Top facts about Hugo Almeida, former Portuguese striker

Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida (born 23 May 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a center forward for the Portuguese national team.

Hugo Almeida’s age

is 37. Here, you can find the most important facts about Hugo Almeida, the decent striker.

After failing to make an impression at Porto and being loaned out multiple times throughout his contract, he went on to Werder Bremen, where he spent four seasons, reaching one UEFA Cup final and scored 63 competitive goals. He also spent time at Beşiktaş in Turkey, where he scored 47 goals in 109 appearances.

After the exits of Pauleta in 2006 and Liédson in 2010, Almeida, who had a ten-year international career with

, became a regular. He has 57 caps and 19 goals for his country, having played in two World Cups and as many European Championships.

Top facts about Hugo Almeida:

An important fact about Hugo Almeida is that he began his career in the Naval 1o de Maio youth. After a season with the first team in the second division, he moved to FC Porto in 2003, where he was never able to establish himself and was loaned out to Unio Leiria and Boavista Porto.

Almeida was initially loaned out to Werder Bremen for the 2006/07 season. The rental fee was approximately one million euros. A purchase option (approximately EUR 3.5 million) was also agreed upon, which Werder Bremen finally exercised on May 21, 2007, committing the Portuguese national striker until 2011.

With goals against Ajax Amsterdam and Celta Vigo, he helped

reach the UEFA Cup semi-finals under promoter Thomas Schaaf in the 2006/07 season. In 2009, he was instrumental in both the UEFA Cup final (goal against Udinese Calcio) and the DFB Cup victory (goals against SV Eintracht Nordhorn and Borussia Dortmund).

Hugo Almeida early life

Born in Figueira Da Foz, Hugo Almeida began his football career at his hometown club, Naval, before joining

. Regarding

Hugo Almeida’s childhood

, it should be mentioned that on September 21, 2003, he made his Porto debut, playing three minutes in a 2-0 home win over Benfica. There is no information available regarding

Hugo Almeida’s parents

.

Unable to compete for a starting spot, Almeida was loaned out to Unio de Leiri (where he had previously played on loan the previous season) and Boavista.

In the 2005/06 season, Almeida returned to Porto. He played a minor role that season and helped Porto win the national championship. During that season, he scored a spectacular free kick from 35 meters against Inter at San Siro in the Champions League, but his team was defeated 2: 1 in that game.

Hugo Almeida personal life

Hugo Almeida is married and he is the father of two daughters. He married his longtime girlfriend Andreia Almeida in 2005. His wife’s name is Andrea Almeida. The couple has two children Matilde Almeida and Marianna Almeida.

The couple divorced in 2014 after almost a decade living as husband and wife. Almeida has been dating a new girlfriend Marta for four years now. He shared an image with his soulmate via Instagram in September 2018 where he mentioned that the couple has been together for 4 long years.

Hugo Almeida professional career

Hugo Almeida played 57 games for Portugal’s national team and in that time, the giant striker rippled the back of the net 19 times.

Hugo Almeida club career

An important fact about Hugo Almeida is that he began his football career with local team Naval 1o de Maio in Figueira da Foz, Coimbra District, before being signed by Porto as a youth. On September 21, 2003, he made his Primeira Liga debut, playing three minutes in a 2–0 home victory against

.

He had loan stints with Unio de Leiria (with whom he had also played on loan the previous season) and Boavista after struggling to adjust at first.

For the 2005–06 season, Almeida returned to Porto, where he played a key part in the national winners. He scored a remarkable goal from a 35-meter free kick against Inter Milan at the San Siro during that campaign's UEFA Champions League, although in a 2–1 defeat.

Bremen

In 2006–07, Almeida had another loan spell, this time with Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga, where he reunited with old Porto colleague Diego.

He scored ten goals in 41 appearances (all competitions), including one in a 2–1 home loss to Espanyol in the UEFA Cup semi-finals, his shot floating over the goalkeeper and into the net in a 4–2 aggregate defeat; after his chances at Porto were severely harmed by the arrival of strikers Edgar and Ernesto Faras in August 2007, he accepted Bremen's offer for a permanent move.

With the departure of

to Bayern Munich, Almeida's prospects of playing in the first team increased substantially, and he began the 2007–08 season by scoring seven goals in his first 12 league appearances, including two goals in a 4–1 win against reigning champions VfB Stuttgart.

He would end the season with 16 goals in all competitions, including 11 in the league as his side finished second behind Bayern — only Diego's 17 goals were more in the squad.

