Pauleta

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Lore & Background

Pauleta was the first Portugal national team player to never have played in the Portuguese top level when he made his international debut against Armenia, in August 1997. He would have to wait 18 months for his first start, against the Netherlands. His first goals came a month later, when he scored two in a 7–0 rout of Azerbaijan in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier on 26 March 1999. A substitute at the Euro 2000 tournament, Pauleta led the Portuguese attack at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, scoring three times against Poland and ending with that tally in as many games, as the nation was ousted in the group stage. On 19 November 2003, he scored four goals in an 8–0 friendly win over Kuwait in Leiria. Although he played all but one game on the road to the final of Euro 2004, Pauleta did not score in that tournament finals. After the competition, with the international retirements of Fernando Couto, Luís Figo and Rui Costa, he was made captain, a role he held until Figo's return; however, he sporadically played as captain in the latter's absence, including a 2–0 win over Egypt at the Estádio de São Miguel in his hometown on 17 August 2005. On 12 October, against Latvia, he netted twice to become the national team's all-time goal scoring leader at the time, surpassing Eusébio's previous record of 41. During the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, Pauleta was the European zone's top scorer and, in a friendly match against Cape Verde in May 2006 preluding the final stages, he showed great form as he netted a hat-trick in a 4–1 win. However, after scoring the side's first goal in the group stage match against Angola, he failed to find the net again during the tournament; after Portugal's defeat to Germany in the third place play-off, he announced his international retirement.

In Their Own Story

The stadium lights hummed over the pitch in Leiria, the air thick with the anticipation of a friendly crowd. Pauleta stood at the penalty spot, his eyes fixed on the goal, the weight of a nation resting on his shoulders. He didn't need a dramatic run-up; he simply placed the ball, took two steps, and struck it with the calm authority of a man who had scored hundreds before. As the net rippled, the roar was deafening, not just for the goal, but for the sheer persistence of the giant who refused to let Portugal down. On that night, 19 November 2003, he scored four goals in an 8–0 win over Kuwait.

Reader's Guide

Pauleta started his career with local clubs in the Azores, then turned professional in the lower leagues. He was part of FC Porto's youth team for a brief stint yet left soon due to homesickness, signing his first professional contract with CU Micaelense in 1994 and spending one year there. He then moved to second division's G.D. Estoril Praia in 1995, helping them to the 12th position in his first and only season. The goals continued to flow following a switch to Spanish second level side UD Salamanca in 1996, with Pauleta scoring 19 goals as it gained promotion to La Liga in the following year, adding a further 15 in his first season in the top flight. That rate earned him a move to Deportivo de La Coruña, in summer 1998. He scored his first goal in European competition in the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, netting in a 3–1 home win against Montpellier HSC and repeating the feat in the second leg (2–0). On 22 November 1999 he netted a hat-trick for Depor in a home fixture against Sevilla FC, going on to enjoy a two-year spell with the Galicians which included 33 goals in 92 official matches, including eight from 12 starts as the club won its first league championship title in 2000. On 1 September 2000, after being tracked by the likes of Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Sunderland, Pauleta joined FC Girondins de Bordeaux in France, reportedly for financial and family reasons. He scored three as his new club crushed FC Nantes 5–0 in an away match, and some days later, on 26 September, did the same in a UEFA Cup first round match against Lierse SK, with his team qualifying for the next round; he enjoyed an impressive run in his first season, ending it as team top scorer with 26 goals in all competitions, and the Ligue 1's second leading scorer with 20. In the 2001–02 campaign, Pauleta was the league's top scorer with 22 goals. He also led the team charts in all competitions with 35 successful strikes – a record. Subsequently, he was voted the best player in the French League and was also awarded the 'Oscar of football' by fellow players and coaches, and was named one of the 50 players shortlisted for the 2002 European Footballer of the Year award (Ballon d'Or), with only one other player from the French League in the list; additionally, he won the French League Cup, being instrumental to the success by netting twice in the final. After these performances, Manchester C

Did You Know?

• Pauleta's nickname was passed down from generation to generation in the family of his father's maternal grandmother, while his goal celebration of spreading his arms like wings earned him the additional moniker The Eagle
• In November 2005, he signed to become a FIFA ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages, the first Portuguese to do so.
• Pauleta was the first Portugal national team player to never have played in the Portuguese top level when he made his international debut.