Hélder Postiga

Porto

Born in Vila do Conde, Postiga began his career at nearby Varzim. In 1995, he joined Porto's youth system and continued to progress until he reached the reserve squad. At the time, coach Octávio Machado picked him for the first team on some occasions and the player performed well. After José Mourinho was hired as manager, Postiga became a first-team regular. The 20-year-old scored 19 times in 2002–03, playing alongside Derlei as Porto won the treble. This included 13 in a victorious league run as well as five in an eventual conquest of the UEFA Cup, although he missed the final due to suspension. Following his successful season, he made his senior international debut for Portugal.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 25 June 2003, Postiga moved to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for £6.25 million (€9 million), a fee that could have risen to £8.36 million (€12 million). He signed a five-year contract, with manager Glenn Hoddle remarking: "He is a player who will add definite striking quality to our squad and is a young player of proven ability. I'm sure our supporters will enjoy watching him over the coming seasons." Postiga made his debut on 16 August 2003 in a 1–0 away defeat to Birmingham City, starting but being replaced by fellow new signing Bobby Zamora after 57 minutes. His first goal came on 3 December, the second of a 3–1 home win against Manchester City in the round of 16 of the League Cup, while his only in the league contributed to a 2–1 victory over…

Postiga earned the first of his 71 caps for the Portugal national team (27 goals) on 12 February 2003 in a friendly with Italy, where he came on as a substitute for Tiago Mendes in the 70th minute – this game was also Luiz Felipe Scolari's first as manager. He was handed his first start on 10 June in the 4–0 win over Bolivia, where he scored his first two international goals.

Even though he had arguably a poor year with Tottenham, Postiga was selected for UEFA Euro 2004. In the tournament, he managed to save his team from defeat against England during the quarter-finals, netting an 83rd-minute equaliser to level the score at 1–1 as Portugal would prevail in the penalty shootout 6–5 after a 2–2 draw. He converted his attempt with a "Panenka-style" shot, but did not feature in the final, lost 1–0 to outsiders Greece. Postiga was included in the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, starting against Mexico in a 2–1 win at the end of the group phase. In the quarter-finals, after replacing captain Luís Figo, he again scored to eliminate England on penalties, as the nation eventually finished fourth. In Euro 2008, Postiga was also mainly used from the bench. In the quarter-finals against Germany, he scored a late goal by heading in a cross from fellow replacement Nani, although Portugal lost 3–2. After more than two years of absence from the national team setup, Postiga was called up for two Euro 2012 qualifiers with Denmark and Iceland, in October 2010. On 12 October, against the latter,…

Club

International

Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Postiga goal.

A childhood fan of Benfica who went on to play for their two main rivals, Postiga grew up in the Caxinas fishing neighbourhood of Vila do Conde, as did his long-time international teammates Bruno Alves and Fábio Coentrão. Postiga's younger brother, José, was also a footballer and a forward. He played youth football at Sporting.