João Pereira

Pereira in action with Portugal
Personal information
Full name	João Pedro da Silva Pereira
Date of birth	) 25 February 1984 (age 29)
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Right back
Club information
Current club	Valencia
Number	12
Youth career
1990–1994	Domingos Sávio
1994–2003	Benfica
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2006	Benfica	58	(0)
2005	Benfica B	2	(0)
2006	→ Gil Vicente (loan)	14	(0)
2006–2007	Gil Vicente	25	(1)
2007–2009	Braga	67	(1)
2010–2012	Sporting CP	61	(3)
2012–	Valencia	16	(0)
National team‡
2004–2007	Portugal U21	23	(1)
2010–	Portugal	19	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 February 2013. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:40, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

João Pedro da Silva Pereira (born 25 February 1984 in Lisbon) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Valencia CF in Spain and the Portuguese national team, mainly as a right defender.

An offensive wingback, he is also known for his fiery temperament that leads to altercations with adversary players and referees numerous times.^[1] In his country, he represented both Benfica and Sporting, amassing top division totals of 199 games and nine goals and winning the 2005 national championship with the former.

Pereira represented Portugal at Euro 2012.

Contents 1 Club career 1.1 Benfica 1.2 Braga 1.3 Sporting 1.4 Valencia 2 International career 3 References 4 External links

Club career

Benfica

A product of S.L. Benfica's youth system, Pereira first appeared with its main side on 17 August 2003 in a 0–0 away draw against Boavista FC, and finished his debut season with 25 league appearances, mostly as a midfielder.

He was part of the Benfica squad that won the 2005 championship, starting often, until a fallout with coach Ronald Koeman relegated him to the bench, and later to the B team. He was sold to Gil Vicente F.C. in the 2006 summer, after a previous loan to the same team – also in the top flight.

Braga

In 2007–08, fully reconverted into a right back, Pereira joined S.C. Braga, as another player in the position, Luís Filipe, went the other way.^[2]

An undisputed starter from the beginning, he scored his first goal for the Minho side on 22 February 2009, a 2–1 last-minute winner at Associação Naval 1º de Maio; he also collected 18 yellow cards and one red in his first two seasons combined.

Sporting

On 22 December 2009, Pereira moved to Sporting Clube de Portugal for a fee of €3 million;^[3] at the time, Braga led the league alongside Benfica, with 12 points in advance to his new club, with the Lions eventually finishing fourth.

Pereira again featured regularly for Sporting in the 2010–11 season, both as a defender and a midfielder, as his team ranked in third position. On 30 April 2011, he scored in a 2–1 home win against Portimonense SC, but was also sent off midway through the second half (after teammate André Santos) for repeatedly and severely insulting referee Duarte Gomes.^[4]

Valencia

On 24 May 2012, Pereira signed with Valencia CF in Spain for €3.6 million, penning a 3+1 contract.^[5] He made his official debut on 19 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against Real Madrid.^[6]

International career

Pereira was first called to the Portuguese national team in October 2010, following the appointment of new coach Paulo Bento. He made his debut in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Denmark, and also started in the following match – in the same competition – in Iceland, with the national side winning both games 3–1.

References

External links

• João Pereira at footballzz.co.uk
• Stats at ForaDeJogo
• João Pereira at National-Football-Teams.com
• Transfermarkt profile