 Varela training withPortugal in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Silvestre Manuel Gonçalves Varela[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1985-02-02)2 February 1985 (age 40)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Almada, Portugal[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–2001 | Pescadores | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Sporting CP | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Sporting CP B | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2008 | Sporting CP | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | →Casa Pia (loan) | 36 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | →Vitória Setúbal (loan) | 45 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | →Recreativo (loan) | 22 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Estrela Amadora | 28 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2017 | Porto | 141 | (33) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | →West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | →Parma (loan) | 19 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Kayserispor | 55 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | B-SAD | 52 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Porto B | 41 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 449 | (70) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Portugal U18 | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Portugal U19 | 14 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Portugal U20 | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Portugal U21 | 28 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Portugal B | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | Portugal | 27 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Silvestre Manuel Gonçalves Varela (born 2 February 1985) is a Portuguese former professionalfootballer who played as awinger.
He represented mainlyPorto during his career, amassingPrimeira Liga totals of 268 matches and 47 goals over 12 seasons and winning 11 major titles, including three national championships and the2011 Europa League. He also competed professionally in Spain, England, Italy and Turkey.
Varela appeared forPortugal atEuro 2012 and the2014 World Cup, scoring in both tournaments.
Born inAlmada,Setúbal District and ofCape Verdean descent,[2] Varela was product ofSporting CP's youth system, being loaned toCasa Pia A.C. andVitória F.C. in his early years as a professional.[3] Despite being a regular with thePortugal under-21s and having enjoyed a decent form in various tournaments, he was not able to secure a place in theLions' first team, only managing twosubstitute appearances in the2005–06 season.[4][5]
In2007–08, Varela, alongside former Sporting playersBeto andCarlos Martins, joinedRecreativo de Huelva in Spain (Varela on loan again).[6][7] After a disappointing campaign despite having received playing time inLa Liga, he returned to Sporting in July 2008 only to be immediately sold toC.F. Estrela da Amadora.[8]
Beforethe season was over, in March 2009, courtesy of his solid performances at Estrela, only relegated from thePrimeira Liga off the field, Varela signed a five-year agreement with championsFC Porto on afree transfer, starting in July.[9] He made his debut on 9 August by starting in theSupertaça Cândido de Oliveira, a2–0 win againstF.C. Paços de Ferreira.[10] In hisfirst year he ranked second in overall goals in the squad, only behindRadamel Falcao; in March 2010, however, he broke hisfibula in training, being lost for the remainder of the campaign[11] as the team finished third. He missed the conclusion oftheir conquest of theTaça de Portugal, though he scored in the 5–2 home victory over Sporting in the quarter-finals.[12]
Varela scored a career-best 13 goals in 44 games in2010–11 as Porto won the supercup, league, cup andUEFA Europa League.[13][14] Inthe final of the third, he scored in a 6–2 defeat ofVitória de Guimarães.[15]
In the2011–12 season, under new managerVítor Pereira, Varela – as practically all Portuguese players (the roster was composed of three nationals) – lost his importance.[16] On 16 February 2012, in a rare start, he put his team ahead againstManchester City in theround of 32 of the Europa League, in an eventual 1–2 home loss.[17] In September, he extended his contract to 2016.[18]
Varela moved toPremier League sideWest Bromwich Albion on 24 August 2014, in aseason-long loan deal.[19] Having arrived whilst still recovering from injury,[20] he made his official debut on 2 December, replacingCraig Gardner midway through the second half of a 1–2 home defeat toWest Ham United.[21] He scored his first goal for the Baggies on the 20th, but in a 3–2 loss atQueens Park Rangers.[22]
On 20 January 2015, still owned by Porto, Varela joinedParma F.C. until June.[23] He scored his first goal on 8 April – after the club had been declared bankrupt – as the only one of a home win againstUdinese Calcio.[24] In the final twoSerie A games ofthe campaign, his goals earned 2–2 draws againstHellas Verona FC andUC Sampdoria, though the team from theStadio Ennio Tardini finished dead last.[25][26] Following his loan, he extended his Porto contract for three more years.[27]
Having made only seven appearances for Porto duringthe season, Varela, who was by then the club's longest serving player, ended his seven-and-a-half-year link on 20 January 2017 by signing for Turkey'sKayserispor.[28] He and fellow veteranAsamoah Gyan were told at the end of their contracts in June 2018 that they would only be retained if they signed performance-based deals, due to their injury record.[29]
On 8 October 2019, having been afree agent, Varela returned to his country's top-flight by joiningB-SAD until the end ofthe campaign.[30] The following July, he signed foranother season and was madecaptain.[31][32]
Varela returned to Porto on 20 July 2021; the 36-year-old was brought to pass on experience and knowledge to the young players inthe reserves, who competed in theLiga Portugal 2.[33] He scored in his very first match in the competition, a 2–2 home draw against newly promotedC.D. Trofense.[34]
In June 2022, Varela agreed to a one-year extension.[35] He then retired.[36]
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Due to his Porto performances, Varela earned his first fullcap for thePortugal national team on 3 March 2010, appearing in the second half of the 2–0friendly win overChina in a match played inCoimbra.[37] His first goal came on 26 March 2011 in a 1–1 friendly draw withChile, inLeiria.[38]
Varela was selected by managerPaulo Bento for the 23-man squad that competed inUEFA Euro 2012. He played ten minutes in the group stage opener againstGermany, in an eventual 1–0 loss.[39] Again coming from the bench forRaul Meireles, he scored an 88th-minute 3–2 winner overDenmark in the following game.[40]
On 19 May 2014, Varela was picked for the2014 FIFA World Cup.[41] On 23 June, again after having replaced Meireles, he headed home in the94th minute to earn his team a 2–2 draw against theUnited States in the group phase.[42]
Varela's nephewNilton is also a footballer, playing indefence. The pair were teammates at B-SAD and Porto B.[43][44]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting CP | 2005–06 | Primeira Liga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Casa Pia (loan) | 2004–05 | Segunda Divisão | 36 | 12 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 12 | |||
| Vitória Setúbal (loan) | 2005–06 | Primeira Liga | 15 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 19 | 3 | |||
| 2006–07 | Primeira Liga | 30 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 34 | 3 | ||
| Total | 45 | 5 | 5 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 53 | 6 | |||
| Recreativo (loan) | 2007–08 | La Liga | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| Estrela Amadora | 2008–09 | Primeira Liga | 28 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 35 | 8 | ||
| Porto | 2009–10 | Primeira Liga | 18 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5[e] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 29 | 11 |
| 2010–11 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12[f] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 44 | 13 | |
| 2011–12 | Primeira Liga | 21 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8[g] | 1 | 2[h] | 0 | 36 | 6 | |
| 2012–13 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8[e] | 2 | 1[d] | 0 | 38 | 6 | |
| 2013–14 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 12[i] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 48 | 11 | |
| 2015–16 | Primeira Liga | 22 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3[j] | 0 | — | 34 | 3 | ||
| 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 141 | 33 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 3 | 49 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 236 | 50 | ||
| West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 2014–15 | Premier League | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| Parma (loan) | 2014–15 | Serie A | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 20 | 3 | |||
| Kayserispor | 2016–17 | Süper Lig | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | Süper Lig | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 2 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Süper Lig | 32 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 36 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 55 | 3 | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | 64 | 4 | |||||
| B-SAD | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 3 | ||
| 2020–21 | Primeira Liga | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 52 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 57 | 3 | ||||
| Porto B | 2021–22 | Liga Portugal 2 | 16 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 3 | ||||
| Career total | 423 | 68 | 54 | 11 | 18 | 5 | 53 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 555 | 90 | ||
| Portugal[46] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011 | 3 | 1 |
| 2012 | 10 | 2 |
| 2013 | 5 | 1 |
| 2014 | 6 | 1 |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 27 | 5 |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 26 March 2011 | Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa,Leiria, Portugal |  Chile | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2. | 13 June 2012 | Arena Lviv,Lviv, Ukraine |  Denmark | 3–2 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 2012 |
| 3. | 11 September 2012 | Estádio Municipal de Braga,Braga, Portugal |  Azerbaijan | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2014 World Cup qualification |
| 4. | 15 October 2013 | Estádio Cidade de Coimbra,Coimbra, Portugal |  Luxembourg | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2014 World Cup qualification |
| 5. | 22 June 2014 | Arena da Amazônia,Manaus, Brazil |  United States | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup |
Porto
Individual
Portugal squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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