Португалиялық футболшы Паулу Поштиганың карьерасы

Portuguese footballer (born 1982)

After José Mourinho was hired as manager, Postiga became a first team regular. The 20 year old scored 19 times in 2002–03, playing alongside Derlei as Porto won the treble. This included 13 in a victorious league run as well as five in an eventual conquest of the UEFA Cup, although he missed the final due to suspension. His first goal came on 3 December, the second of a 3–1 home win against Manchester City in the round of 16 of the League Cup, while his only in the league contributed to a 2–1 victory over Liverpool on 17 January 2004, also at White Hart Lane.

In summer 2004, Postiga returned to Porto in a deal that sent Pedro Mendes in the other direction, with the striker being valued at €7.5 million. New coach Víctor Fernández included him in the team for the upcoming campaign, but he had another disappointing year; however, following José Couceiro's appointment as manager, he managed to score three goals. In 2005, after a promising preseason, Postiga was demoted to the B team as Co Adriaanse was not happy with his performances. In January of the following year, trying to earn a place in the 2006 World Cup, he moved on loan to AS Saint Étienne, where he netted twice in Ligue 1, against FC Metz and Le Mans Union Club 72, both resulting in 1–0 away wins. Back at Porto for 2006–07, Postiga found himself back in the main squad due to a managerial change. A regular starter in the beginning, he nonetheless fell out of favour towards the end of the season, losing his place to Brazilian Adriano though he still managed to score 11 league goals; in his two spells, he appeared in 165 games in all competitions and netted 48 times. In mid January 2008, after having again fallen out of favour, Postiga moved to Panathinaikos F. C. on a six month loan. His first goal for the club came in the Athens derby against AEK Athens FC, in which he equalised (1–1).

On 1 June 2008, Postiga moved to Portuguese rivals Sporting CP, signing a three year contract for a reported transfer fee of €2.5 million, with the Lisbon side acquiring 50% of the player's rights. He scored his first official goal for his new club on 1 September, the only in a victory at S. C. Braga. Postiga's second season as a Lion was disastrous, both collectively – Sporting finished fourth – and individually (he only found the net on 19 April 2010, closing the 2–1 home win over Vitória de Setúbal after just one minute on the pitch); although he began as a starter, he soon lost his job to youth graduate Carlos Saleiro.

On 31 August 2011, the last day of the summer transfer window, Postiga joined Real Zaragoza of La Liga for €1 million. At the Spanish side, he reunited with his compatriots Fernando Meira and Rúben Micael. After three disallowed goals in as many matches, Postiga opened his scoring account on 16 October 2011, netting twice in a 2–0 home defeat of Real Sociedad; this included a bicycle kick in the 11th minute of the game. He finished the season as club top scorer, in an eventual narrow escape from relegation. On 10 November 2012, Postiga scored a brace to help the Aragonese to a 5–3 defeat of ten men Deportivo de La Coruña. He scored a career best 14 goals during the campaign, but his team was relegated.

On 8 August 2013, Postiga joined Valencia CF for a fee of £2.6 million, replacing Tottenham bound Roberto Soldado. On 1 September, in only the third match of the season, he netted twice late into the first half of the game against FC Barcelona at the Mestalla Stadium, but in an eventual 2–3 home loss. Postiga was loaned to S. S. Lazio for the remainder of the campaign on 30 January 2014, with the option of a permanent move afterwards. He made his debut in Serie A on 26 March, playing 20 minutes in a 2–0 away defeat to Genoa CFC.

On 1 September 2014, Postiga terminated his link with Valencia, and subsequently signed a one year deal with fellow top division team Deportivo. He made his competitive debut two weeks later, featuring the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 win at SD Eibar. His first goal for the Galicians came in his fifth match on 31 October: coming on at half time for Luis Fariña, he scored a consolation in a 1–2 home loss to Getafe CF. A week later, he was sent off in the 29th minute of a goalless draw at Córdoba CF, earning a second yellow card for a reaction when fouled by Íñigo López. Postiga spent the better part of the season injured, as Depor went on to narrowly avoid relegation.

