.jpg) Veloso withDynamo Kyiv in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Miguel Luís Pinto Veloso[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1986-05-11)11 May 1986 (age 39)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Coimbra, Portugal[1] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1999 | Benfica | ||
| 1999–2000 | CAC Pontinha | ||
| 2000–2005 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2010 | Sporting CP | 98 | (4) |
| 2005–2006 | →Olivais Moscavide (loan) | 28 | (7) |
| 2010–2012 | Genoa | 49 | (2) |
| 2012–2016 | Dynamo Kyiv | 78 | (6) |
| 2016–2018 | Genoa | 45 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | Genoa | 21 | (0) |
| 2019–2023 | Hellas Verona | 99 | (5) |
| 2023–2024 | Pisa | 27 | (1) |
| Total | 445 | (26) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001–2002 | Portugal U16 | 10 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Portugal U17 | 25 | (3) |
| 2004 | Portugal U18 | 5 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | Portugal U19 | 9 | (2) |
| 2006 | Portugal U20 | 2 | (1) |
| 2006–2008 | Portugal U21 | 18 | (5) |
| 2007–2015 | Portugal | 56 | (3) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Miguel Luís Pinto Veloso (Portuguese pronunciation:[miˈɣɛlluˈiʃˈpĩtuvɨˈlozu]; born 11 May 1986) is a Portuguese former professionalfootballer. Mainly adefensive midfielder, he could also operate as an attackingleft-back.
He started his career withSporting CP, for whom he appeared in 156 games in all competitions, and spent several years in Italy withGenoa andHellas Verona, making 214Serie A appearances. In four years withDynamo Kyiv in Ukraine, he won as many domestic honours.
A full international since 2007, Veloso earned 56caps forPortugal, appearing at twoWorld Cups and as manyEuropean Championships.[2]
Born inCoimbra, Veloso started his football career atS.L. Benfica, but was rejected for being slightly overweight at the time, enteringLisbon neighboursSporting CP's youth system at the age of 14.[3] There, he was promoted to the first team for the2004–05 pre-season, which took place mainly in England; he started out as acentral defender.[4][5]
In order to receive more playing time, Veloso was loaned toC.D. Olivais e Moscavide in thethird division,[6] and he helped them topromote to theSegunda Liga with a career-best seven goals.[7] As a result, he was recalled by theLions — though it appeared difficult for him to grab a place in the starting team, because of the presence of players with much more experience such asÂnderson Polga,Tonel,Marco Caneira orCustódio — and ended up playing 23Primeira Liga matches duringthe campaign as his team finished second. He was equally impressive in hisdebut in theUEFA Champions League, a 1–0 home win againstInter Milan where he stoppedPatrick Vieira andLuís Figo from playing effectively, earningPlayer of the match accolades in the process.[8]
In2007–08, Veloso was ever-present in Sporting's central midfield alongside fellow youth graduateJoão Moutinho.[9][10] The club again lost the league toFC Porto, and the same befell in thefollowing season, with the player being involved in some run-ins with managerPaulo Bento.[11] In the previous off-season and the following Januarytransfer window, he attracted interest from severalPremier League sides, but nothing materialised.[12][13][14]
Veloso helped Sporting reach the last 16 in the2009–10 UEFA Europa League, after scoring in both legs of the 4–2 aggregate victory overEverton.[15][16] They could only, however,finish fourth in the domestic league.[17]
On 30 July 2010, Veloso was sold toGenoa CFC in Italy for €9 million, whileAlberto Zapater went the other way to Sporting for €2 million.[18] He and compatriotgoalkeeperEduardo debuted inSerie A on 28 August, in a 1–0 win atUdinese Calcio.[19] After a challengingfirst season at theStadio Luigi Ferraris, his first goal opened a 2–2 home draw withAtalanta BC on 11 September 2011.[20]
Veloso moved teams and countries again, signing a four-year contract withFC Dynamo Kyiv of theUkrainian Premier League on 4 July 2012 after impressing atUEFA Euro 2012; the transfer fee was €7 million, while his €5 million annual salary put him second only toCristiano Ronaldo as the highest-paid Portuguese footballer.[21][22] He played 127 games in all competitions (14 goals) and won four major titles, includingthe double in the2014–15 campaign; in thatcupcampaign he scored twice in a 4–1 semi-final victory overFC Olimpik Donetsk but he and compatriotVitorino Antunes missedpenalties in ashootout defeat ofrivalsFC Shakhtar Donetsk.[23]
On 31 July 2016, 30-year-old Veloso returned to Genoa.[24] He left theRossoblù two years later,[25] but returned shortly after agreeing to a new deal.[26]
Veloso signed a one-year contract withHellas Verona FC on 20 July 2019.[27] He scored afree kick on his debut on 25 August, equalising in a 1–1 home draw withBologna FC 1909,[28] and added further goals in a to open a loss atJuventus FC and conclude a draw withInter Milan, matching his best tally for a top-flight season.[29][30]
On 29 June 2020, with hisfirst season still ongoing due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Veloso agreed to a deal for a second campaign at theStadio Marcantonio Bentegodi,[31] in which he added two more goals and renewed again.[32] Serving ascaptain since the retirement ofGiampaolo Pazzini in 2020, he penned a new one-year contract in April 2022.[33]
On 2 August 2023, aged 37, Veloso joinedPisa SC ofSerie B on a one-year deal.[34] In September 2024, he announced his retirement; he immediately became assistant manager to newly appointedFilippo Inzaghi at the same club.[35]
.jpg)
