Fernando Meira

Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira (; born 5 June 1978 in Guimarães) is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Vitória de Guimarães as a central defender.

In his country, he represented most notably Vitória de Guimarães, also playing one year with Benfica. After a lengthy spell in Germany with VfB Stuttgart, he went on to appear for teams in Turkey and Russia.

A strong and skillful defender, Meira gained more than 50 caps for the Portuguese national team, representing the nation in one World Cup and one European Championship.

Club career

Early career / Benfica

Meira began his professional career with hometown's Vitória de Guimarães, but only had one solid season with its first team, in 1999–2000, precisely his last, as he appeared in 30 of his 53 games with the Minho club. In 1998, he was also loaned, to F.C. Felgueiras in the second division, being an essential defensive unit as the side narrowly missed out on promotion, finishing fifth.

In the 2000 summer, Meira joined Portuguese top flight giants S.L. Benfica, for €4 million + one player. He appeared in 31 games in his first season (30 starts), also being awarded team captaincy, but the Lisbon club did not win any silverware during his stint.

Stuttgart

In January 2002, Meira signed for VfB Stuttgart in Germany, joining the Bundesliga outfit for €7.5 million. The club's general manager, Rolf Rüssmann, described the player as a...
Read More