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Marco Soares
Personal information
Full name	Marco Paulo da Silva Soares
Date of birth	16 June 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth	Setúbal, Portugal
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Florgrade
Number	60
Youth career
1994–1995	GDR Portugal
1995–1996	Sporting CP
1996–1998	GDR Portugal
1998–2003	Barreirense
Senior career*
Years	Team
2003–2006	Barreirense
2006–2012	União Leiria
2006–2007	→ Olhanense (loan)
2008	→ Pandurii (loan)
2012–2013	Omonia
2014–2015	1º Agosto
2015–2018	AEL Limassol
2018–2019	Feirense
2019–2022	Arouca
2022–	Florgrade
International career
2006–2021	Cape Verde
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:49, 13 May 2024 (UTC)

Marco Paulo da Silva Soares (born 16 June 1984) is a professional footballer who plays for Portuguese club Florgrade FC as a defensive midfielder.

He spent most of his career in Portugal and Cyprus, making 60 Primeira Liga appearances for União de Leiria, Feirense and Arouca in the former and representing Omonia and AEL Limassol in the latter's First Division.

Soares earned 52 caps for Cape Verde from 2006, playing at the 2013 and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Club career

Born in Setúbal, Portugal, Soares started playing professionally with F.C. Barreirense, competing two seasons in the third division and one in the second. In 2006 he signed for U.D. Leiria, but only totalled two Primeira Liga appearances in his first two years, also serving two loans in the process, one of them in Romania with CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu.^[2]

Soares returned to Leiria for the 2008–09 campaign, helping União be promoted to the top flight after a one-year absence. Eventually, he would also become club captain.^[3]

On 31 October 2010, during a 1–2 home loss against Sporting CP – where he had played youth football – Soares fractured his left leg while attempting a shot, being sidelined for four months.^[4] After returning, he contributed 14 matches in 2011–12 as his team suffered relegation.

After a spell with AC Omonia in Cyprus, where he won the Super Cup in 2012, Soares signed a two-year deal with C.D. Primeiro de Agosto of the Angolan Girabola in November 2013. The team was managed by Daúto Faquirá, who had given him his debut at Barreirense.^[5]

In July 2015, Soares returned to the Eastern Mediterranean island to join AEL Limassol.^[6] As before, he won the Super Cup in his first summer at the club, this time beating APOEL FC in a penalty shootout.^[7]

Soares came back to Portugal after six years away in July 2018, signing a two-year contract for C.D. Feirense.^[8] In September the following year, after relegation from the top flight, he rescinded his link and moved to F.C. Arouca in the third tier.^[9] The 35-year-old extended his contract in May 2020, when a COVID-19-ended season resulted in promotion.^[10]

International career

Soares opted to represent Cape Verde internationally.^[11] He made his debut on 27 May 2006 in a friendly against Portugal, playing the last five minutes of a 4–1 loss as a substitute for Emerson da Luz. On 2 June 2007, he scored his first goal in a 2–2 home draw with Algeria in 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification. He was a member of the squad in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, scoring to conclude a 3–1 win over Mauritius also in Praia.^[12]

On 24 May 2010, Soares appeared in a friendly in Covilhã against the country of his birth, who were preparing for the World Cup in South Africa, playing the entire match as the minnows (ranked 117th) managed a 0–0 draw.^[13] He was part of Cape Verde's first major tournament squad at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, where the Blue Sharks reached the quarter-finals,^[14] but was overlooked for the 2015 edition.^[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 29 November 2015

