| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marco Júlio Castanheira Afonso Alves Ferreira[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1978-03-12)12 March 1978 (age 47)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Vimioso, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1988–1989 | GD Parada | ||
| 1989–1992 | Bragança | ||
| 1994–1996 | Águia Vimioso | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1997 | Tirsense | 17 | (2) |
| 1997 | Atlético Madrid B | 4 | (0) |
| 1998 | Yokohama Flügels | ||
| 1998–1999 | Paços Ferreira | 19 | (0) |
| 1999–2002 | Vitória Setúbal | 89 | (14) |
| 2003–2005 | Porto | 23 | (3) |
| 2004–2005 | →Vitória Guimarães (loan) | 21 | (3) |
| 2005 | →Penafiel (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2006–2008 | Benfica | 5 | (0) |
| 2007 | →Leicester City (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2008 | →Belenenses (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Ethnikos Piraeus | 32 | (5) |
| Total | 223 | (28) | |
| International career | |||
| 2002 | Portugal | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Marco Júlio Castanheira Afonso Alves Ferreira (born 12 March 1978) is a Portuguese formerfootballer who played as awinger.
He amassedPrimeira Liga totals of 127 games and 15 goals over the course of eight seasons, representing mainly in the competitionVitória de Setúbal andPorto. He also played professionally in Spain, Japan, England and Greece.
Ferreira was born inVimioso in theBragança District, and started his career atF.C. Tirsense in theSegunda Liga. In 1998 he moved toAtlético Madrid B, but only lasted a few months in Spain, finishing the season atYokohama Flügels in theJ1 League.[2][3]
Ferreira would go on to representF.C. Paços de Ferreira – also in the Portuguese second division – spending the following three and a half seasons as a key player atPrimeira Liga clubVitória de Setúbal.[4][3] In January 2003 he joinedFC Porto,[5] being part of theJosé Mourinho-led squad that defeatedCeltic inthe final of the2002–03 UEFA Cup,coming on forCapucho in the 98th minute.[6][7] He also featured in severalUEFA Champions League games in thefollowing campaign but was not selected for thedecisive match, and added two consecutive league championships during his tenure with the northerners.[8]
After that, Ferreira was loaned toVitória de Guimarães for2004–05. He made the same move the following year, now toF.C. Penafiel, but was released in January 2006 and promptly signed forS.L. Benfica, until June 2009; while inLisbon, he was unable to establish himself as a first-team player, and was placed on the transfer list.[3]
On 31 August 2007, Ferreira joined English sideLeicester City on loan until the end of the year,[9] but his contract was terminated in December after he became unsettled, making no competitive appearances (he was an unused substitute in a 3–2 away win overNottingham Forest in thesecond round of theLeague Cup on 18 September).[10][11] He finished the season withC.F. Os Belenenses, where he was coached by his former Setúbal managerJorge Jesus.[3]
Ferreira signed withEthnikos Piraeus F.C. in August 2008. He spent 18 months at theGreek second division club, being released and retiring at the age of 32; it was also in this country where he met his second wife, Athina.[3]
Ferreira's debut forPortugal came in a 1–1friendly draw againstTunisia on 12 October 2002, playing six minutes after taking the place ofLuís Figo.[12] He went on to earn a further twocaps that year.[3]
Porto
