Nani
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Portuguese footballer. For other uses, see Nani (disambiguation).
This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Almeida and the second or paternal family name is Cunha.
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha[1][2] | ||
| Date of birth | 17 November 1986 [1] | ||
| Place of birth | Praia, Cape Verde[1] | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[3][4] | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Manchester United | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2003 | Real Massamá[5] | ||
| 2003–2005 | Sporting CP[5] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2007 | Sporting CP | 58 | (9) |
| 2007– | Manchester United | 95 | (17) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006–2007 | Portugal U21 | 10 | (1) |
| 2006– | Portugal | 46 | (9) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 June 2011 | |||
Nani was born in Cape Verde and emigrated to Europe with his family at an early age. He was raised in Portugal and began his football career playing for local side Real Massamá. At the age of 16, he began training with Sporting CP and Benfica on alternate days, eventually joining Sporting's youth squad after they offered him pre-season training. In 2005, he made his professional debut with the club and won the Portuguese Cup during his second season with them. Nani was named the SJPF Young Player of the Month for May 2007 and his performances with Sporting culminated into a move to English club side Manchester United in July 2007 for a fee of €25.5 million. Nani won the Community Shield on his competitive debut at the club and has since added a number of trophies which included the Premier League and Champions League during his debut season at the club. He has established himself as first-choice winger at Manchester United and has won a further Premier League title, the Football League Cup, one FIFA Club World Cup, and two Community Shield titles. Individually, Nani has been included into the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Premier League Team of the Year on one occasion and was a nominee for the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2011.
Nani is also a Portugal international. Prior to playing at senior level, he played at under-21 level. He made his senior international debut in Portugal debut in September 2006 in a friendly match against Denmark and scored his first international goal during the 4–2 defeat in Copenhagen. Since his debut, he has made 45 appearances and scored 9 goals for Portugal.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Early life
Nani was born on 17 November 1986 in Praia, Cape Verde, off the west coast of Africa.[6] Nani emigrated with his family to Portugal at an early age. Nani was raised by his aunt Antonia in the Santa Filomena estate in the Amadora district of Lisbon after being abandoned by his parents.[7] At the age of five, his father left for a holiday in Cape Verde but never returned and when he was 12 years old his mother left Portugal to start a new life in Holland.[7] Nani has eight siblings from his mother, of which he is the youngest, and five from his father.[8] Nani gained his nickname from an elder sister at a young age.[9]Nani's older brother taught him how to play football and he played with his childhood friend, midfielder Manuel Fernandes.[6][8] Around the age of 14, Nani's older brother took him to train with Real Massamá.[9] They were Nani's first club and gave him money, food, and helped him obtain an ID Card and a passport.[8] At the age of 16, Nani was training on alternate days with Sporting and Benfica.[9] Nani sometimes walked miles to and from practice before Sporting offered him pre-season training.[9] Despite growing up in Lisbon, Nani and his brother supported Porto as a boy and his footballing hero was Luis Figo.[7][10]
[edit] Club career
[edit] Sporting CP
Nani first came into the spotlight after scoring in the Champions League against Spartak Moscow,[16] netting Sporting's goal in a 1–1 group stage tie on 27 September 2006.[17] Nani helped Sporting win the 2006–07 Portuguese Cup,[16] lifting the trophy after a 1–0 win over Belenenses on 27 May 2007 in the final.[18] Nani was then named as the SJPF Young Player of the Month for May 2007.[19] Nani's second season with Sporting ended with similar league statistics and 40 appearances and six goals in all competitions.[20]
[edit] Manchester United
[edit] Early years
Nani was sold to Manchester United for €25.5 million,[21][22] five percent of which was paid to Real de Massamá.[23] He passed his medical on 6 June 2007,[24] and signed a five-year contract a month later, joining Portugal team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo—with whom he lived for a time at the start of his Manchester United career—at the club.[25][26]
Nani's Premier League debut came in United's opening match at home to Reading on 12 August as a substitute for Wayne Rooney, who had suffered a foot injury.[31] Two weeks later, on 26 August, Nani scored his first competitive goal for United, netting a 30-yard winner in the 69th minute against Tottenham Hotspur. Nani also set up crucial goals for Louis Saha and Nemanja Vidić allowing United to beat both Sunderland and Everton 1–0.[32][33] He returned to his previous club, Sporting, in a Champions League tie in September, though it was team-mate and fellow former Sporting man Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner in a 1–0 victory.[34] Nani opened the scoring in a 4–1 home victory over Middlesbrough on 27 October.[35]
