.jpg) Sá playing forLegia Warsaw in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Orlando Carlos Braga de Sá[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1988-05-26)26 May 1988 (age 37)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Barcelos, Portugal[1] | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2004 | Esposende | ||
| 2004–2007 | Braga | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2009 | Braga | 10 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | →Maria Fonte (loan) | 26 | (6) |
| 2009–2011 | Porto | 2 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | →Nacional (loan) | 16 | (3) |
| 2011–2012 | Fulham | 7 | (1) |
| 2012–2014 | AEL Limassol | 39 | (18) |
| 2014–2015 | Legia Warsaw | 33 | (14) |
| 2014 | Legia Warsaw II | 1 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | Reading | 19 | (5) |
| 2016 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 10 | (2) |
| 2016–2018 | Standard Liège | 52 | (26) |
| 2018 | Henan Jianye | 5 | (1) |
| 2018–2020 | Standard Liège | 18 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | Málaga | 18 | (0) |
| Total | 256 | (81) | |
| International career | |||
| 2007 | Portugal U19 | 9 | (0) |
| 2008 | Portugal U20 | 9 | (3) |
| 2008–2010 | Portugal U21 | 6 | (7) |
| 2010–2011 | Portugal U23 | 2 | (2) |
| 2009 | Portugal | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Orlando Carlos Braga de Sá (born 26 May 1988) is a Portuguese former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
After spending his early career withBraga andPorto, appearing sparingly for both, he travelled abroad in 2011, going on to represent clubs in England, Cyprus, Poland, Israel, Belgium, China and Spain and win theEkstraklasa and thePolish Cup withLegia Warsaw.
Sá was born inBarcelos,Braga District. He started his career in the youth ranks ofS.C. Braga, and was promoted to the first team for the2007–08 season only to be loaned immediately to lowlySC Maria da Fonte (third division).[2]
Sá returned to Braga in 2008, making hisPrimeira Liga debut on 5 January 2009 by playing one minute in a 2–0 home win againstC.F. Os Belenenses.[3] He scored his first goal in the competition on 8 March, as a latesubstitute in a 2–2 draw atC.F. Estrela da Amadora.[4]
During his period in Braga, Sá gained attention from English clubChelsea,[5] but nothing ever materialised.
On 1 June 2009, Sá moved toleague championsFC Porto for an estimated fee of€3 million. Braga retained 20% economic rights on any future transfer fee,[6] with an additional 20% being held by unknown parties.[7] Having arrived still injured from his previous club, he only made his competitive debut on 2 January 2010, starting in a 2–0 away victory overU.D. Oliveirense inthe fourth round of theTaça de Portugal.[8]
Sá spent2010–11 on loan toC.D. Nacional,[9] appearing sparingly due to injury and technical decisions. His highlight was scoring the winner in a 2–1 home defeat ofS.L. Benfica on 21 August 2010,[10] and he finished the season with six official goals, plus one for thePortuguese under-23.
At the end of the 2011transfer window, Sá joinedPremier League clubFulham on afree transfer,[11] with Porto retaining 25% of his economic rights.[7] He made his official debut for his new team in aFootball League Cuptie against Chelsea atStamford Bridge on 21 September (penalty shootout loss),[12] and first appeared in thePremier League atWest Bromwich Albion three days later, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw.[13]
Sá scored his first and only goal for Fulham on 31 December 2011, putting the visitors ahead in the seventh minute of the tie againstNorwich City, in an eventual 1–1 draw.[14] Early intothe season, he struggled with the pace of theEnglish game, but went on to adapt physically after a few months in the country, also stating he was improving his ability in the English language.[15]
Before the2012–13 campaign started, Sá said he was going to improve at Fulham and told the club's official website: "I feel that this is a really important pre-season for me, I want to be really prepared ahead of the new campaign because I want this year to be my year. I hope that I can score more goals like the one I got against Norwich. That was a good moment for me and I hope I will have many more moments like the one I experienced atCarrow Road".[15] On 30 June 2012, however, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement.[16]
On 30 July 2012, Sá signed a three-year contract withAEL Limassol.[17] He scored his first goal inEuropean competition on 6 December, helping his team achieve a 3–0 home win againstOlympique de Marseille inthe group stage of theUEFA Europa League.[18]
Sá kickstarted the2013–14 campaign by netting five times in only threeCypriot First Division matches.[19][20] Coincidentally, the three opponents that suffered his accuracy in the first round of matches,Ethnikos Achna FC,APOEL FC andEnosis Neon Paralimni FC, met the same fate in the second.[21][22]
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On 14 February 2014, Sá moved to Poland by joiningLegia Warsaw on a three-and-a-half-year deal.[23] He had arrived inWarsaw to undergo a medical the previous day.[24]
Sá made hisEkstraklasa debut on 22 February 2014, in a 3–0 win overGórnik Zabrze.[25] He scored his first goal on the last day of theregular season and contributed to a 3–1 victory atZagłębie Lubin,[26] as the Legionaires eventually won their tenth national championship.
