PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Stopira
Personal information
Full name	Ianique dos Santos Tavares
Date of birth	20 May 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth	Praia, Cape Verde
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Left-back
Team information
Current team	Torreense
Number	2
Senior career*
Years	Team
2006–2008	Sporting Praia
2008–2010	Santa Clara
2010–2011	Deportivo La Coruña B
2011–2012	Feirense
2012–2023	Fehérvár
2024–	Torreense
International career‡
2008–	Cape Verde
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:11, 3 September 2024 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 04:53, 12 September 2023 (UTC)

Ianique dos Santos Tavares (born 20 May 1988), commonly known as Stopira, is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Liga Portugal 2 club Torreense.

He spent most of his career in Hungary with Fehérvár, having signed for the club in 2012.^[2]

Club career

Stopira was born in Praia. In 2008, he signed for Portugal's C.D. Santa Clara from local Sporting Clube da Praia, playing just six matches in his first season but being first choice in the following, as the Azores team competed in the Segunda Liga.^[3]^[4]

On 10 July 2010, after a thwarted transfer to Primeira Liga club Vitória de Guimarães, Stopira signed a four-year contract with Deportivo de La Coruña in Spain, with 75% of his right being owned by IberSports.^[5] He spent his only season, however, with the reserves in the Segunda División B.^[6]^[7]

Stopira joined newly promoted C.D. Feirense ahead of the 2011–12 campaign, on a one-year deal.^[8] He made his debut in the Portuguese top flight on 20 August 2011, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–1 away loss against S.L. Benfica.^[9]

In summer 2012, Stopira moved to Videoton FC in Hungary. He remained there until his retirement, notably winning the 2014–15 and 2017–18 editions of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I.^[10]^[11]^[12]

International career

Stopira received his first call-up to the Cape Verde national team in May 2008, for a friendly with Luxembourg and a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Cameroon.^[13]^[14] He was an unused substitute in the first two qualifying matches, and made his competitive debut against Mauritius on 22 June of that year, replacing Nando in the dying minutes.

On 24 May 2010, Stopira appeared in a friendly in Covilhã with Portugal – who were preparing for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa – playing the entire match as the minnows (ranked 117th) managed a 0–0 draw.^[15] He also won the 2009 Lusofonia Games with the under-21 team.^[16]

Personal life

Stopyra received his nickname in honour of former French international Yannick Stopyra.^[17] In December 2019, he acquired Hungarian citizenship via naturalization.^[18]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 May 2022^[19]

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Santa Clara	2008–09	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	2009–10	26	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	30	0
	Total	32	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	36	0
Deportivo B	2010–11	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	23	0
Deportivo B	Total	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	23	0
Feirense	2011–12	15	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	18	0
Feirense	Total	15	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	18	0
Fehérvár	2012–13	9	0	3	0	3	0	8	0	23	0
	2013–14	29	1	0	0	3	0	1	0	33	1
	2014–15	25	1	4	0	0	0	–	–	29	1
	2015–16	16	2	2	1	–	–	–	–	18	3
	2016–17	24	5	3	0	–	–	5	0	32	5
	2017–18	31	1	0	0	–	–	8	1	39	2
	2018–19	28	3	6	0	–	–	14	1	48	4
	2019–20	21	3	7	1	–	–	4	1	32	5
	2020–21	31	3	5	2	–	–	4	0	40	5
	2021–22	26	1	2	0	–	–	2	0	30	1
	Total	240	20	32	4	6	0	46	3	325	27
Career total		310	20	35	4	10	0	46	3	401	27

International goals

As of match played 16 November 2021. Cape Verde score listed first, score column indicates score after each Stopira goal.^[20]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	12 October 2018	Estádio Nacional, Praia, Cape Verde	Tanzania	3–0	3–0	2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.	13 November 2021	Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena, Mindelo, Cape Verde	Central African Republic	2–1	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	16 November 2021	Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria	Nigeria	1–1	1–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Stopira" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^ "Internacional cabo-verdiano Stopira deixa o MOL Fehervar (Vidi) depois de mais de uma década" [Cape Verdean international Stopira leaves MOL Fehervar (Vidi) after more than one decade]. A Nação (in Portuguese). 1 July 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
^ "Laterais de regresso" [Full-backs return]. Record (in Portuguese). 8 May 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^ Cordeiro, Paulo (4 December 2009). "Stopira diz que o Santa Clara pode subir de divisão (vídeo)" [Stopira says Santa Clara may promote (video)] (in Portuguese). RTP Açores. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^ "El Deportivo ficha al lateral izquierdo Stopira por cuatro temporadas" [Deportivo sign left-back Stopira for four seasons]. Marca (in Spanish). 9 July 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
^ "El líder le toma la medida al Deportivo B en el derbi" [Leaders measure Deportivo B up in derby]. El Correo Gallego (in Spanish). 18 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^ "El Depor se cansa de Stopira" [Depor have had enough of Stopira]. Marca (in Spanish). 12 August 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^ "Lateral Stopira por uma época" [Full-back Stopira for one season]. Record (in Portuguese). 13 August 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^ Sousa, Hugo Daniel (20 August 2011). "Benfica derrota Feirense mas só respira de alívio no fim" [Benfica beat Feirense but only breathe a sigh of relief in the end]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^ Watson-Broughton, Matthew (4 May 2015). "Videoton champions of Hungary again". UEFA. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^ "Stopira no onze ideal do campeonato húngaro" [Stopira in Hungarian league's all-star XI]. Expresso das Ilhas (in Portuguese). 17 June 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^ "Criolos no estrangeiro: Stopira atinge a marca de 150 jogos no Vidi FC" [Creoles abroad: Stopira reaches 150 games at Vidi FC] (in Portuguese). Criolo Sports. 24 February 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^ "Foreign contingent boost Cape Verde". FIFA. 21 May 2008. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ "Pele called in for Cape Verde". FIFA. 30 May 2008. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ "Portugal held to 0–0 draw by Cape Verde". USA Today. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ Delgado, Evandro (18 May 2010). "Futebol: Santa Clara dificulta transferência de Stopira para Guimarães" [Football: Santa Clara make Stopira transfer to Guimarães difficult] (in Portuguese). SAPO. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
^ "Stopira: "É um salto na minha carreira"" [Stopira: "This is a leap in my career"]. Record (in Portuguese). 24 May 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
^ "Fehérvár: Stopira is magyar állampolgár lett" [Fehérvár: Stopira also became a Hungarian citizen] (in Hungarian). 24.hu. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
^ "Stopira". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
^ "Stopira – Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 November 2018.