Raul José Trindade Meireles (pronounced: Raúl MAY-relsh) (born March 17, 1983 in Porto) is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for F.C. Porto of the Portuguese first division, and the Portuguese national team.

Meireles plays as an all-around central or defensive midfielder, with excellent passing and long-range shooting.

[edit] Club career

After having grown to prominence in Portuguese football with Boavista FC, Meireles was bought in the summer of 2004 by another Porto side, powerhouse F.C. Porto.^[1] After just 13 league appearances in his debut campaign, he eventually became first-choice in central midfield, alongside Argentine Lucho González.

In the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, Meireles scored in a deflected volley against Chelsea F.C. in a 1–1 draw at the Estádio do Dragão,^[2] as Porto went on to lose the tie 3–2 on aggregate. The following season, in the league's second-round, on 25 August 2007, he netted the game's only goal in another home win, now against Sporting Clube de Portugal.^[3]

[edit] Club statistics

[edit] International career

Meireles made his debut with Portugal in 2006, and was part of the nation's squad in UEFA Euro 2008, scoring a late goal as a substitute against Turkey in a 7 June 2008 2–0 win.

Firmly established in the starting XI for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, he scored the game's only goal in Zenica, as Portugal beat Bosnia and Herzegovina (2–0 on aggregate) and qualified for the final stages in South Africa.^[4]

[edit] International goals

Raul Meireles: International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2008-06-07	Stade de Genève, Genève, Switzerland	Turkey	2-0	2-0	Euro 2008
2	2009-08-12	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	0-2	0-3	Friendly
3	2009-11-18	Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0-1	0-1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Second Round

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

• Portuguese League: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
• Portuguese Cup: 2005–06, 2008–09
• Portuguese Supercup: 2006, 2009

[edit] Country

• UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship: 2000
• UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: Third place 2004

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• PortuGOAL profile
• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• NationalFootballTeams data

v • d • e Portugal squad – 2004 Summer Olympics 1 Moreira • 2 M. Sérgio • 3 R. Meireles • 4 Bruno Alves • 5 Costa • 6 Meira • 7 C. Ronaldo • 8 Viana • 9 H. Almeida • 10 C. Martins • 11 Ribeiro • 12 Frechaut • 13 Boa Morte • 14 Bosingwa • 15 Lourenço • 16 João Paulo • 17 Danny • 18 Bruno Vale • Coach: Romão

v • d • e Portugal squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Ricardo • 2 Ferreira • 3 Bruno Alves • 4 Bosingwa • 5 Meira • 6 R. Meireles • 7 Ronaldo • 8 Petit • 9 H. Almeida • 10 J. Moutinho • 11 Simão • 12 Nuno • 13 Miguel • 14 Ribeiro • 15 Pepe • 16 R. Carvalho • 17 Quaresma • 18 M. Veloso • 19 Nani • 20 Deco • 21 Nuno Gomes • 22 Patrício • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari

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