Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira (Portuguese pronunciation:[fɨɾˈnɐ̃duˈmɐjɾɐ]; born 5 June 1978) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender.
In his country, he represented most notably Vitória de Guimarães, also playing one year with Benfica. After a lengthy spell in Germany with VfB Stuttgart, he went on to appear for teams in Turkey, Russia and Spain.[3]
Born in Guimarães, Meira began his professional career with hometown's Vitória Sport Clube, but only had one solid season with its first team, in 1999–2000 (precisely his last), as he appeared in 30 of his 53 games with the Minho side. In 1998 he was also loaned, to F.C. Felgueiras of the Segunda Liga, being an essential defensive unit as they narrowly missed out on promotion after finishing fifth.[5]
In the summer of 2000, Meira joined Primeira Liga giants S.L. Benfica for a €4 million transfer fee plus one player. He played 31 matches in his first season – 30 starts – and was also awarded team captaincy,[6] but the Lisbon club did not win any silverware during his stint.
VfB Stuttgart
In January 2002, Meira signed for VfB Stuttgart in Germany for €7.5 million;[7] it was the Bundesliga club's record transfer fee until July 2007, when they signed Ciprian Marica from FC Shakhtar Donetsk for €8 million,[8] and general manager Rolf Rüssmann described the player as a "trophy" signing, showing great ambitions for the future.[9] He made his league debut on the 26th in a 3–0 home win against Hamburger SV, playing the entire game as a stopper.[10][11]
Meira scored his first goal for Stuttgart on 23 February 2002, in a 1–1 draw at FC Hansa Rostock where he also conceded a penalty which resulted in the opponents' goal.[12] His second came on 7 April in a 2–0 away victory over SC Freiburg,[13] and he finished his first year with 14 league appearances to help his side finish in eighth position.
For 2006–07, Meira was named captain by manager Armin Veh,[16] making him the first Portuguese ever to achieve that feat in the Bundesliga.[17] He appeared in 20 games and added three goals as the Baden-Württemberg club was crowned national champions for the first in 15 years,[18] adding four in a runner-up run in the DFB-Pokal.
Over a six-and-a-half-year spell, Meira made 230 competitive appearances and scored 13 goals.[19] He left the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in summer 2008, aged 30.
Galatasaray
On 20 July 2008, at the end of the 2007–08 season, Stuttgart stripped Meira of the captaincy and announced their intention to sell the player.[20] Two days later, he agreed to a four-year deal at Galatasaray SK for €4.5 million.[21][22]
In mid-March 2009, after reported interest from FC Zenit Saint Petersburg as the player grew unsettled in Istanbul,[24][25] Meira signed for the Russian club for €4.5 million,[26] being awarded the number 3 shirt previously worn by Martin Škrtel.[27]
On 15 August 2011, aged 33, Meira joined Real Zaragoza from Spain after mutually terminating his contract with Zenit.[29] He made his official debut 13 days later, starting and being booked in a 6–0 home loss against Real Madrid.[30]
In his spell with the Aragonese, Meira featured almost exclusively as a defensive midfielder, partnering Leonardo Ponzio.[31][32] He terminated his contract on 1 February 2012, as the side were placed last in the league;[33] later that year, not being able to find a new club, he retired from football.
Meira was selected for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Benefitting from injury to Jorge Andrade, he appeared in all of Portugal's seven matches in the tournament as the national team finished fourth.[35]
Meira was also a regular fixture at UEFA Euro 2008 held in Austria and Switzerland, taking part in the first three matches but missing the quarter-final clash with Germany, a 3–2 defeat.[36][37][38]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[39][40][41]
^"Fernando Meira Galatasaray'da!" [Fernando Meira signs with Galatasaray!] (in Turkish). Galatasaray S.K. 22 July 2008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
^Castarlenas Vaquero, Francisco Javier (27 September 2011). "Aguirre encuentra el equilibrio con Ponzio y Meira" [Aguirre finds the balance with Ponzio and Meira] (in Spanish). Aragón Digital. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
