Nani

Sporting CP

Nani joined Sporting CP from his first club, Real Massamá. After two seasons in the youth team, where he won the National Junior Championship in 2004–05, Nani was promoted to the first team early in the 2005–06 season. On 10 August 2005, he made his Sporting CP debut, coming on as a substitute for Custódio in the 73rd minute in a 1–0 home defeat to Udinese in their third-round qualifier in the UEFA Champions League. Nani made his Portuguese Liga debut on 28 August, replacing Deivid in the 76th minute of a 1–2 victory over Marítimo at the Estádio dos Barreiros. Nani scored his first Sporting goal on 30 October, opening the scoring in a 2–2 draw away to Boavista. Nani ended the first season of his career with 5 goals from 36 appearances across all competitions. Nani first came into the spotlight after scoring in the UEFA Champions League against Spartak Moscow, scoring Sporting's goal in a 1–1 group stage match on 27 September 2006. Nani helped Sporting win the 2006–07 Taça de Portugal, lifting the trophy after a 1–0 win over Belenenses on 27 May 2007 in the final. He was then named as the SJPF Young Player of the Month for May 2007. Nani's second season with Sporting ended with similar league statistics, with 40 appearances and 6 goals in all competitions.

Manchester United

Early years

Nani was sold to Manchester United for €25.5 million, five percent of which was paid to Real Massamá, his first professional club. He passed his…

Portugal under–21

Nani was the youngest member of the Portugal U21 squad at the 2006 UEFA Under-21 Championship, making his debut on 23 May 2006 in a 1–0 defeat to France. He appeared in all three matches, scoring no goals, before Portugal bowed out in group stages. During the 2007 European Under-21 Football Championship, he made four appearances, scoring one goal in a 4–0 victory against Israel U21 in a group stage match on 16 June 2007, and had to be taken off during the match after a right ankle injury.

Portugal senior team

Nani made his first appearance for the senior Portuguese team on 1 September 2006, and marked his debut with a goal in Portugal's 4–2 friendly defeat to Denmark. Nani was omitted from Portugal's 1–1 draw with Armenia, but was recalled for Euro 2008 qualifiers against Poland and Serbia in September. He also provided the assist for Ricardo Quaresma's goal in a friendly against Italy on 6 February 2008. Nani was ruled out of Portugal's friendly with Greece in March 2008 due to injury.

UEFA Euro 2008

Nani was a regular member of the Portugal squad in Euro 2008 qualification, and scored one of the goals in the 2–1 away win over Belgium on 2 June 2007. Nani received a call-up to Luiz Felipe Scolari's 23-man squad for Euro 2008 alongside Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. During the campaign, Nani played three matches and started just one, but did provide the assist for Hélder Postiga's goal during a substitute…

In the early stages of his career at Manchester United, Nani's ability and playing style often invited comparisons with club and international teammate Cristiano Ronaldo; however, Nani's style developed into more that of a traditional winger than Ronaldo's evolution into a centre forward. While being able to play on both wings, Nani was more comfortable on the right side, where he was known to utilise his pace along with intricate dribbling skills and trickery to create space in wide areas and provide crosses for teammates. Though capable of cutting inside from either wing to strike at goal from distance, Nani scored fewer goals but produced a substantially higher proportion of assists than his compatriot Ronaldo. Due to his potent attacking talents, he could play a variety of additional roles as a forward, including as an inverted winger on the left, second striker, or even in a more central position as a main striker, as he played frequently for Portugal.

Nani was born on 17 November 1986 in Amadora, Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal, and is of Cape Verdean descent. He was raised by his aunt Antónia on the Santa Filomena estate in Amadora after being abandoned by his parents. At age five, his father left for a holiday in Cape Verde but never returned, and when he was 12 years old, his mother left Portugal to start a new life in the Netherlands. Nani has nine siblings from his mother, of which he is the youngest, and five from his father. Nani gained his nickname from an elder sister at a young age. Nani's older brother taught him how to play football and he played with his childhood friend, midfielder Manuel Fernandes. When Nani was around 14, his older brother took him to train with Real Massamá. They were Nani's first club and gave him money, food, and helped him obtain an ID card and a passport. At the age of 16, Nani was training on alternate days with Sporting CP and Benfica. Nani sometimes walked miles to and from practice before Sporting offered him pre-season training. Despite growing up in the Lisbon area, Nani and his brother supported Porto as children. His footballing hero was Luís Figo.