Nuno Gomes

Boavista and Benfica

Born in Amarante, Gomes established his reputation with Boavista, where he made his Primeira Liga debut in the 1994–95 season, aged 18. He collected his first silverware as his team beat Benfica to lift the Taça de Portugal in 1997, scoring a goal and winning a penalty kick in a 3–2 win in the final; he and fellow scorer Erwin Sánchez had already agreed to transfer to the opponents. Gomes ranked joint-fourth top scorer in his last year at the Estádio do Bessa, before moving to Benfica. In the 1998–99 campaign he netted 34 times in all competitions, in an eventual third-place finish in the league.

Fiorentina

After three seasons at Benfica, his Euro 2000 exploits earned Gomes a €17 million move to Fiorentina. He won the Coppa Italia over Parma in his first year, scoring in a 1–1 draw in the second leg of the final at home, which allowed his team to clinch the title 2–1 on aggregate; however, his second season was less successful, as financial collapse by the Viola and their subsequent relegation precipitated a 2002 return to his previous club on a four-year deal as a free agent.

Return to Benfica

A series of injuries limited Gomes to under 70 games from 2002 to 2005, but he still helped Benfica win the domestic cup in 2003–04 and the league the following season – in the latter, he contributed seven goals from 23 appearances. He enjoyed his best season in 2005–06, scoring 15 goals in the league, including two in an away win over…

Gomes represented Portugal at every level, earning 143 caps across all youth levels and scoring at an excellent rate. He helped the under-20s to third place in the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship by netting four goals in as many games, including two in the third-place match against Spain. The following year, he appeared at the 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing fourth. Gomes made his senior debut at 19, in a 1996 friendly against France. He scored his first goal in Portugal's opening match at the UEFA Euro 2000, marking his fourth start with the winner as the side came from two goals down to beat England 3–2. He finished the competition with four goals as the national team reached the final four, and was selected to the UEFA team of the tournament. In the eventual 2-1 semi-final defeat to France, Gomes opened the scoring but the French equalized and later converted an extra-time penalty to win; Gomes earned a seven-month international ban for pushing referee Günter Benkö over the penalty awarded for a handball. With seven goals in only six matches, Gomes helped Portugal qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup – this included four in a 7–1 away demolition of Andorra. He would struggle to hold a starting place in the finals in South Korea and Japan, only appearing twice from the bench. On 19 November 2003 he scored his second hat-trick, in only 21 minutes of play against Kuwait. Things went better for Gomes at Euro 2004, where he played each game and, after coming on as a…

Club

1 includes one match in the Supercoppa Italiana. 2 includes one match and one goal in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

International

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

Gomes' younger brother, Tiago (born 1981), was also a footballer and a striker. He spent most of his career in the lower leagues but, from 2004 to 2007, competed in the Segunda Liga with Marco (two seasons) and Olivais e Moscavide (one), totalling 30 games and one goal. Gomes was married twice, first to Isméria with whom he had a daughter, Laura, born in 1999. In July 2006 he married lawyer Patrícia Aguilar, with whom he also fathered another child, Nuno, born in July 2010. He was featured on the cover of the Portuguese edition of FIFA Football 2002.