José Filipe da Silva MoreiraOIH (born 20 March 1982) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
He spent most of his career with Benfica, appearing in 148 competitive matches and making his Primeira Liga debut at 19. He also competed in Wales and Cyprus.
In 1997, aged 15, Moreira caught the eye of the biggest Portuguese teams — Sporting CP, FC Porto, Boavista F.C. and S.L. Benfica. The latter made the best bid to Salgueiros and won the race to sign him, but it was later decided it was best to keep him at the club for two more years; when he arrived to the Estádio da Luz he was called for a mini-tour with the main squad in the Azores, going on to make his unofficial senior debut.[2]
Benfica
In 1999, Moreira was selected by Portugal under–18 coach Agostinho Oliveira for the UEFA European Championship in Sweden, with the national team winning the title.[3] Subsequently, he returned to Benfica, being called by Jupp Heynckes to join the pre-season tour in Austria; at the time, two of the three senior goalkeepers were not available (Carlos Bossio was in Argentina and Nuno Santos was injured, leaving Robert Enke as the only available keeper).[4][5] He was an unused substitute in several matches during August/December 1999, but would only play two years later in a home game against Vitória de Guimarães, replacing the injured Enke after 24 minutes and delivering a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw.[6]
Moreira conquered the junior national championship in 2000,[2] adding the following year's Toulon Tournament with the under-21s after beating Colombia in the final.[7] He started on 9 March 2002 in the 2–0 away win over Gil Vicente F.C.[8] and, when German Enke left at the end of the season for Spain's FC Barcelona, he became first-choice from then on.[9]
With the arrival of Quim from S.C. Braga in August 2004, Moreira began suffering stiff competition for the starting job.[14] He contributed 15 games as the side won the Primeira Liga title after 11 years but, on 18 October 2005, underwent surgery to his right knee, missing most of 2005–06.[15]
Upon his return,[16] Moreira found himself having to compete for backup duties with recently signed Brazilian Marcelo Moretto, the same happening in the 2006–07 season. Moretto was then loaned to Greece's AEK Athens F.C. in August 2007.[17]
The 2007–08 campaign brought a new challenge to Moreira, as the club signed 33-year-old Hans-Jörg Butt, known for taking free kicks and penalties. He suffered another injury during pre-season, this time on his left knee, which forced him to again undergo surgery and be sidelined for four months.[18][19]
In a turbulent 2008–09, where all three goalkeepers went from first to third-choice in a matter of weeks, Moreira appeared in 14 league matches as Benfica finished third. Following the arrival of another Brazilian, Júlio César, from C.F. Os Belenenses in the next off-season alongside manager Jorge Jesus, he further fell down the pecking order.[20] In June 2010, as his contract was not renewed, he was on the verge of leaving after 12 years,[21] with speculation arising that he would join Lisbon neighbours Sporting;[22] after Quim was released, however, he put pen to paper a new three-year deal.[23]
On 12 August 2009, five years after his Euro 2004 selection, Moreira finally made his full debut, playing 30 minutes in a friendly win in Liechtenstein (3–0).[39]
Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
^Morgado, José (17 May 2016). "José Moreira é reforço por dois anos" [José Moreira is an addition for two years]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 September 2016.
^Lima, Fábio (25 June 2018). "Moreira reforça o Cova da Piedade" [Moreira strengthens Cova da Piedade]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 June 2018.
^Gonçalves, André (28 July 2019). "José Moreira abandona o futebol" [José Moreira leaves football] (in Portuguese). One Football. Retrieved 1 November 2019.