Nuno Gomes

For other people named Nuno Gomes, see Nuno Gomes (disambiguation).

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Pereira and the second or paternal family name is Ribeiro.

Nuno Gomes

Gomes celebrating a goal for Benfica in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro
Date of birth	(1976-07-05) 5 July 1976
Place of birth	Amarante, Portugal
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1987–1990	Amarante
1990–1994	Boavista
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1997	Boavista	79	(23)
1997–2000	Benfica	101	(60)
2000–2002	Fiorentina	53	(14)
2002–2011	Benfica	192	(65)
2011–2012	Braga	20	(6)
2012–2013	Blackburn Rovers	18	(4)
Total		463	(158)
International career
1990	Portugal U15	3	(3)
1991–1992	Portugal U16	9	(4)
1992–1993	Portugal U17	5	(2)
1993–1994	Portugal U18	15	(5)
1995–1996	Portugal U20	13	(9)
1995–1997	Portugal U21	14	(5)
1996	Portugal U23	5	(1)
1996–2011	Portugal	79	(29)
Medal record Representing Portugal Men's Football UEFA European Championship Portugal 2004 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro (born 5 July 1976), known as Nuno Gomes, is a former Portuguese professional footballer who played as a striker.

He was given the nickname Gomes during childhood after Fernando Gomes, and was one of the country's most recognisable offensive players in the 1990s/2000s; he consistently scored for both club and country, and was also capable of being a good link-up player, accumulating a number of assists throughout his career, which was spent mainly with Benfica, for which he netted 166 goals in 398 games over the course of 12 professional seasons.

Gomes represented Portugal in two World Cups and three European Championships. He helped the national team finish second at Euro 2004 and third at Euro 2000, and won more than 100 caps all categories comprised (nearly 80 for the senior side alone).

Club career

Boavista / Benfica

Born in Amarante, Gomes established his reputation with Boavista FC, where he made his top division debut in the 1994–95 season, aged 18.

He collected his first silverware as Boavista beat S.L. Benfica to lift the Portuguese Cup in 1997, and scored 23 goals in 79 appearances in three years for the northerners before moving to Benfica, including 15 in his last term.

Fiorentina / Return to Benfica

After three seasons at Benfica, in which he scored over 60 goals in over 100 appearances, his Euro 2000 exploits earned Gomes a €17 million move to ACF Fiorentina. He won the Italian Cup in his first year, but financial collapse by the Viola precipitated a 2002 return to Benfica.

A series of nagging 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 campaign – in the latter, he contributed with seven goals in 23 outings. He enjoyed his best season in 2005–06, scoring 15 goals in the league, including two in an away win against F.C. Porto (0–2) and a hat-trick against U.D. Leiria, snatching second place in the goalscorers' list and adding the following Portuguese Supercup, where he netted the game's only goal against Vitória de Setúbal.

From 2006–07 onwards, Gomes faced tough competition for a starting place in Benfica's attack: he only netted six times in the league, and would suffer even more after the signing of Paraguayan Óscar Cardozo in the following summer. However, still a valuable member of the squad, he netted nine goals overall during the season, and was also made team captain over legendary Rui Costa.

On 2 October 2008, Gomes scored his 150th goal for Benfica in a UEFA Cup outing against S.S.C. Napoli (2–0 home win, 4–3 aggregate triumph) with a fine header; following the June 2009 signing of Argentine Javier Saviola, he further fell down in the club's striker pecking order.

Again a reserve player in the 2010–11 campaign – but playing even less – 34-year-old Gomes made the most with the minutes provided to him by manager Jorge Jesus. He scored his first goal in the campaign on 14 November 2010 in a 4–0 home win against Associação Naval 1º de Maio, the 200th in the competition, and dedicated it to his father Joaquim who had died in August. In two consecutive league games in March 2011, he scored three goals, one at home against Portimonense SC (1–1 draw) and two in a 5–1 away routing of F.C. Paços de Ferreira, appearing as a late substitute in all three matches.

Braga

Less than one month shy of his 35th birthday, Gomes was released by Benfica after the club decided not to renew his contract. He was, however, offered a position in the team's managerial structure, effective immediately or when he eventually retired. Shortly after, he signed for fellow league side S.C. Braga.

On 11 September 2011, Gomes scored a brace in a 3–1 home win against Gil Vicente FC. During his only season with the Minho club, however, he was mostly used as a backup.

Blackburn Rovers

On 3 July 2012, Gomes signed a two-year deal at Blackburn Rovers in the Football League Championship, becoming their third signing of the 2012–13 summer transfer window. On 18 August he made his league debut for his new club, against Ipswich Town, scoring his first goal the following round against Leicester City (2–1 home win).

On 28 June 2013, aged nearly 37, Gomes was released from his contract.

International career

See also: List of international goals scored by Nuno Gomes

Gomes represented Portugal at every level, earning 143 caps all categories comprised and scoring at an excellent rate overall. He helped the national under-20s finish third in the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship by netting four goals in as many games, including two in the third-place game against Spain; the following year he appeared at the 1996 Summer Olympics, helping Portugal to an eventual fourth place.