On 29 July 2015, Postiga signed as the marquee player of Indian Super League franchise Atlético de Kolkata; at 32, he was the youngest such player in the competition, and was deemed by the management to be less injury prone than his predecessor Luis García. He made his debut on 3 October in the opening game of the season, scoring twice in a 3–2 win at Chennaiyin FC but leaving with an injury. He made no further appearances, as they went on to be eliminated by precisely that opponent in the play off semi finals.

On 1 February 2016, Postiga returned to his homeland, signing for top flight Rio Ave F. C. until the end of the season. In his second match, 26 days later, he opened a 2–1 away victory over Boavista F. C. which was his 50th goal in the division. On 14 May 2016, in the last fixture, Postiga scored the winning goal as his team won 2–1 at C. F. União, qualifying for the Europa League and relegating their opponents.

On 12 August 2016, Postiga returned to Atlético Kolkata as their marquee player. Early in his second match of the season, away to Kerala Blasters FC on 5 October, he suffered another long term injury; the club's ownership admitted that due to such concerns they had wanted a different figurehead. Postiga returned to the lineups and the side eventually won the championship, although he was substituted in the final.

Postiga earned the first of his 71 caps for the Portugal national team (27 goals) on 12 February 2003 in a friendly with Italy, where he came on as a substitute for Tiago Mendes in the 70th minute – this game was also Luiz Felipe Scolari's first as manager. He was handed his first start on 10 June in the 4–0 win over Bolivia, where he scored his first two international goals. Even though he had arguably a poor year with Tottenham, Postiga was selected for UEFA Euro 2004. In the tournament, he managed to save his team from defeat against England during the quarter finals, netting an 83rd minute equaliser to level the score at 1–1 as Portugal would prevail in the penalty shootout 6–5 after a 2–2 draw. He converted his attempt with a "Panenka style" shot, but did not feature in the final, lost 1–0 to outsiders Greece. Postiga was included in the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, starting against Mexico in a 2–1 win at the end of the group phase. In the quarter finals, after replacing captain Luís Figo, he again scored to eliminate England on penalties, as the nation eventually finished fourth. In Euro 2008, Postiga was also mainly used from the bench. In the quarter finals against Germany, he scored a late goal by heading in a cross from fellow replacement Nani, although Portugal lost 3–2. After more than two years of absence from the national team setup, Postiga was called up for two Euro 2012 qualifiers with Denmark and Iceland, in October 2010. On 12 October, against the latter, he netted in a 3–1 away victory. On 17 November, he put two past world champions Spain in a 4–0 friendly win in Lisbon. On 4 June 2011, Postiga scored the only goal in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Norway played at Estádio da Luz, which made him the tenth highest scorer in Portugal's history. He added a brace on 15 November that year, in a 6–2 play off second leg defeat of Bosnia and Herzegovina which secured a place in the competition. Picked by Paulo Bento for the finals in Poland and Ukraine as first choice striker, Postiga scored in the group stage fixture against Denmark, the second in an eventual 3–2 win. He injured his right thigh in the first half of the national side's 1–0 quarter final victory over the Czech Republic, being sidelined for the rest of the tournament. Postiga scored six goals in the qualification campaign for the 2014 World Cup. On 6 September 2013, he was sent off in the first half of a 3–2 win in Northern Ireland for headbutting Gareth McAuley; at the finals, he started the second game against the United States after an injury to Hugo Almeida in the opener, but was himself substituted 16 minutes later due to physical problems as Portugal were eliminated in the group stage.

A childhood fan of S. L. Benfica who went on to play for their two main rivals, Postiga grew up in the Caxinas fishing neighbourhood of Vila do Conde, as did his long time international teammates Bruno Alves and Fábio Coentrão. Postiga's younger brother, José, was also a footballer and a forward. He played youth football at Sporting.