Selecção distinguida pelo Duque de Bragança" [National team honoured by Duke of Braganza] (in Portuguese). Cristiano Ronaldo News. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2006.
  • This article uses material from the Wikipedia English article Hélder Postiga, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license ("CC BY-SA 3.0"); additional terms may apply (view authors). Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
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