 Pereira withPorto in 2018 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Victorio Maximiliano Pereira Páez[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1984-06-08)8 June 1984 (age 41)[1] | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay[1] | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | |||||||||||||
| Position | Right-back | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| Bella Vista | ||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Defensor | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2002–2007 | Defensor | 125 | (25) | |||||||||||
| 2007–2015 | Benfica | 212 | (13) | |||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Porto | 89 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2021 | Peñarol | 20 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | River Plate (UY) | 46 | (1) | |||||||||||
| Total | 492 | (43) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2018 | Uruguay | 125 | (3) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Victorio Maximiliano "Maxi"Pereira Páez (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈmaksipeˈrejra]; born 8 June 1984) is a Uruguayan former professionalfootballer who played as aright-back.
He played withDefensor in Uruguay, before joiningBenfica in 2007 where he stayed for eight seasons, appearing in 333 official matches and winning 11 major titles. In 2015, he signed withPorto also in Portugal, staying there until 2019.
Pereira played125 matches for theUruguay national football team, representing them at threeWorld Cups, and fourCopa Américas, including winning the2011 Copa América.
Born inMontevideo, Pereira was known by the nickname "Mono" (Monkey) in his homeland.[3][4][5] He began playing football as aforward atC.A. Bella Vista before moving toDefensor Sporting where he re-adapted as amidfielder; he dealt in his early years withhomesickness and the death of his father.[6]
Pereira made his professional debut as an 18-year-old, early in the 2002–03 season. He took no time to adjust to the first team, being a crucial part alongsideÁlvaro González and scoring a career-best 12 goals in thePrimera División of2005–06. After the2006–07 campaign, Defensor lost both gems as González was transferred toBoca Juniors and Pereira went toS.L. Benfica, accompanied by countrymanCristian Rodríguez;[7] thePrimeira Liga club signed the player for €3 million and 70% of his rights.[8]
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In hisfirst year in Portugal, Pereira was initially played as aright midfielder, failing to adjust to that position.[9] He did score in two consecutive home games in November 2007, in a 6–1 league thrashing ofBoavista F.C.[10] and in thegroup stage of theUEFA Champions League 1–1 draw againstAC Milan, with his left foot from outside the box.[11]
Pereira switched to right-back thefollowing campaign afterNélson Marcos moved toReal Betis, and became ever-present.[12] In2009–10, as Benfica won the league after five years –adding theTaça da Liga – he appeared in 37 competitive matches, scoring four goals in 2,932 minutes of action.[13]
On 17 December 2011, Pereira renewed his contract until 2015 and the club paid €2.7 million for the remaining 30% of his rights, still in possession of Defensor.[14][15] He netted two goals in the2011–12 Champions League, both coming againstFC Zenit Saint Petersburg in theround-of-16 (3–2 away loss, 2–0 home win, both through tap-ins)[16][17] as his team eventually reached the quarter-finals of the competition, where he wassent off in the first half of the second leg againstChelsea after two bookable offences (1–1 away draw, 2–1 aggregate defeat).[18]
Pereira reached the 300-game milestone at Benfica on 2 October 2014, in aChampions League match againstBayer 04 Leverkusen, becoming the second foreigner behindLuisão to achieve this feat.[19] On 2 May of the following year, he scored twice in a 5–0 rout atGil Vicente FC,[20] contributing a further three goals as the teamrenewed their domestic supremacy.[21]
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On 30 June 2015, Pereira left Benfica following the expiration of his contract. Fifteen days later, he joined rivals FC Porto as a replacement forReal Madrid-boundDanilo.[22] His competitive debut occurred on 15 August, in a 3–0 home victory overVitória S.C. where he provided twoassists for teammatesVincent Aboubakar andSilvestre Varela.[23][24] The following 6 March he scored his first goal for the team, a late equaliser in a 1–3 loss atS.C. Braga.[25]
On 22 May 2016, inthe final of theTaça de Portugal, also against Braga, Pereira's attempt in thepenalty shootout was saved byJosé Marafona, in an eventual 2–4 defeat (2–2 after 120 minutes).[26] The following 14 March, in the away leg of thelast 16 of the Champions League againstJuventus FC, he received a straight red card for handlingGonzalo Higuaín's goal-bound shot, conceding a penalty from whichPaulo Dybala scored the only goal to eliminate the Portuguese 3–0 on aggregate.[27]
After playing a part in winning the national championship in the2017–18 season, Pereira was awarded a new deal of undisclosed length.[28] On 4 August 2018, he scored in the3–1 win overC.D. Aves in theSupertaça Cândido de Oliveira, and was votedplayer of the match.[29]
Pereira's contract expired in June 2019.[30] In November 2020, it was reported that he was training with Porto'sfarm teamPadroense F.C. and had not announced his retirement.[31] In the same month, he sued his former club for an alleged debt of €1.24 million to him.[32]
On 1 February 2021, Pereira returned to his homeland's league for the first time in 14 years, signing forPeñarol on a contract until July, with an option for the remainder of the year.[33][34] He made his debut on 6 March as a last-minutesubstitute forJuan Acosta in a 2–0 home win overClub Atlético River Plate.[35] He scored the only goal in the third minute of a victory atC.A. Rentistas on 9 October, as his team went on towin the title.[36]
