Hélder Cristóvão

Football player infobox
playername = Hélder


fullname = Hélder Marino Rodrigues Cristóvão
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1971|3|21
cityofbirth = Luanda
countryofbirth = Angola
height = height|meters=1.85
position = Defender (retired)
youthyears =
youthclubs =
clubnumber =
years = 1989-1992
1992-1996
1997-2002
1999-2000
2002-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
clubs = Estoril-Praia
SL Benfica
Deportivo La Coruña
→Newcastle United "(loan)"
SL Benfica
Paris Saint-Germain
Larissa FC
Career
caps(goals) = 0081 0(5)
0125 0(9)
0067 0(1)
0008 0(1)
0041 0(2)
0016 0(1)
0009 0(0)
0347 (19)
manageryears =
managerclubs =
nationalyears = 1992-2001
nationalteam = flagicon|Portugal Portugal
nationalcaps(goals) = 0035 0(3)|

Hélder Marino Rodrigues Cristóvão, better known as Hélder (born March 21, 1971 in Luanda), is a retired Portuguese footballer of Angolan descent, who played as a central defender.

Club career

Hélder first attracted attention as a GD Estoril-Praia player, moving to SL Benfica in 1992-93, where he stayed until 1996-97.

In January 1997, he moved to Deportivo de La Coruña. In the 1999-2000 season, he moved on loan to Newcastle United, making 12 appearances and scoring one goal before returning to Deportivo.

In 2002-03, Hélder returned to Benfica at the end of his career, aged 31, playing there until 2003-04 and joining Paris Saint-Germain FC the following season. He played his last season for Greece's Larissa FC in 2005-06, making 9 appearances and retiring at the end of the season.

He won the Portuguese championship and the Cup of Portugal in 1993, 1996 and 2004, all with Benfica. As a Deportivo La Coruña player, he also won the Spanish league, in 1999-2000.

International career

Hélder appeared 35 times for the Portuguese national team, scoring 3 goals. His first game was on February 12, 1992, a 2-0 win over the Netherlands, in a friendly match, and his last game a 0-4 loss to France, in Paris, on April 25, 2001, in another friendly. He played at the Euro 1996 finals.

External links

* [http://www.zerozero.eu/uk/jogador.php?id=55&search=1 Stats and profile at zerozero.pt]