Raul José Trindade Meireles (Portuguese pronunciation:[ʁɐˈulmɐjˈɾɛlɨʃ]; born 17 March 1983) is a Portuguese former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder.
After starting out atBoavista, he signed withPorto in 2004, going on to appear in 198 official games and win ten major trophies, including fourPrimeira Liga titles in a row. From 2010 to 2012 he competed in thePremier League, withLiverpool andChelsea, winning the2012 Champions League with the latter; he also spent several seasons in Turkey withFenerbahçe.
Meireles was born inPorto,[2] and joined localBoavista FC's youth system at the age of seven. He spent two years on loan toC.D. Aves in theSegunda Liga, being presented on 8 July 2001.[3]
Meireles scored his first senior goal on 25 May 2003, in a 2–1 home win overC.F. União where he fired from 30 metres into the net.[4] He finishedthat season with 26 appearances, helping his team to finish in sixth position.
On 7 July 2004,FC Porto signed Meireles on a five–year contract,[7] being presented in a press conference held five days later.[8] His first competitive match took place on 22 September againstU.D. Leiria at theEstádio do Dragão, comingoff the bench early into the first half on an eventual 1–1 league draw.[9] On 18 February of the following year he made his first start, in an away victory overC.F. Os Belenenses.[10] Five days later, he made his debut in theUEFA Champions League by featuring the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 home draw withInter Milan in theround-of-16 first leg;[11] he finished hisfirst year with 15 appearances in all competitions (no goals).
On 19 February 2006, Meireles scored his first goal for the Dragons in his 50th league appearance, giving a 1–0 home victory overC.S. Marítimo.[16] He netted his second three matchdays later in a 2–0 defeat ofVitória de Setúbal,[17] as the season ended withdouble conquest.
In the following four years, during which the domestic league was won three additional times, Meireles featured regularly in Porto's midfield, often partneringFernando andLucho González. He scored his first goal in the Champions League in the2006–07 edition, a 1–1 last-16 home draw againstChelsea, coached byJosé Mourinho.[18]
Meireles was handed his first league start on 19 September 2010, in a 3–2 away loss againstManchester United.[23] On 16 January 2011, he scored his first goal for his new team in the 2–2 home draw withEverton, which coincided withKenny Dalglish's first home game back as manager.[24] His second came six days later in a 3–0 win atWolverhampton Wanderers, when he struck a dipping 25-yard volley into the top corner of the net in the 50th minute.[25]
On 12 February 2011, Meireles netted his fifth league goal in seven games: he put the hosts ahead midway through the first half, butWigan Athletic eventually tied it 1–1 as Liverpool attempted to reorganise following his replacement due a stomach bug.[26][27] His scoring run was rewarded with theESPNPFA Fans' Player of the Month trophy for February, being an essential figure as the Reds climbed up the table.[28] He finishedthe season with 33 matches, helping to a final sixth place and being voted thePFA Fans' Player of the Year, beatingDimitar Berbatov,David Luiz,Samir Nasri andFernando Torres.[28]
In the second match of the2011–12 campaign, away againstArsenal, Meireles played 19 minutes after replacingDirk Kuyt, and provided theassist forLuis Suárez in a 2–0 win which marked the first time they had defeated the opposition on their ground in 11 years.[29] On 31 August, however, he asked to be transfer listed.[30]
With Chelsea in the market for a midfielder following a long-term injury toMichael Essien, and an unsuccessful bid to acquireLuka Modrić fromTottenham Hotspur,[31][32] the former signed Meireles to a four-year deal on 31 August 2011, for an undisclosed fee reported to be in the region of £12 million.[33][34] He chose the squad number 16, due to the fact he often wore it when on international duty,[35] and later claimed he never wanted to leave Liverpool but that the chance to work withAndré Villas-Boas, with whom he had spent a short period of time at Porto, was too good an opportunity to turn down.[36]
Meireles made his debut on 10 September 2011 againstSunderland, which ended in a 2–1 away win with him setting upDaniel Sturridge's goal with a long pass.[37] In the following month, he scored his first goal for the club during aChampions League group stage 5–0 defeat ofK.R.C. Genk.[38] On 12 December, he netted for the first time in the domestic league to contribute to a 2–1 home victory against league leadersManchester City also atStamford Bridge.[39]
On 18 March 2012, Meireles scored a goal and provided two assists to Torres, who ended his 24-game goal drought in the 5–2 home triumph againstLeicester City inthe quarter-finals of theFA Cup.[40] On 4 April, he scored in the final minutes of a Champions League quarter-final 2–1 victory over Benfica, setting up a last-four tie with reigning championsFC Barcelona.[41] He won his first title inEnglish football on 5 May after a 2–1 win against his former club Liverpool in theFA Cup final where he replacedRamires for the last 15 minutes.[42] He sat out theChampions League final againstFC Bayern Munich after receiving ayellow card against Barcelona atCamp Nou,[43] but was still given a medal for his participation after the 4–3 victory onpenalties.[44]