Nani scored his first goal of the 2008–09 season on 23 September 2008, scoring United's third goal in a 3–1 win over Middlesbrough in the last minute to secure passage to the Fourth Round of the Carling Cup.[41] On 18 October, he scored from a Wayne Rooney assist to complete the 4–0 rout of West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford.[42] On 20 January 2009, he opened the scoring for United in their 4–2 win at home to Derby County in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final.[43]
[edit] Breakthrough
After Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Real Madrid in the 2009 close season, the weight of expectation was on Nani to step up from bit part player and replace his fellow Portuguese.[44] Nani's first contribution to United's new season was opening the scoring in the 10th minute of the 2009 FA Community Shield, but United eventually lost the match on penalties after a 2–2 draw. Nani suffered a dislocated shoulder during the match, which was originally expected to keep him out of the start of the season.[45] He recovered in time to play 17 minutes for Portugal against Liechtenstein on 12 August, however,[46] and started the match against Birmingham City on 16 August. Although he provided the assist for Rooney's winning goal in the 34th minute, Nani was replaced by Ryan Giggs at half-time.[47] On 22 August, Nani scored his first league goal of the 2009–10 season, netting a free-kick against Wigan Athletic in a 5–0 away win.[48]Following several poor performances, Nani criticised Sir Alex Ferguson and his man management tactics.[49] Despite this outburst Nani was given a chance to shine and provided an assist for Rooney in the 4–0 league win over Hull City.[50] Soon after this positive display he put in another good performance in their League Cup semi-final victory over derby rivals Manchester City, revealing a heart-to-heart with Sir Alex Ferguson had resulted in a better display of form.[51] On 31 January 2010, Nani scored the first goal and set up Rooney's 100th career Premier League strike in a 3–1 league victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.[52] Nani's goal was first thought of as a Manuel Almunia own-goal by many sources, but was confirmed as belonging to Nani on 26 March by the Dubious Goals Panel.[53][54] Following this performance, Nani then set up the second of a 5–0 home win over Portsmouth.[55]
"Maturity is why we're seeing the best of him now, his last three games have been absolutely first class but today was his best."
– Sir Alex Ferguson praises Nani after his performance in the 3-1 victory over Arsenal on 31 January 2010.[56]
On 26 March, Nani signed a new four-year contract with United, committing himself until 2014.[60] A day later, Nani took his assist tally in the league for the season to nine as he set up two goals in a 4–0 win over Bolton at the Reebok Stadium, providing goals for Dimitar Berbatov and Darron Gibson.[61] On 7 April, Nani scored his first ever European goals for United, netting two strikes in a 3–2 victory over Bayern Munich. Despite United winning the game, they were eliminated from the competition due to the away goals rule when the aggregate score was 4–4.[62] On 24 April, Nani scored his first league goal at Old Trafford for 18 months, netting United's second in a 3–1 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur.[63] On 2 May, Nani scored for the second game in a row, netting the only goal in a 1–0 away victory over Sunderland.[64] Nani's third season with Manchester United ended with 34 appearances and seven goals in all competitions.[65]
[edit] 2010–11 season
On 22 January, Nani scored the final goal of a 5–0 home victory over Birmingham City.[75] Nani netted United's only goal in their first league loss of the season, a 2–1 defeat at Wolves on 5 February.[76] Seven days later Nani scored his first Manchester derby goal, opening the scoring in a 2–1 home victory over Manchester City.[77] On 6 March, during United's 3–1 loss against Liverpool at Anfield, Nani was stretchered off the field following a challenge from Jamie Carragher just before half-time.[78] It was thought that Nani would miss up to three weeks as a result of this tackle and would return in April,[79] however, he recovered in time to play 61 minutes of a 2–1 victory over Marseille on 15 March.[80] He was revealed as a contender for the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Young Player of the Year award alongside teammate Javier Hernández on 8 April.[81] However, many people, including Nani, expressed their surprise that he was not nominated for the main award.[82][83] Following this nomination, he assisted both goals in a 2–0 home win over Fulham on 9 April.[84] Nani lost out to Jack Wilshere for the PFA Young Player of the Year award on 18 April but he was however included into the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for the first time.[85] He was awarded for his outstanding season as he was voted Players' Player of the Year at the club's awards night on 18 May.[86]
[edit] International career
[edit] Portugal under–21
Nani was the youngest member of the Portugal squad at the 2006 UEFA Under-21 Championship, making his debut on 23 May 2006 in a 0–1 defeat to France U21.[87] He appeared in all three games, scoring no goals, before Portugal bowed out in group stages.[88] During the 2007 European Under-21 Football Championship, he made four appearances,[89] scoring one goal in a 4–0 victory against Israel U21 in a group stage match on 16 June 2007,[90] and had to be taken off during the match after an right ankle injury.[91][edit] Portugal senior team
[edit] Euro 2008
Nani was a regular member of the Portuguese squad in Euro 2008 qualification, and scored one of the goals in the 2–1 away win over Belgium on 2 June 2007.[95] Nani received a call-up to Luiz Felipe Scolari's 23-man squad for Euro 2008 alongside Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.[96] During the campaign Nani played three games and started just one,[88] but did provide the assist for Hélder Postiga's goal during a substitute appearance in the 3–2 quarter-final defeat to Germany on 19 June.[97][edit] Post Euro 2008–2010
Nani's fourth international goal came in Portugal's final friendly game before their World Cup qualifying campaign started, a 5-0 victory over the Faroe Islands on 20 August 2008.[98] Nani scored the final goal of a 4–0 victory over Malta as Portugal started qualification for the 2010 World Cup on 6 September.[99] He opened the scoring in the 3-2 home loss against Denmark four days later.[100] Nani helped Portugal book a play-off place for the World Cup as he netted in the 4-0 home win over Malta on 14 October 2009.[101] Nani was influential in the play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina, setting up Bruno Alves for the only goal in the first leg.[102] Raul Meireles' goal in the second-leg sealed Portugal's place at the World Cup in South Africa.[103] On 1 June 2010, Nani netted Portugal's third in a 3–1 victory over Cameroon.[104] Following that game Nani was named in Carlos Queiroz 23-man squad for the tournament,[105] However on 8 June, Nani was ruled out of the tournament through a shoulder injury and was replaced by Benfica midfielder Ruben Amorim.[106][edit] 2010–present
Nani scored twice in Paulo Bento's first game in charge of Portgual in a 3–1 Euro 2012 qualifying win over Denmark on 8 October 2010.[107][edit] International goals
[edit] Under–21
| [show]# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|
[edit] Senior team
| [show]# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|
[edit] Style of play
"Nani's got the potential to do what he wants. He's one of the sharpest players around, has a great strike with both feet - he's got the potential to be a top, top player."
– Manchester United team-mate Rio Ferdinand on Nani[108]
In Ronaldo's absence, however, Nani's style has developed into a more classical winger's style, able to play on both wings though more comfortable on the right, utilising pace, ball control and trickery to create space. While capable of cutting off both wings to strike at goal from distance, Nani has substantially fewer goals, yet a substantially higher proportion of assists than his former colleague.[109]
[edit] Celebration
Nani celebrates with a mortal (English: Leap of death), similar to that of Obafemi Martins and Lomana LuaLua. The celebration derives from Nani's background in capoeira, which he used to practice as a child.[110] For a while, it was reported that United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, had banned Nani's celebration due to fear for his safety.[111] Nani denounced the reports in August 2007, stating that it was "not true" and that "Ferguson has never spoken to me about this subject and I am going to continue to celebrate goals in this way. The conversations he has had with me are normal conversations, like he has with all players."[112][edit] Career statistics
[edit] Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other[nb 1] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting CP | 2005–06 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 1 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 36 | 5 | ||
| 2006–07 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 0 | – | 6 | 1 | – | 40 | 6 | |||
| Total | 58 | 9 | 10 | 1 | – | 8 | 1 | – | 76 | 11 | |||
| Manchester United | 2007–08 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 4 |
| 2008–09 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 6 | |
| 2009–10 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 7 | |
| 2010–11 | 33 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 10 | |
| Total | 95 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 37 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 154 | 27 | |
| Career total | 153 | 26 | 17 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 45 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 230 | 38 | |
[edit] International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 2006 | 5 | 1 |
| 2007 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 11 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 8 | 3 | |
| 2011 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 9 | |
- As of 29 March 2011[114]
[edit] Honours
[edit] Club
- Sporting CP
- Taça de Portugal (1): 2006–07
- Manchester United
- Premier League (3): 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
- Football League Cup (1): 2008–09
- FA Community Shield (3): 2007, 2008, 2010
- UEFA Champions League (1): 2007–08
- FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008
[edit] Individual
- SJPF Young Player of the Month (1): May 2007
- PFA Premier League Team of the Year (1): 2010–11
- Players' Player of the Year (1): 2010–11[115]
