João Lucas

Infobox Football biography
playername = João Lucas
fullname = João Nuno Silva Cardoso Lucas
height = height|m=1.69
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1979|10|25
cityofbirth = Caldas da Rainha
countryofbirth = Portugal
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs = Academica
years = 1999-2004
2004-2007
2007-2008
clubs = Academica
Boavista
Red Star Belgrade
caps(goals) = 133 (13)
080 0(4)
022 0(1)

João Nuno Silva Cardoso Lucas or simply Lucas (born October 25, 1979 in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal) is a retired Portuguese footballer who has played for Académica de Coimbra, Boavista FC and Red Star Belgrade. Lucas usually played as a defensive-midfielder or center-midfielder. He was known for his aggressive style of play.

Lucas began his career at Academica in 1999 where he played until 2004. He was influential in the center of the pitch and after five impressive years at the club, he signed for Boavista FC. At the time Boavista were regulars in the UEFA Champions League. Lucas showed great qualities for his team in this competition and soon gained attention from bigger clubs such as Benfica, Sevilla FC and Newcastle United but opted to stay with Boavista FC. He had strong showings in the UEFA Cup and in his first season he was an important starter as the team reached the semifinals of the UEFA Cup.

In the summer transfer season, Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade signed him. Prior to joining Red Star, several clubs such as Racing Santander, Celta Vigo, Tottenham Hotspur and Reading FC were interested in him. Lucas stated that he was proud and anxious to return to the UEFA Champions League competition and quickly said that he truly believes Red Star is a great football club with a great tradition. He concluded by stating that he came to show Europe his spirit and talent assured that he will not let anybody down, but that first, the team has to go through the qualifiers.

On 17 March 2008, Lucas da Silva announced his decision to stop playing football. The 28 year old midfielder had heart problems and the doctors told him he would risk his life if he continued playing. "This is the most difficult moment of my life but I have to thank everyone at Red Star who stood by me in the past two months," Lucas told a news conference. [cite web|url=http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=715575.html|title=Lucas ends career over heart problem|date=2008-03-17|accessdate=2008-03-20|author=Reuters|publisher=FIFA.com]

References