João Moutinho

Football player infobox
playername = João Moutinho


fullname = João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1986|9|8
cityofbirth = Barreiro
countryofbirth = Portugal
height = Height|m=1.70
currentclub = Sporting CP
clubnumber = 28
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs = Sporting CP B
years = 2004–
clubs = Sporting CP
caps(goals) = 107 (13)
nationalyears = 2005–
nationalteam = Portugal
nationalcaps(goals) = 19 (1)
pcupdate = July 1, 2008
ntupdate = September 16, 2008

João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho (born September 8, 1986 in Portimão) is a Portuguese footballer, and is an all-round midfielder for Sporting Club de Portugal and the Portugal National Football Team

Club career

Youth

After showing great promise as a boy playing for his hometown club,when João Moutinho turned 14 he signed with Sporting Clube de Portugal to continue his football education. His sports-fanatic parents (his father, Nélson Moutinho, played for arch-rivals Benfica youth team) played an important part in his choice too. A promising talent indeed.

Senior squad

During the 2004-05 pre-season, only 17 years old, Moutinho was called by then-manager José Peseiro onto the first squad, where he played some preseason games and began to display some talent for a such a young player. After the pre-season, however, he returned to the junior team, at the time coached by Paulo Bento, with players such as Miguel Veloso and Nani. He helped the team win the national title that season, although he was regularly training with the main squad.

In the beginning of 2005 he was called up for a game in the Portuguese Cup, thus making his official debut on 23 January 2005. Based on extremely consistent displays, Moutinho wasted no time in establishing himself as a regular as he quickly grew into a polished performer, able to play in any position across a flat midfield or in a diamond formation. His box-to-box dynamism and tremendous determination quickly made him a firm fans' favourite, as he rarely missed a game since becoming a first-choice player.

His performances in the closing stages of 2004-05, especially in the UEFA Cup with man-of-the-match displays against Feyenoord and Newcastle United that helped the "Lions" reach the final of the competition, made him an automatic starter for Sporting despite his young age.

In his second season Moutinho's further progress and exceptional consistency (the midfielder was the only player in Portugal in 2005-06 to play every minute of every match in the Portuguese league) was one of the brightest spots in Sporting's runner-up final place. Incidentally, Moutinho netted his team's final goal of the campaign in a 1-0 win over SC Braga to ensure a return to Champions League football for the Lisbon club.

In 2006-07, following the departure of veteran Ricardo Sá Pinto, Moutinho was made vice-captain at just 19 years of age (in 2007-08, after Custódio and Ricardo left, he would be named captain, the second youngest in the history of the club's professional football, behind legendary Francisco Stromp).

In 2007-08, with Leandro Romagnoli (another attacking midfielder) also in the starting eleven, Moutinho, more often than not, moved from his natural behind the forwards midfielder role to right midfielder, where he still managed to deliver impressive performances. During this season, Moutinho further established himself as somewhat of a symbol for the club and its supporters, earning plaudits as one of the Portuguese Liga top players with his impressive regularity and quality performances.

Honours

*Portuguese Cup 2006, 2007
*Portuguese SuperCup 2007, 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.moutinho28.com Official website]
* [http://www.portugoal.net/PlayerProfiles/Joao-Moutinho.htm PortuGoal.net profile]
* [http://www.zerozero.eu/uk/jogador.php?id=7608 Stats and profile at zerozero.pt]