Veloso acted ascaptain forPortugal at the2003 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, helping the nation to emerge victorious on home soil after defeatingSpain 2–1 in anIberian final played inViseu.[36][37] He was elected the tournament'sGolden Player,[38] and subsequently also helped the team reach the quarter-finals inthat year'sFIFA World Cup held inFinland.[39][40]
On 14 August 2007, following impressive performances forthe under-21s in the2007 UEFA European Championship in June (the skipper scored twice in three games, albeit in a group stage exit),[41] Veloso was called up tothe full side for the first time, for aEuro 2008qualifier againstArmenia,[42] but only made his international debut againstAzerbaijan on 13 October.[43] In the finals' group stage, he appeared in the 2–0 loss againstSwitzerland, a game in which nine out of 11 regular starters were rested.[44]
Veloso was recalled by coachCarlos Queiroz after a long spell out of the squad, for vital2010 FIFA World Cupqualifying matches withDenmark andHungary in September 2009,[45] but did not leavethe bench on either occasion;[46][47] he did take the field when they met the latter again the following month, winning 3–0.[48] He netted his first international goal in the same competition, in a 4–0 victory overMalta inGuimarães on 14 October.[49] He was chosen for the finals in South Africa where he made two brief substitute appearances in the group stage, assisting the concluder byTiago in a 7–0 rout ofNorth Korea.[50]
On 15 November 2011, Veloso scored from a free kick as Portugal defeatedBosnia and Herzegovina 6–2 at theEstádio da Luz in aplay-off for a place at Euro 2012.[51] He played every minute of their finals campaign in Poland and Ukraine, before being substituted athalf-time inextra time of an eventual penalty shootout loss toSpain in the semi-finals.[52]
At the2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Veloso was withdrawn at the interval for defenderRicardo Costa in a 4–0 opening defeat to eventual championsGermany.[53] In the final group game againstGhana, he played atleft-back due toFábio Coentrão's injury;[54][55] a 2–1 win was not enough to beat theUnited States' goal difference and advance to thelast 16.[56]
In September 2015, after one year in the international wilderness,[57] Veloso was picked by managerFernando Santos for afriendly withFrance and aEuro 2016 qualifier againstAlbania.[58] In the second game, on the 7th, heheaded home after a 92nd-minutecorner kick for the only goal.[59]
Veloso's father,António, was also a footballer. A defender, he played several years with Benfica, and was also a longtime Portuguese international.[60][11]
In 2013, Veloso married the daughter of Genoa club presidentEnrico Preziosi, Paola.[61] Their son was born in 2016.[62]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Olivais Moscavide (loan) | 2005–06 | Segunda Divisão | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 7 | ||
| Sporting CP | 2006–07 | Primeira Liga | 23 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | 29 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 6[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||
| 2008–09 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7[a] | 1 | 1[b] | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2009–10 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 14[c] | 4 | — | 45 | 12 | |||
| Total | 98 | 4 | 24 | 5 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 156 | 14 | ||
| Genoa | 2010–11 | Serie A | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 49 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 2 | ||
| Dynamo Kyiv | 2012–13 | Ukrainian Premier League | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12[d] | 1 | — | 37 | 3 | |
| 2013–14 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8[e] | 1 | — | 32 | 2 | |||
| 2014–15 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 9[e] | 3 | — | 28 | 6 | |||
| 2015–16 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5[a] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 30 | 3 | ||
| Total | 78 | 6 | 14 | 3 | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 127 | 14 | ||
| Genoa | 2016–17 | Serie A | 23 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2017–18 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 1 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 66 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 2 | ||
| Hellas Verona | 2019–20 | Serie A | 34 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 3 | ||
| 2020–21 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 2 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 99 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 5 | ||
| Pisa | 2023–24 | Serie B | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| Total | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 445 | 26 | 51 | 9 | 66 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 565 | 45 | ||
| Portugal[65] | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 4 | 0 |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 |
| 2009 | 3 | 1 |
| 2010 | 5 | 0 |
| 2011 | 6 | 1 |
| 2012 | 13 | 0 |
| 2013 | 11 | 0 |
| 2014 | 8 | 0 |
| 2015 | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 56 | 3 |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 October 2009 | Estádio D. Afonso Henriques,Guimarães, Portugal |  Malta | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification[49] |
| 2 | 15 November 2011 | Estádio da Luz,Lisbon, Portugal |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5–2 | 6–2 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs[51] |
| 3 | 7 September 2015 | Elbasan Arena,Elbasan, Albania |  Albania | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying[59] |
Olivais e Moscavide
Sporting CP
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Dynamo Kyiv
Portugal U17
Individual
Portugal squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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