Gomes made his senior international debut at 19, in a 1996 friendly against France. He scored his first senior international 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 would finish the competition with four goals as the national team reached the last four, but earned a seven-month international ban after pushing referee Günter Benkö following the semi-final defeat by France, in which he had netted the opening goal; he was selected to the UEFA team of the tournament.

With seven goals in only six matches, Gomes helped Portugal qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup – this included a four-goal performance in a 7–1 away win against Andorra. He would struggle to hold a starting place in the finals in South Korea and Japan, only appearing twice as a substitute; 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 half-time substitute, scored the winning goal against Spain to send the hosts through to the quarter-finals. He was often injured during Portugal's 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, only managing to play four games, with one goal; he found limited time at the final stages and only made two appearances, but managed to find the back of the net with a header against Germany in the third-place game, a 1–3 defeat.

After the retirement of Pauleta, Gomes was expected to become his successor in the striker role. He played ten matches and scored three times in Euro 2008's qualifying campaign, captained Portugal at the finals and scored against Germany in the quarter-finals, thus becoming the fourth player to score at three straight European Championships.

After the appointment of Carlos Queiroz as coach, Gomes was constantly left out of the squad due to his lack of minutes at his club. During the 2010 World Cup qualification, he only took part in four out of twelve matches, all as a substitute, with Liédson and Hugo Almeida being preferred; he was later on left out of the 23-men squad for the final stages in South Africa, this being the first time the player was left out of a major tournament.

On 7 October 2011, after more than two years out of international play, 35-year-old Gomes replaced Hélder Postiga in the last minute of a 5–3 home win against Iceland for the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Four days later, he played against Denmark in what was his 79th and last full international appearance; due to little playing time for his club in 2011–12, he was left out of Paulo Bento's squad for the finals in Poland and Ukraine.

Personal life

Gomes' younger brother, Tiago (born 1981), was also a footballer and a striker. He played most of his career in the lower leagues but, from 2004 to 2007, competed in the second division with F.C. Marco (two seasons) and C.D. Olivais e Moscavide (one), amassing overall totals of 30 games and one goal.

He has been 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 had another child, born in July 2010.

Gomes was featured on the cover of the Portuguese edition of FIFA Football 2002.

Club statistics

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Boavista	1994–95	17	1	2	0	–		4	1	23	2
	1995–96	28	7	2	1	–		0	0	30	8
	1996–97	34	15	5	4	–		6	2	45	21
	Total	79	23	9	5	–		10	3	98	31
Benfica	1997–98	33	18	6	4	–		1	0	40	22
	1998–99	34	24	2	3	–		7	7	43	34
	1999–00	34	18	2	1	–		5	1	41	20
	Total	101	60	10	8	–		13	8	124	76
Fiorentina	2000–01	30	9	3	4	–		0	0	33	13
	2001–02	23	5	1	0	–		6	2	301	7
	Total	53	14	4	4	–		6	2	63	20
Benfica	2002–03	27	9	1	0	–		0	0	28	9
	2003–04	21	7	3	0	–		5	5	29	12
	2004–05	23	7	5	2	–		6	3	34	12
	2005–06	29	15	4	1	–		8	0	422	172
	2006–07	24	6	3	3	–		14	4	41	13
	2007–08	25	7	3	1	0	0	8	1	36	9
	2008–09	24	7	1	0	2	1	6	1	34	9
	2009–10	13	3	2	0	2	0	6	1	25	4
	2010–11	6	4	1	0	1	1	0	0	8	5
	Total	192	65	23	7	5	2	53	15	276	90
Braga	2011–12	20	6	2	0	2	0	5	0	29	6
	Total	20	6	2	0	2	0	5	0	29	6
Blackburn Rovers	2012–13	18	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	20	4
	Total	18	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	20	4
Career total		463	172	50	24	7	2	87	28	607	226

¹ includes one match in the Italian Supercup.
² includes one match and one goal in the Portuguese Supercup.

Honours

Club

Boavista

• Taça de Portugal: 1996–97

Benfica

• Primeira Liga: 2004–05, 2009–10
• Taça de Portugal: 2003–04
• Taça da Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2005

Fiorentina

• Coppa Italia: 2000–01

Country

Portugal

• UEFA European Championship: Runner-up 2004; Third place 2000
• FIFA U-20 World Cup: Third place 1995
• UEFA European Under-18 Championship: 1994
• Toulon Tournament: Third place 1996

Individual

• Toulon Tournament: Top Scorer 1996
• UEFA European Championship: Silver Boot/Team of the Tournament 2000
• Portuguese League: Top Scorer 1998–99
• Portuguese League: Player of the Year 1998–99, 1999–2000; Player of the Month September 2005, October 2005

Orders

• Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)

External links

• Nuno Gomes at footballzz.co.uk
• Nuno Gomes profile at ForaDeJogo
• Nuno Gomes at National-Football-Teams.com