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Barreirense	2003–04^[16]	Segunda Divisão	32	2	2	0	—		34	2
	2004–05^[16]	Segunda Divisão	34	4	0	0	—		34	4
	2005–06^[16]	Liga de Honra	30	2	1	0	—		31	2
	Total		96	8	3	0	—		99	8
União Leiria	2006–07^[16]	Primeira Liga	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2007–08^[16]	Primeira Liga	1	0	1	0	2^[a]	0	4	0
	2008–09^[16]	Segunda Liga	26	1	5	2	—		31	3
	2009–10^[16]	Primeira Liga	17	2	4	0	—		21	2
	2010–11^[16]	Primeira Liga	8	0	1	0	—		9	0
	2011–12^[16]	Primeira Liga	14	0	0	0	—		14	0
	Total		67	3	11	2	2	0	80	5
Olhanense (loan)	2006–07^[16]	Segunda Liga	15	2	1	0	—		16	2
Pandurii (loan)	2007–08^[16]	Liga I	1	0			—		1	0
Omonia	2012–13^[17]	Cypriot First Division	26	3	5	0	2^[b]	0	33	3
	2013–14^[17]	Cypriot First Division	14	1	0	0	2^[b]	0	16	1
	Total		40	4	5	0	4	0	49	4
1º Agosto	2014^[16]	Girabola	2	0			—		2	0
	2015^[16]	Girabola	4	0			—		4	0
	Total		6	0			—		6	0
AEL Limassol	2015–16^[17]	Cypriot First Division	11	0	1	0	—		12	0
Career total			236	17	21	2	6	0	263	19

^ Appearances in UEFA Cup
^ ^a ^b Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

Scores and results list Cape Verde's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Soares goal.

List of international goals scored by Marco Soares^[18]
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2 June 2007	Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde	Algeria	1–1	2–2	2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2	22 June 2008	Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde	Mauritius	3–1	3–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	2 June 2012	National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone	1–2	1–2	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Barreirense

Segunda Divisão: 2004–05

Omonia

Cypriot Super Cup: 2012^[7]

AEL Limassol

Cypriot Super Cup: 2015^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Marco Soares" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
^ "Condescu a plecat dupa portughezi" [Condescu got his Portuguese]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 4 January 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
^ "Há jogadores numa situação extrema», diz capitão da U. Leiria" ["Some players are in dire straits", says U. Leiria captain] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
^ "Marco Soares com fractura da tíbia e talvez do perónio" [Marco Soares with tibia fracture and possibly fibula]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). 31 October 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
^ Delgado, Evandro (27 November 2013). "Marco Soares no 1º de Agosto de Angola" [Marco Soares to Angola's 1º de Agosto] (in Portuguese). SAPO. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ "Marco Soares regressa ao Chipre para representar o AEL Limassol" [Marco Soares returns to Cyprus to represent AEL Limassol] (in Portuguese). Notícias do Norte. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Marco Soares conquista o primeiro trofeu pelo AEL Limassol" [Marco Soares wins first trophy for AEL Limassol] (in Portuguese). DTudo1Pouco. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ "Marco Soares reforça meio campo do Feirense" [Marco Soares bolsters Feirense's midfield]. Record (in Portuguese). 5 July 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ "Marco Soares tem um novo clube" [Marco Soares has a new club] (in Portuguese). DTudo1Pouco. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ Matos, Diogo (20 May 2020). "Marco Soares e o regresso do Arouca à 2.ª Liga: "Temos todas as condições para nos afirmarmos"" [Marco Soares and Arouca's return to the 2nd League: "We have all the conditions to affirm ourselves"]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ "Selecção nacional de futebol: divulgada lista para amistosos com Malta e Angola" [National football team: list for friendlies with Malta and Angola released]. Expresso das Ilhas (in Portuguese). 29 August 2009. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ "CAN2010 – Cabo Verde vence Maurícias" [ACN2010 – Cape Verde defeat Mauritius] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ "Portugal held to 0–0 draw by Cape Verde". USA Today. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ Hughes, Ian (2 February 2013). "Ghana 2–0 Cape Verde". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ Martins, Marco (8 January 2015). "Marco Soares: "Todos juntos com Cabo Verde"" [Marco Soares: "All together with Cape Verde"] (in Portuguese). Radio France Internationale. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Marco Soares at ForaDeJogo (archived)
^ ^a ^b ^c "Marco Soares". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
^ Marco Soares at National-Football-Teams.com