Almeida scored nine goals in the league in 2008–09, including four in only five games for the eventual DFB-Pokal champions — his first Bremen honor. In a 9–3 away blowout over amateurs Eintracht Nordhorn, he scored a hat-trick.

He added two more goals in the Champions League, earning "Fans' Player of the Match" honors in a 2–2 draw away at Anorthosis Famagusta.

As the club was "relegated" to the UEFA Cup, he scored one goal in eight games as they advanced to the final, but he missed the key match against Shakhtar Donetsk after collecting a yellow card in the semi-finals 3–2 defeat over Hamburger SV (3–3 aggregate victory).

Almeida, who alternated starts and bench appearances in the 2009–10 season, scored seven goals in the domestic league for a total of 11 goals as Bremen finished third and qualified for the Champions League play-off round, with the player assisting Claudio Pizarro in the third goal of the match against Sampdoria (3–1 home win in the first leg, eventual 3–2 aggregate win).

In the first ten league games of the 2010–11 season, Almeida scored six goals. He scored three goals in a home victory over FC St. Pauli (3–0) on November 28, 2010, bringing his total to nine. He was sent off in the final minutes of the match after elbowing an opponent.

Beşiktaş

Almeida signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Beşiktaş in the Süper Lig on Christmas Eve 2010, after scoring 11 goals in 21 official games for Bremen throughout the season.

He scored the winning penalty in the Turkish Cup shootout against Istanbul Başakşehir on May 11, 2011, as the Istanbul squad defeated Istanbul Başakşehir (4–3, 2–2 after extra time).

Almeida was part of a Portuguese delegation in Istanbul that included manager Carlos Carvalhal and five players, including fellow internationals Manuel Fernandes, Simo Sabrosa, and Ricardo Quaresma.

Cesena Almeida, a free agent, signed with Cesena, a Serie A newcomer, on October 7, 2014. However, he failed at his new club, making just seven appearances before mutually ending his contract on January 20, 2015.

Russian league

A notable fact about Hugo Almeida is that he joined Russia's Kuban Krasnodar a week later. Almeida joined Anzhi Makhachkala, who had recently returned to the Russian Premier League, on July 8, 2015. Both partners mutually agreed to separate ways after just six months.

Hannover 96

An important fact about Hugo Almeida is that he returned to Germany on January 16, 2016, and signed a contract with Hannover 96 until the summer of 2017, rejoining with former Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf.

Seven days later, he scored on his debut outing, although in a 2–1 home defeat to Darmstadt 98. In February, he was given a three-match suspension for elbowing FC Augsburg's Dominik Kohr, as the season came to a conclusion with relegation.

AEK Athens

On July 18, 2016, Almeida signed a two-year deal with AEK Athens from the Super League Greece. On September 11, he scored twice in the opening 15 minutes of his debut, a 4–1 home triumph against Xanthi.

After Giannis Anestis was sent off in the dying minutes of the game, Almeida played as an emergency goalkeeper for the first time in his career on April 26, 2017, in the return leg of the Greek Football Cup semi-finals against Olympiacos. After a 2–2 aggregate tie, his side proceeded to the final on away goals. Almeida's contract was mutually ended on August 30, 2017.

Hugo Almeida’s later years and retirement

A notable

fact about Hugo Almeida

is that he signed a one-year contract with Hajduk Split of the Croatian First Football League the next day, with an option for a second season.

In July 2018, at the age of 34, Almeida returned to Portugal after a 12-year absence. He accepted to a two-year deal with Académica de Coimbra because of family obligations.

On August 18, he made his LigaPro debut, playing 36 minutes in a 1–0 home loss against Paços de Ferreira before taking over as goalie after Peterson Peçanha was sent off.

Almeida announced his retirement on February 6, 2020. He immediately took over as coach of Académica's under-23 squad.

Hugo Almeida international career

Almeida competed in international events at all levels, from under-15 to the main Portuguese national team.

He made his entire debut against England in a 1–1 tie on February 18, 2004, and was also a member of the 2003 Toulon Tournament winning side, as well as the 2004 and 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals.

An important

fact about Hugo Almeida

is that he started the last three UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers for Portugal, scoring his first international goal against Azerbaijan.

He also scored in the nation's next match, a 1–0 victory against Armenia, and these goals were crucial in securing a tournament berth.

A notable fact about Hugo Almeida is that he scored in a 4–0 win in Malta on September 6, 2008, during Carlos Queiroz's second term as national team coach for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. After the naturalization of Sporting CP's Liédson in late 2009, his prominence waned.

Almeida has been selected to compete at the finals in South Africa. He replaced Liédson in the starting XI after the first match, a 0–0 draw against Ivory Coast, and both players scored in the 7–0 demolition of North Korea on June 21, 2010, in Cape Town.

After Hélder Postiga and Nélson Oliveira, new manager Paulo Bento chose Almeida as his third pick for his Euro 2012 team.

A notable fact about Hugo Almeida is that he took over when the former was injured in the first half of the quarter-finals against Czech Republic, and went on to start the penalty shootout defeat to Spain (0–0 after 120 minutes).

After being named to the 2014 World Cup squad, Almeida began the opening group stage match against Germany, but was injured after just 28 minutes of play, resulting in a 4–0 loss.

After missing the second game against the United States, he was replaced in the starting XI by Postiga, who was stretchered off after just 17 minutes.

In his last outing, a 2–0 friendly defeat to Cape Verde in Estoril on March 31, 2015, Almeida led Portugal for the first time.

Some more facts about Hugo Almeida:

After a solid first year in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen, where he joined his former Porto teammate, Diego, Almeida was loaned out again in the 2006/07 season.

An important fact about Hugo Almeida is that he scored ten goals in 41 appearances (all competitions), including one in a 1-2 home defeat against Espanyol in the UEFA Cup semi-final, where his shot flew over the goalkeeper and into the net, as part of a 1-5 defeat overall.

After realizing he had no chance of fighting for a place in Porto with the arrival of two strikers Edgar and Ernesto Faras in August 2007.year, Almeida decided to accept the offer from Bremen and signed a four-year contract worth 4 million euros.

With the departure of Miroslav Klose to Bayern Munich, Almeida's chances of breaking into the first team improved dramatically, and he started the 2007/08 season.

In top goal-scoring form in his first 12 games, he scored seven goals, including two in a 4-1 win over defending champions Stuttgart.

A notable

fact about Hugo Almeida

is that he finished the season with 16 goals in all competitions, including 11 in the league, in a season in which his club finished second to

. With 17 goals, Almeida was only surpassed by Diego.

In another strong season, 2008/09, Almeida scored nine league goals, four in just five cup games, and scored his first hat-trick against amateur Eintracht Nordhorn in a 9-3 win. He added two more goals in the Champions League, in a game in which the fans voted him "player of the match" in a 2: 2 draw away to Anorthosis.

As Werder was "demoted" to the UEFA Cup, he scored one goal in eight games as his club advanced to the final, but he received a yellow card in a 3-2 win against HSV in the semi-finals (3: 3 in total), and had to miss the final match against Shakhtar, which Werder lost 2-1 without him.

Almeida scored double-digit goals again in the 2009/10 season, hitting the net seven times in the domestic league with a total of 11 goals throughout the season, in which Werder finished third and won the right to play in the Champions League where they play the playoffs, and Almeida assists

for the third goal in the match against Sampdoria (3: 1 home win in the first game, total win 3: 2).

Almeida made his debut in the 2010/11 season. Six goals were scored in the first ten games. On November 28, 2010, he increased his goal total to nine after scoring three goals in a home win over St. Louis. Paulija (3: 0), received a red card in the final minutes of the game after hitting the opponent.

After scoring 11 goals in 21 official games for Werder Bremen during the half-season, Almeida joined Besiktas in the Süper League on Christmas Eve 2010, after agreeing to a three-and-a-half-year contract worth € 2,000,000. On May 11, 2011, he scored the game-winning penalty in a shootout, and Istanbul won the Turkish Cup against Istanbul BB (4: 3, 2: 2 after extra time).

On December 7, 2014, he signed as a free agent with Cesena of the Italian first division. In January 2016, the Portuguese striker decided to leave Russian Anzhi and join Hannover 96. After six years away, the former Werder Bremen player has decided to return to the Bundesliga and sign a contract with Hannover.

Almeida signed a contract with Hannover until the summer of 2017, when the club was in danger of relegation, had changed coaches, and was ranked 17th.

He also resumed working with his old Werder Bremen coach, Thomas Schaaf. Ten days later, he made his Hannover debut in a league match against Darmstadt, scoring his first goal for the Reds. Shortly after his debut, the Almeids experienced (minor) health issues.

On August 30, 2017, Almeida terminated his contract with Greek AEK, and the following day signed a one-year contract with Hajduk.

On September 17, 2017, he made his debut in the 9th round of the 1st HNL 2017/18 against Rijeka, which ended in a 0: 2 defeat.

His first game began from the start and ended in the 67th minute, accompanied by whistles for poor play. However, in the following round, he scored his first goals in a Hajduk jersey, two to be exact, in a 2: 2 draw with Lokomotiva Zagreb.

After his contract with Hajduk expired, he signed a one-year deal with the Portuguese second division club Académico de Coimbra in the summer of 2018.

Almeida has competed in international competitions at all levels, from U-15 to the main Portuguese national team. He made his debut in a friendly against

on 18 February 2004, drawing 1-1, and was a member of the Portuguese team that won the youth tournament in Toulon in 2003, as well as appearing in the European U-21 Championship in 2004 and 2006.

Almeida has been called up to the Portuguese national team for the final three Euro 2008 qualifying matches. He makes his international debut against Azerbaijan and scores his first goal. He also scored in the following game, a 1-0 victory over Armenia, and those goals proved crucial in the end, as Portugal advanced to the final tournament.

Almeida scored in a 4-0 win over Malta in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers on September 6, 2008, during Queiroz's second election term. Following the naturalization of Sporting's Liédson in late 2009, his importance to the national team diminished.

Almeida has been invited to compete in the final tournament in South Africa. After a 0-0 tie against Ivory Coast, he replaced Liédson in the starting lineup for the next game, but both players scored in a 7-0 victory over North Korea on June 21, 2010 in Cape Town.

Almeida has been called up to the Euro 2012 squad by new coach Paul Bent, initially as the third pick behind Hélder Postiga and Nelson Oliveira. After injuring himself in the first half of the quarter-finals against the Czech Republic, he was substituted but started the penalty shootout against Spain from the first minute (0-0 after 120 minutes).

After being named to the team for the World Cup in Brazil, he started the first game of the group stage against

, but was injured after only 28 minutes of play, resulting in a 4-0 loss for his team. He also missed the games against the United States and Ghana.

Almeida's greatest strength is his shooting ability with his powerful left foot. In the 2008/09 season, he scored a 124-meter goal against 1. FC Köln on the 13th matchday.

Furthermore, despite his stature, he is quite fast and thus very assertive, implying that he has a good header game. However, one of his major flaws is his inability to capitalize on chances, because, because he has such a powerful shot, he tries to score in this manner from close range, which he frequently fails to do.

During the winter break of the 2010/11 season, he moved for two million euros to Turkish first division club Beşiktaş Istanbul, where he won the Turkish Cup in his first season.

On January 21, 2011, he made his debut in the Süper Lig, scoring 5-1 against Bucaspor on the 18th matchday. He scored his first goal for Beşiktaş five days later in a 2-1 cup win over Trabzonspor. On September 15, 2011, Almeida scored twice in a 5-1 UEFA Europa League victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv.

An important fact about Hugo Almeida is that he signed a contract with newly promoted Italian Premier League AC Cesena in October 2014 after being without a club at the start of the 2014/15 season, but the contract was terminated in January 2015. Almeida then joined the Russian first division club Kuban Krasnodar.

Almeida joined the newly promoted Anzhi Makhachkala in July 2015. On January 13, 2016, his contract was terminated after twelve league games in which he scored two goals.

Almeida was on contract with AEK Athens from July 2016 to June 2017. He joined Croatian first division club HNK Hajduk Split in the summer of 2017. In 20 games, he scored three goals. He finished his career with Académica de Coimbra, a Portuguese second division club. He announced the end of his career at the beginning of February 2020.

Since 2006, Almeida has been called up to the Portuguese senior team on a regular basis; previously, he had only been called up once.

He also competed in the Summer Olympics in Athens in 2004. In the European Championship qualifier against Azerbaijan, he scored his first senior international goal.

He was not yet a member of Portugal's squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but two years later he was nominated by

for the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, as well as the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where he scored his first World Cup goal in his first World Cup match, a 2nd group match against North Korea. He was also named to Portugal's national team for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Almeida set a double record against VfB Stuttgart on September 22, 2007. His two goals, which came after three and four minutes, were both the quickest (within 50 seconds) and the earliest in a Bundesliga game.

Hugo Almeida social media

Regarding

Hugo Almeida social media

, it should be mentioned that he has an Instagram page (

) with 316k followers. On the page, we can see various pictures of him along with his fans and family.

He also has a Twitter account (

) with more than 88k followers. He rarely posts new stuff on his Twitter page.

Hugo Almeida body measurements

Speaking about

Hugo Almeida body measurements

, it should be mentioned that the former player is 191cm and 86kg.

Hugo Almeida net worth and salary

Hugo Almeida's net worth

is estimated to be around $3 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.

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