Pereira signed for River Plate on 23 January 2022.[37] Having played 42 games, the 38-year-old renewed his contract a year later,[38] and retired on 18 May.[39]
AUruguayan international since making his debut on 26 October 2005 in afriendly loss, away againstMexico, Pereira quickly became a regular for his country, and represented it at the2007 Copa América. He was selected for the squad at the2010 FIFA World Cup inSouth Africa, playing all the games and minutes for the eventual semi-finalists. In the quarter-finals againstGhana, he missed hispenalty shootout attempt but the side eventually qualified for the next stage, where he scored his first goal as an international in a 2–3 loss against theNetherlands, finding the net in the 91st minute.[40]
Pereira was again an undisputed starter for Uruguay in the2011 Copa América held in Argentina, with the national team winning their 15th continental tournament.[41] He played 14 timesin qualification for the2014 World Cup, scoring once in a 4–2 victory overPeru on 10 June 2012[42] and opening the scoring as his team won 5–0 away toJordan ina play-off to qualify for the tournament, on 13 November of the following year.[43]
Pereira was the first player sent off in thefinals in Brazil, receiving his marching orders in injury time of the 1–3 defeat toCosta Rica inFortaleza after kickingJoel Campbell.[44] He played a further two matches in the tournament, which ended for theCharrúas at the last-16 stage.
On 28 March 2015, Pereira earned his100th cap in a 1–0 friendly defeat ofMorocco inAgadir, becoming only the second Uruguayan afterDiego Forlán to reach the milestone.[45][46] He played every minute of the campaign atthat year's Copa América,[47][48][49][50]captaining the team in their finalgroup fixture againstParaguay in place of the suspendedDiego Godín.[51]
On 9 June 2016, Pereira surpassed Forlán as Uruguay's most capped player by earning his 113th in the team's final group game at theCopa América Centenario in the United States;[52] the 1–0 loss toVenezuela eliminated the nation. The 34-year-old was also selected for the2018 World Cup, but did not leave the bench.[53] He retired in November of that year with 125 caps to his name.[54]
| Team | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Defensor | 2002 | Primera División | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 2003 | Primera División | 19 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 3 | |||||
| 2004 | Primera División | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||||
| 2005 | Primera División | 34 | 6 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 6 | |||||
| 2005–06 | Primera División | 29 | 12 | — | — | — | — | 29 | 12 | |||||
| 2006–07 | Primera División | 23 | 3 | — | — | 9 | 1 | — | 32 | 4 | ||||
| 2007–08 | Primera División | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 125 | 25 | — | — | 11 | 1 | — | 136 | 26 | |||||
| Benfica | 2007–08 | Primeira Liga | 23 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8[c] | 1 | — | 36 | 3 | |
| 2008–09 | Primeira Liga | 28 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | — | 41 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8[d] | 2 | — | 37 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14[e] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 1 | |
| 2011–12 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 13[f] | 2 | — | 43 | 3 | ||
| 2012–13 | Primeira Liga | 28 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9[g] | 0 | — | 42 | 3 | ||
| 2013–14 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11[h] | 0 | — | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Primeira Liga | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[f] | 0 | 1[i] | 0 | 42 | 5 | |
| Total | 212 | 13 | 22 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 74 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 333 | 21 | ||
| Porto | 2015–16 | Primeira Liga | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[j] | 0 | — | 42 | 1 | |
| 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[f] | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Primeira Liga | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[f] | 1 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| 2018–19 | Primeira Liga | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8[f] | 0 | 1[i] | 1 | 30 | 1 | |
| Total | 89 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 130 | 5 | ||
| Peñarol | 2020 | Primera División | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | Primera División | 17 | 1 | — | — | 5[k] | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 20 | 1 | — | — | 5 | 0 | — | 25 | 1 | |||||
| River Plate | 2022 | Primera División | 34 | 0 | — | — | 8[k] | 0 | — | 42 | 0 | |||
| 2023 | Primera División | 12 | 1 | — | — | 1[k] | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 46 | 1 | — | — | 9 | 0 | — | 55 | 1 | |||||
| Career total | 492 | 43 | 32 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 124 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 679 | 54 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay[58][59] | 2005 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 15 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 125 | 3 | |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Final | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 6 July 2010 | Cape Town Stadium,Cape Town,South Africa |  Netherlands | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
| 2. | 10 June 2012 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Peru | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2014 World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 13 November 2013 | Amman International Stadium,Amman,Jordan |  Jordan | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2014 World Cup qualification |
Benfica
Porto
Peñarol
Uruguay
Individual
Uruguay squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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