Hugo Almeida

QPR boss Harry Redknapp eyeing move for Portuguese free agent Hugo Almeida.

Sep 06, 2014 22:30 By Dave Kidd

Despite the summer transfer window having come to an end on Monday, the Portugal forward could to move to QPR as he is a free agent.

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Harry Redknapp is weighing up a move for free agent Hugo Almeida after QPR failed to sign a striker on deadline day.

Rangers lost Loic Remy to Chelsea and were unable to tie up a deal for Jermain Defoe, who is staying with Major League Soccer side Toronto.

Loftus Road chief Redknapp could still employ his Chilean World Cup star Eduardo Vargas in a central role, after his loan move from Napoli, but he is essentially a wide man, leaving only Charlie Austin and veteran Bobby Zamora as out-and-out strikers in the Rangers side.

Portugal target man Almeida, 30, has been out of contract since leaving Turkish club Besiktas in May.

The former Werder Bremen striker has also been a target for West Ham and Leicester.

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Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida (born 23 May 1984) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for the Portuguese national football team, as a centre forward.

After failing to establish himself at F.C. Porto, being loaned several times during his contract, he made a name for himself in Germany with Werder Bremen, where he would remain for four seasons, reaching one UEFA Cup final and scoring more than 50 official goals.

Almeida, whose international career with Portugal spanned more than one decade, only managed to become a regular after the departures of Pauleta in 2006 and Liédson in 2010.

Portugal[edit]
Born in Figueira da Foz, Almeida started playing football for hometown club Associação Naval 1º de Maio, before being signed by F.C. Porto. He made his first division debut in a 2–0 home win over S.L. Benfica on 21 September 2003, playing three minutes; however, unable to settle at first, he had loan spells with União de Leiria (with which he had already played in the previous season, also on loan) and Boavista FC.

Almeida returned to Porto for the 2005–06 campaign, having a relatively important role in a side that was crowned national champions. During that season's UEFA Champions League he scored a spectacular goal from a 35-metre free-kick against Inter Milan at the San Siro, albeit in a 1–2 loss.

Werder Bremen[edit]

Almeida at Werder Bremen in 2006
Almeida served another loan stint in the 2006–07 season, with a solid first year at the Bundesliga's SV Werder Bremen,[1] where he rejoined former Porto teammate Diego. He totalled ten goals in 41 appearances (in all competitions), including one in a 1–2 home loss against RCD Espanyol in the campaign's UEFA Cup semi-finals, his shot floating over the goalkeeper and into the net in an eventual 2–4 aggregate defeat;[2] after seeing his chances at Porto definitely cut down with the arrival of strikers Edgar and Ernesto Farías in August 2007, he decided to accept Bremen's offer for a permanent switch, penning a four-year deal worth €4 million.[3]

With the departure of Miroslav Klose, who signed for FC Bayern Munich,[4] Almeida's chances of first-team action improved dramatically, and he started the 2007–08 season in scoring fashion, netting seven times in his first 12 league games, including two goals in a 4–1 win against defending champions VfB Stuttgart.[5] He would finish the season with 16 goals in all competitions – 11 in the league, as his club finished second behind Bayern – only surpassed in the team by Diego's 17.


Almeida in action for Bremen in 2009
In 2008–09, another solid season: Almeida scored nine goals in the league, adding four in just five matches for the eventual cup winners – his first Bremen honour – namely a hat-trick against amateurs Eintracht Nordhorn, in a 9–3 away success.[6] In the Champions League, he netted two more, being named the "Fans' Man of the Match" in the 2–2 away draw against Anorthosis Famagusta FC.[7] As Werder Bremen was "demoted" to the UEFA Cup, he contributed with one goal in eight games as the team went all the way to the final but, after receiving a yellow card in the 3–2 win at Hamburger SV in the semifinals (3–3 aggregate win), he missed the decisive match against FC Shakhtar Donetsk.[8]

Alternating starts with appearances from the bench, Almeida once again scored in double digits in the 2009–10 season, netting seven goals in the domestic league for a total of 11, as Bremen finished third and qualified to the Champions League play-off round, with the player assisting Peruvian Claudio Pizarro in the third goal of the clash against U.C. Sampdoria (3–1 home win in the first leg, eventual 3–2 aggregate win).

Almeida started the 2010–11 campaign netting six times in the first ten league games. On 28 November 2010 he took his total to nine, after scoring three in a home win against FC St. Pauli (3–0) – in the dying minutes of the fixture, he was sent off after elbowing an opponent.[9]

Beşiktaş[edit]
On Christmas Eve 2010, after scoring 11 goals in 21 official games for Bremen during the season, Almeida joined Beşiktaş J.K. in the Süper Lig, after agreeing to a three-and-a-half-year contract for €2 million.[10][11] On 11 May 2011, he converted his penalty in the shootout as the Istanbul team won the Turkish Cup against İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor (4–3, 2–2 after extra time).

International career[edit]

Almeida playing for Portugal in 2011
Almeida played at every level in international competitions, from the under-15 to the main Portuguese national team. He made his full debut in a friendly match against England on 18 February 2004, in a 1–1 tie,[12] and was also part of the squad that won the 2003 Toulon Tournament, also appearing at the 2004 and 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals.[13]

Almeida was called for Portugal's final three UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, starting against Azerbaijan and scoring his first international goal. He also netted in the follow-up, a 1–0 win over Armenia,[14] and these goals eventually proved vital, as the nation clinched a tournament spot.

In Carlos Queiroz's second stint as national side coach, Almeida scored in a 4–0 away win against Malta on 6 September 2008, in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. His importance diminished in late 2009, after the naturalization of Sporting Clube de Portugal's Liédson.

Almeida was picked for the finals in South Africa. After the first match, a 0–0 against Côte d'Ivoire, he replaced Liédson in the starting XI for the following match, with both players finding the net in the 7–0 routing of North Korea on 21 June 2010, in Cape Town.[15]

Almeida was selected by new manager Paulo Bento for his Euro 2012 squad, initially as third-choice after Hélder Postiga and Nélson Oliveira. After the former injured himself in the first half of the quarterfinals against Czech Republic, he replaced him,[16] going on to start in the penalty shootout loss against Spain (0–0 after 120 minutes).[17]

After being included in the list for the 2014 World Cup,[18] Almeida started in the first group stage match against Germany, but was injured after just 28 minutes of play in an eventual 0–4 loss.[19] He went on to miss the second game against the United States[20] with Postiga, who was also stretchered off after only 17 minutes, replacing him in the starting XI.

 

Seems legit! In a Javier Chevanton kinda way.