On 29 June 2015, Sá signed forReading on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[27] He made his debut for the club on 8 August inthe season opener away toBirmingham City, having an added-timepenalty saved byTomasz Kuszczak in a 1–2Championship defeat.[28]
Sá scored his first goal on 29 August, heading home in a 3–1 away win againstBrentford.[29] In the following match, he hit ahat-trick in a 5–1 rout ofIpswich Town at theMadejski Stadium.[30] He totalled five goals from 21 appearances across all competitions, with his presence eventually limited by new managerBrian McDermott.[31]
On 26 January 2016, Sá signed a three-and-a-half-year deal withMaccabi Tel Aviv F.C. for an undisclosed fee.[31] On 31 August, however, he joinedStandard Liège for four seasons.[32] He scored a career-best 17 goals – 20 across all competitions – inhis first season with the latter, but they could only finish in ninth position in theBelgian First Division A.[33]
On 28 February 2018, Sá transferred toHenan Jianye F.C. in theChinese Super League.[34] Within five months, however, he signed for Standard again.[35]
Sá moved teams and countries again on 13 August 2020, after agreeing to a one-year deal withMálaga CF of the SpanishSegunda División.[36] On 26 May 2021, exactly on his 33rd birthday, he announced his retirement from professional football due to anachilles tendon injury.[37]
On 18 November 2008, in one of his firstcaps for thePortugal under-21 team, Sá scored a hat-trick againstSpain in a 4–1 friendly home win.[38] Only three months later, he was surprisingly called up tothe senior squad by coachCarlos Queiroz for afriendly withFinland, and replacedHugo Almeida at the hour mark in an eventual 1–0 victory inFaro.[39][40]
Sá marriedpop singerTeresa Villa-Lobos.[41]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Braga | 2007–08 | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | Primeira Liga | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 15 | 2 | ||
| Total | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 15 | 2 | |||
| Maria Fonte | 2007–08 | Segunda Divisão | 26 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 28 | 6 | |||||
| Porto | 2009–10 | Primeira Liga | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | |
| Nacional | 2010–11 | Primeira Liga | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 18 | 3 | |||
| Fulham | 2011–12 | Premier League | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 12 | 1 | |
| AEL Limassol | 2012–13 | Cypriot First Division | 20 | 5 | 6 | 1 | — | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 7 | |
| 2013–14 | Cypriot First Division | 19 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 13 | ||||||
| Total | 39 | 18 | 6 | 1 | — | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 20 | |||
| Legia Warsaw | 2013–14 | Ekstraklasa | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | |||||
| 2014–15 | Ekstraklasa | 26 | 13 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | — | 35 | 14 | |||
| Total | 33 | 14 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | — | 42 | 15 | ||||
| Legia Warsaw II | 2013–14[45] | III liga | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Reading | 2015–16 | Championship | 19 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 5 | ||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2015–16 | Israeli Premier League | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 3 | ||
| 2016–17 | Israeli Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 3 | 1 | ||
| Total | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 15 | 4 | ||||
| Career total | 163 | 53 | 17 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 214 | 65 | ||
Porto
Legia Warsaw
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |