Player Profile: Quim

May 18th, 2006 | by: Luis Paulo | Comments(5)

A player tipped for goalkeeping greatness after representing his country at every level from the Under-16s upwards, the agile Quim is finally starting to display his qualities at top-level football.

A UEFA European Under-18 Championship winner in 1994, he made his senior debut in August 1999 in a 4-0 victory against Andorra, after which he was Portugal’s third-choice keeper at EURO 96. Quim enjoyed a short cameo as a substitute in the 3-0 win against Germany at EURO 2000 before establishing himself in 2002 World Cup qualifying. However, a failed drugs test saw him miss out on Korea/Japan but with the end of his ban and the arrival of Luiz Felipe Scolari to the Portugal national team helm, Quim returned to the reckoning and deputized at EURO 2004.

Quim began his career at home-town club SC Braga, making his league debut in the 1994/95 season, but had to wait until 1997/98 to earn a regular run in the side. A Portuguese Super Cup runner-up in 1999, Quim was ever-present in both the 1999/00 and 2000/01 seasons but his career stalled in early 2002, though, when he was suspended after testing positive for nandrolome. He returned in 2003/04 helping the side to fifth to qualify for the UEFA Cup and reached the last four of the Portuguese Cup.
Quim ended a decade at Braga when he agreed a five-year deal with SL Benfica during the summer. After starting the season behind José Moreira in the pecking order, he was handed his chance in December and grabbed it with both hands. The custodian went on to make 19 appearances, conceding just 15 goals, and a superb display in the penultimate match of the campaign against city rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal helped Benfica claim their first title for eleven years.
He was sacked from the team by Ronald Koeman but Scolari kept his trust on Quim, capping him for the World Cup even though he hasn’t played for a while.