Nuno Assis

Nuno Assis Lopes de Almeida, known as Assis (born 25 November 1977 in Lousã), is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Al-Ittihad as an attacking midfielder.

Club career

Assis started playing football in his hometown Lousã, before being spotted by Sporting Clube de Portugal; he then moved to the Lisbon club's youth system, and later was loaned to its feeder club Sporting Clube Lourinhanense. Assis made his debuts in the top division in 1999–2000, playing 19 matches for F.C. Alverca while still on loan from Sporting. He was then loaned a final time the following season to Gil Vicente FC, for whom he scored his first-ever top flight goals.

In the 2001 summer, Assis was released by the Lions, signing with Vitória de Guimarães. In his second season, he scored three goals in 33 matches, netting four in 31 in the following campaign. He started off the 2004–05 season with the Minho side, but moved to S.L. Benfica in the following winter transfer window, to replace burning-out star Zlatko Zahovič. He scored on his debut for Benfica, against Moreirense FC, in a 2–1 away success.

Prior to 2008–09 kick-off, after being used relatively in three 1/2 seasons, Assis was released by Benfica, alongside Luís Filipe, re-joining Vitória Guimarães. On 30 January 2009, he netted his first career hat-trick, in a 4–2 win at Vitória de Setúbal.

In the 2009–10 season, Assis continued to feature prominently for Vitória, netting five goals in 26 matches as...
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