Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira RibeiroOIH (born 5 July 1976), known asNuno Gomes, is a Portuguese former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
He was given the nicknameGomes during childhood afterFernando Gomes,[3] and was regarded as one of the country's most recognisable attacking players in the 1990s and 2000s; he consistently scored for both club and country, and was also capable of being a good link-up player, accumulating a number ofassists throughout his career,[4] which was spent mainly withBenfica, for which he netted 166 goals in 398 games over the course of 12 seasons.[5][6]
Gomes ranked joint-fourth top scorer in hislast year at theEstádio do Bessa, before moving to Benfica. In the1998–99 campaign he netted 34 times in all competitions, in an eventual third-place finish in the league.[10]
After three seasons at Benfica, hisEuro 2000 exploits earned Gomes a €17 million move toFiorentina. Hewon theCoppa Italia overParma in hisfirst 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;[11] however, hissecond season was less successful, as financial collapse by theViola and their subsequent relegation precipitated a 2002 return to his previous club on a four-year deal as afree agent.[12][13][14]
A series of injuries limited Gomes to under 70 games from 2002 to 2005,[15][16] but he still helped Benfica win the domestic cup in2003–04 and the league thefollowing season – in the latter, he contributed seven goals from 23 appearances.[17] He enjoyed his best season in2005–06, scoring 15 goals in the league, including two in an away win overPorto (2–0)[18] and ahat-trick againstUnião de Leiria,[10] finishing second in the scorers' list and adding the subsequentSupertaça Cândido de Oliveira, where he netted the game's only goal againstVitória de Setúbal.[19]
From2006–07 onwards, Gomes faced tough competition for a starting place: he only netted six times in the league, and would suffer even more after the signing of ParaguayanÓscar Cardozo the following summer. However, still a valuable member of the squad, he finished the campaign with nine overall goals, handing thecaptain armband to legendaryRui Costa in the process.[20]
On 2 October 2008, Gomes scored his 150th goal for Benfica in aUEFA Cup game againstNapoli (2–0 home win,4–3 aggregate victory) with a fineheader.[21] Following the arrival of ArgentineJavier Saviola in June 2009, he further fell down the striker pecking order.[22]
Again a reserve player in2010–11 – but playing even less – the 34-year-old Gomes made the most with the minutes provided to him by managerJorge Jesus. He scored his first goal in the season on 14 November 2010 in a 4–0 home defeat ofNaval, the 200th in the competition,[23] and dedicated it to his father Joaquim who had died in August.[24] In two consecutive league games in March 2011, he scored three goals, one at home againstPortimonense (1–1 draw)[25] and two in a 5–1 away rout ofPaços de Ferreira, appearing as a latesubstitute in all three matches.[26]
Gomes was released by Benfica on 30 June 2011, after the club decided not to renew his contract; he was, however, offered a position in the managerial structure, effective immediately or when he eventually retired.[27][28] Shortly after, he signed with fellow top-divisionBraga.[29]
On 11 September 2011, Gomes scored a brace in a 3–1 home win againstGil Vicente.[30] During hisonly season with theMinho side, he was mostly used as a backup.[31]
On 28 June 2013, aged 36, Gomes was released.[35] After retiring, he was appointed director of Benfica's academy atFutebol Campus inSeixal, leaving his position in September 2017.[36]
Gomes made his senior debut at 19, in a 1996friendly againstFrance. He scored his first goal in Portugal's opening match at theUEFA Euro 2000, marking his fourth start with the winner as the side came from two goals down to beatEngland 3–2.[40] He finished the competition with four goals as the national team reached the last four, but earned a seven-month international ban after pushing refereeGünter Benkö following the semi-final defeat by France, in which he had opened the score;[41] he was selected to theUEFA team of the tournament.[42]
With seven goals in only six matches, Gomes helped Portugalqualify for the2002 FIFA World Cup – this included four in a 7–1 away demolition ofAndorra.[43] He would struggle to hold a starting place in the finals inSouth 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 againstKuwait.[44]
Things went better for Gomes atEuro 2004, where he played each game and, after coming on as ahalf-time substitute, scored the winning goal againstSpain to send the hosts through to the quarter-finals.[45] He was often injured during the nation's2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, only managing to play four times, with one goal; he found limited time at thefinal stages and only made two appearances, but managed to find the back of the net with a header against hostsGermany in the third-place playoff, a 3–1 defeat.[46]
After the retirement ofPauleta, Gomes was expected to become his successor in the striker role. He played ten matches and scored three times in theEuro 2008 qualifiers, captained Portugal atthe finals and scored against Germany in the quarter-finals, thus becoming the fourth player to achieve the feat at three straightEuropean Championships.[47]
Following the appointment ofCarlos Queiroz as coach, Gomes was constantly overlooked due to his lack of minutes at Benfica. During the2010 World Cup qualification, he only took part in four out of 12 fixtures, all as a substitute, withLiédson andHugo Almeida being preferred; he was one of the 50 preliminary players[48] but was left out of the 23-men squad for thefinal stages in South Africa, this being the first time the player was left out of a major tournament.[49]
On 7 October 2011, after more than two years out of international play, the 35-year-old Gomes replacedHélder Postiga in the last minute of a 5–3 home victory overIceland for theEuro 2012 qualifiers. Four days later, he played againstDenmark in what was his last full appearance;[50][51][52] due to little playing time for his club in 2011–12, he was left out ofPaulo Bento's squad for the finals in Poland and Ukraine.[53]
Gomes' younger brother, Tiago (born 1981), was also a footballer and a striker.[54] He spent most of his career in the lower leagues but, from 2004 to 2007, competed in theSegunda Liga withMarco (two seasons) andOlivais 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.[55]
^Alvarenga, Vítor Hugo (2 October 2008)."Taça UEFA: Benfica-Nápoles, 2–0 (ficha)" [UEFA Cup: Benfica-Napoli, 2–0 (match sheet)] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved20 October 2017.
^Ferreira, Almiro (30 June 2011)."Nuno Gomes assinou pelo Braga" [Nuno Gomes signed for Braga].Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved20 October 2017.
^"Liga round-up". PortuGOAL. 11 September 2011. Retrieved15 September 2012.
^"A eficácia de Nuno Gomes" [The efficiency of Nuno Gomes].Record (in Portuguese). 20 February 2004. Archived fromthe original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved24 July 2015.
^Teixeira, Nuno R. (7 October 2011)."Portugal 5–3 Islândia (ficha)" [Portugal 5–3 Iceland (match sheet)] (in Portuguese). Relvado. Retrieved6 April 2020.
^"Tiago Ribeiro irmão de Nuno Gomes e o golo" [Nuno Gomes' brother Tiago Ribeiro and the goal] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 15 November 2010. Retrieved15 November 2019.
Pereira, António; Pereira, Mário.Nuno Gomes, o menino querido da luz [Nuno Gomes, the apple of Estádio da Luz's eye] (First ed.). Cofina Media Books.ISBN978-972-8996-98-7.