Almami Moreira

Almami Moreira

Moreira after a game with Partizan in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Almami Samori da Silva Moreira
Date of birth	(1978-06-16) 16 June 1978
Place of birth	Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
1991–1994	Sacavenense
1994–1997	Boavista
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2001	Boavista	17	(1)
1997–1998	→ Gondomar (loan)	21	(4)
1998–1999	→ Gil Vicente (loan)	33	(9)
2001–2006	Standard Liège	114	(18)
2004–2005	→ Hamburger SV (loan)	22	(3)
2006	Dynamo Moscow	1	(0)
2007	Aves	8	(3)
2007–2011	Partizan	88	(23)
2011	Dalian Aerbin	22	(4)
2012	Vojvodina	22	(1)
2013	Salamanca	15	(4)
2014	Atlético	11	(3)
Total		374	(73)
National team
1998–1999	Portugal U21	12	(5)
2002	Portugal B	2	(0)
2010–2011	Guinea-Bissau	6	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Almami Samori da Silva Moreira (born 16 June 1978) is a Guinea-Bissauan retired footballer who played as a midfielder. He also held Portuguese citizenship.

After starting out at Boavista he went on to represent mainly Standard Liège and Partizan, also playing professionally in four other countries during his career.

Club career

Boavista

Born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Moreira reached Boavista FC's youth ranks in 1994, but started out professionally with northern neighbours Gondomar S.C. and Gil Vicente FC, on loan.

He returned in 1999 and went on to have relative impact in the first team, being mainly used as a substitute and being part of the squad as the club won the Primeira Liga in his last year, although he did not appear in any matches whatsoever.

Belgium / Russia

With the start of the new millennium Moreira moved to Standard Liège,^[1] where he quickly became a fan favourite, going on to spend five years in Belgium, a loan to Hamburger SV in 2004–05 notwithstanding.^[2]

In August 2006, he joined Russia's FC Dynamo Moscow, a club that was signing a large number of Portuguese and Portugal-based players at the time. Unsettled as the vast majority of those, he returned to his country of adoption in January, as lowly C.D. Aves battled to avoid relegation from the top level, which eventually did not happen.

Partizan Belgrade

On 5 July 2007, Moreira signed a two-year contract with FK Partizan in Serbia, being handed the #10 shirt whilst also becoming the first Portuguese player to represent the club.^[3] He made his competitive debut on 19 July in a game against HŠK Zrinjski Mostar, and scored his first official goal on 2 August in a UEFA Cup game against the same club.

On 29 September 2007, Moreira scored against city rivals Red Star in a 2–2 draw – this made him the first ever Portuguese to score in a Belgrade derby. In his first season at the club he appeared 28 times and netted seven goals, as Partizan won the league title; to this he added the domestic cup.

In a UEFA Cup match at Sevilla FC, on 3 December 2008, Moreira collapsed early into the game, being immediately taken into observation,^[4] and fully recovering. On 10 April 2009 he agreed to sign a new three-year contract, which would keep him with Partizan until 2012.^[5]

Following impressive and consistent performances, Moreira was named in the 2008–09 SuperLiga Team of the Year, alongside seven teammates, as the double was again conquered. On 5 August 2009, grieving the loss of his mother a day earlier, he decided to play in the second leg of Partizan's UEFA Champions League qualifier against APOEL FC: he scored the opener in the third minute, but the Cypriots eventually progressed 2–1 on aggregate.

On 27 February 2010, Moreira made his 100th competitive match for Partizan, coming on as an 55th-minute substitute for Saša Ilić against FK Borac Čačak.

Later years

Moreira split the following years with Dalian Aerbin F.C. in China and another team in Serbia, FK Vojvodina.^[6] In late 2012 the 34-year-old moved clubs and countries again, joining Spain's UD Salamanca.^[7]

Moreira retired in 2013 at the age of 35, being named Atlético Clube de Portugal's director of football. He came out of retirement in January of the following year, after being convinced by newly appointed coach Neca.^[8]

International career

Moreira played for Portugal under-21s on nearly 20 occasions in the late 90's, and in 2002 he was part of the national B-team that won the Vale do Tejo summer tournament.^[9]

In 2010, with the increasing development and professionalization of football in Guinea-Bissau, he decided to represent the land of his ancestors at full level, earning his first cap in October of that year, at the age of 32.

Club statistics

As of 19 May 2013^[10]

Honours

Club

Boavista

• Primeira Liga: 2000–01

Partizan

• Serbian SuperLiga: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Serbian Cup: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11

Dalian Aerbin

• China League One: 2011

Individual

• Man of the Season – Most regular Standard player of the season (through voting in official website): 2001–02; Runner-up 2002–03, 2003–04; Third 2005–06
• Trophy Scharlaken UGH – Standard player of the season (presented by Les Rouches de Flandres fanclub in cooperation with the official website): 2001–02, 2002–03

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Almami Moreira.

• Almami Moreira at thefinalball.com
  
• Almami Moreira profile at ForaDeJogo
  
• Almami Moreira profile at Fussballdaten
• Almami Moreira at National-Football-Teams.com
• Almami Moreira – FIFA competition record