In December 2012, Meireles was handed an eleven-match ban by theTurkish Football Federation for spitting at a referee.[48] The alleged actions were followed by accusations of homophobic remarks after he received a second yellow card in the second half of a 1–2 away defeat to rivalsGalatasaray SK.[49] However, the ban was reduced on appeal to four games after it was ruled that he could not have spat at the referee, being only guilty of verbal abuse.[50]
Meireles scored once from 20 appearances in2013–14, helping his team win the national championship after a three-year wait.[51] During his spell inIstanbul, he shared teams with compatriotsBruno Alves,Nani andVítor Pereira.[52]
Meireles featured regularly in thequalifying phase for the2004 European Under-21 Championship, including a play-off tie againstFrance where the played the full 90 minutes in a 4–1 penalty shootout victory.[62][63] He was then selected by coachJosé Romão for the finals, appearing in four of five games to help the countryqualify for theSummer Olympics[64][65][66][67]– he missed the semi-finals againstItaly due to suspension;[68] in the ensuing Olympic tournament inAthens,[69] he started twice[70][71] and appeared as a second-half substitute againstIraq, as Portugal exited in the group stage with three points.[72]
Ángel Di María (left) and Meireles (right) battle for the ball during a friendly match betweenPortugal andArgentina on 9 February 2011.
Meireles' first game for thePortuguese senior team took place on 15 November 2006, when he played the entire 3–0 win overKazakhstan for theUEFA Euro 2008qualifiers.[73][74] He was picked for the final stages in Austria and Switzerland,[75] marking his debut in a major international competition with a goal in the 2–0 group stage victory againstTurkey (also his first), after entering the pitch in the 83rd minute.[76] He then started alongside several reserve players in the final group clash, a 2–0 defeat toSwitzerland;[77] four days later, he replacedJoão Moutinho during the first half of an eventual 3–2 quarter-final loss toGermany.[78]
Meireles also appeared for Portugal at theEuro 2012 (five starts for the semi-finalists)[82] and2014 World Cup (two games, group stage exit) tournaments.[83][84]
Meireles could play in any position in the midfield, but preferred to operate as acentral midfielder.[85] He was capable of being deployed in both a defensive and attacking role, depending on the players available and coaches' strategies. At Porto, he was used initially as adefensive midfielder, but tactical factors saw him switch toattacking midfielder;[86][87] in an opposite approach, whenPaulo Bento was appointed as the Portuguese head coach in 2010, the player was eventually played in a more defensive position after starting out in attacking midfield.[88]
Under his Liverpool managerRoy Hodgson, Meireles was also deployed as adeep-lying playmaker on occasion.[89] A versatile, tactically astute and mobile player, his main traits were his passing and tackling, although he was also known for his work-rate and powerful long–range shooting abilities.[89][90][91][92]
Meireles' father, Raul Meireles Sr., worked with Boavista as a masseur and encouraged his son to play football in that club when he was only six.[93] In 2008 he married Ivone, with whom he had been in a relationship for several years. The couple met while he was a youth player, and their wedding ceremony was held at Martim Church inBarcelos, with several guests including Porto teammates Bruno Alves,José Bosingwa,Pedro Emanuel,Nuno Espírito Santo,Lucho González,Mariano González,Lisandro López andPepe;[94][95] the couple's clothes were designed byFátima Lopes,[96] and thechristening of their daughter Lara was also performed there.[97]
On 17 February 2009, the couple opened a clothes shop inErmesinde, and Ivone declared that the idea made sense because both she and Meireles were interested in fashion.[98] In January 2019, his rendition ofAntónio Variações'O Corpo é que Paga in thepremiere ofLip Sync Portugal received critical acclaim.[99]
Meireles was a fan of tattoos since he was 18 years old. Numerous images adorned his body, including those of Ivone and Lara. He also had a large design of a black and red Chinese-style dragon, drawn in two stages and sprawling across his back,[100] and a huge necklace tattoo with a skull, drawn one week after his twenty-eighth birthday.[101][102]
After moving to Anfield, during an interview with Liverpool's official website, Meireles jokingly said that he wanted to win the "ink championship" against teammatesDaniel Agger andMartin Škrtel, due to their shared affection for tattoos.[103][104][105]
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