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Bruno Caires
Personal information
Full name	Bruno Ricardo Mendonça de Caires
Date of birth	2 April 1976 (age 48)
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Youth career
1991–1994	Benfica
Senior career*
Years	Team
1994–1997	Benfica
1994–1995	→ Belenenses (loan)
1997–1999	Celta
1999–2000	→ Tenerife (loan)
2000–2004	Sporting CP
2001–2004	Sporting B
2002–2003	→ Maia (loan)
2003	→ Covilhã (loan)
2004–2005	Louletano
Total
International career
1991–1992	Portugal U16
1992	Portugal U17
1992–1993	Portugal U18
1994–1995	Portugal U20
1995–1997	Portugal U21
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Portugal
FIFA U-20 World Cup
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bruno Ricardo Mendonça de Caires (born 2 April 1976) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Club career

A product of S.L. Benfica's youth system, Lisbon-born Caires was initially loaned to C.F. Os Belenenses in his first year as senior, where he made his Primeira Liga debuts. He returned in the 1995 summer, playing 24 competitive games during the season to help his team finish in second position.^[1]

In the 1997 summer, Caires signed for Celta de Vigo, who paid €3.5 million for his services. He made his La Liga debut on 9 November by coming on as a late substitute in a 3–1 away win against CD Tenerife,^[2] but his spell in Spain was plagued by injury problems, and he was also loaned to precisely Tenerife in January 2000.^[3]

Subsequently, Caires returned to Lisbon, signing for Sporting Clube de Portugal. He mainly played for its B-side in competitive matches, his only first-team appearances being against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League^[4] and F.C. Famalicão in the Portuguese Cup. He retired in 2005 at the age of only 29 after spells with F.C. Maia, S.C. Covilhã and Louletano DC, the latter two clubs competing in the third tier.

International career

Caires participated with the Portugal under-20 team at the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship, contributing with six games to an eventual third-place finish in Qatar. All youth categories comprised, he gained 52 caps and scored two goals.^[5]

Personal life

He is the son of Eurico Caires, a footballer who represented clubs in Portugal, Canada and the United States.

Honours

Benfica

Taça de Portugal: 1995–96

References

^ Tovar, Rui Miguel (2012). Almanaque do Benfica. Portugal: Lua de Papel. p. 547. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.
^ "El Celta ridiculizó al Tenerife" [Celta ridiculed Tenerife]. ABC (in Spanish). 10 November 1997. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
^ "Bruno Caires" (in Spanish). Yo Jugué en el Celta. 30 December 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
^ "Sporting 2–2 Real Madrid". UEFA.com. 12 September 2000. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
^ "Bruno Caires". FPF.pt. Retrieved 21 June 2018.