Nuno Gomes

Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro, OIH (born 5 July 1976), known as Nuno Gomes, is a former Portuguese professional footballer who played as a striker.
He was given the nickname Gomes during childhood after Fernando Gomes, and was one of the country's most recognisable offensive players in the 1990s and 2000s; he consistently scored for both club and country, and was also capable of being a good link-up player, accumulating a number of assists throughout his career, which was spent mainly with Benfica, for which he netted 166 goals in 398 games over the course of 12 professional seasons.
Gomes represented Portugal in two World Cups and three European Championships. He helped the national team finish second at Euro 2004 and third at Euro 2000, and won more than 100 caps all categories comprised (nearly 80 for the senior side alone).

Boavista / Benfica

Born in Amarante, Gomes established his reputation with Boavista FC, where he made his Primeira Liga debut in the 1994–95 season, aged 18. He collected his first silverware as his team beat S.L. Benfica to lift the Taça de Portugal in 1997, scoring one goal in a 3–2 win in the final.

Gomes ranked joint-fourth top scorer in his last year at the Estádio do Bessa, before moving to Benfica. In the 1998–99 campaign he netted 34 times across all competitions, in an eventual third-place finish in the league.

Fiorentina / Return to Benfica

After three seasons at Benfica, in which he scored over 60 goals in over 100 appearances, his Euro 2000 exploits earned Gomes a €17 million move to ACF Fiorentina. He won the Coppa Italia over Parma in his first year witht he club, scoring in a 1–1 draw in the second leg of the final at home, which allowed Fiorentina to clinch the title 2–1 on aggregate; however, his second season was less successful, as financial collapse by the Viola and their subsequent relegation precipitated a 2002 return to his previous club.

A series of nagging injuries limited Gomes to under 70 games from 2002 to 2005, but he still helped Benfica win the domestic cup in 2003–04 and the league the following season – in the latter, he contributed with seven goals from 23 appearances. He enjoyed his best season in 2005–06, scoring 15 goals in the league, including two in an away win against FC Porto (0–2) and a hat-trick against U.D. Leiria, snatching second place in the scorers' list and adding the subsequent Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, where he netted the game's only goal against Vitória de Setúbal.

From 2006–07 onwards, Gomes faced tough competition for a starting place in Benfica's attack: he only netted six times in the league, and would suffer even more after the signing of Paraguayan Óscar Cardozo in the following summer. However, still a valuable member of the squad, he netted nine goals overall during the season, and was also made team captain over legendary Rui Costa.

On 2 October 2008, Gomes scored his 150th goal for Benfica in a UEFA Cup outing against S.S.C. Napoli (2–0 home win, 4–3 aggregate triumph) with a fine header. Following the June 2009 signing of Argentine Javier Saviola, he further fell down in the striker pecking order.

Again a reserve player in the 2010–11 campaign – but playing even less – 34-year-old Gomes made the most with the minutes provided to him by manager Jorge Jesus. He scored his first goal in the campaign on 14 November 2010 in a 4–0 home win against Associação Naval 1º de Maio, the 200th in the competition, and dedicated it to his father Joaquim who had died in August. In two consecutive league games in March 2011, he scored three goals, one at home against Portimonense SC (1–1 draw) and two in a 5–1 away routing of F.C. Paços de Ferreira, appearing as a late substitute in all three matches.

Braga

Less than one month shy of his 35th birthday, Gomes was released by Benfica after the club decided not to renew his contract. He was, however, offered a position in the team's managerial structure, effective immediately or when he eventually retired. Shortly after, he signed for fellow league side S.C. Braga.

On 11 September 2011, Gomes scored a brace in a 3–1 home win against Gil Vicente FC. During his only season with the Minho team, however, he was mostly used as a backup.

Blackburn Rovers

On 3 July 2012, Gomes signed a two-year deal at Blackburn Rovers in the Football League Championship, becoming their third signing of the 2012–13 summer transfer window. On 18 August he made his league debut for his new club, against Ipswich Town, scoring his first goal the following round against Leicester City (2–1 home win).

On 28 June 2013, aged nearly 37, Gomes was released from his contract.

Gomes represented Portugal at every level, earning 143 caps all categories comprised and scoring at an excellent rate overall. He helped the under-20s finish third in the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship by netting four goals in as many games, including two in the third-place game against Spain; the following year he appeared at the 1996 Summer Olympics, helping to an eventual fourth place.

Gomes made his senior international debut at 19, in a 1996 friendly against France. He scored his first senior international goal in Portugal's opening match at the UEFA Euro 2000, marking his fourth start with the winner as the side came from two goals down to beat England 3–2. He would finish the competition with four goals as the national team reached the last four, but earned a seven-month international ban after pushing referee Günter Benkö following the semi-final defeat by France, in which he had netted the opening goal; he was selected to the UEFA team of the tournament.

With seven goals in only six matches, Gomes helped Portugal qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup – this included a four-goal performance in a 7–1 away win against Andorra. He would struggle to hold a starting place in the finals in South Korea and Japan, only appearing twice as a substitute; on 19 November 2003 he scored his second hat-trick, in only 21 minutes of play against Kuwait.

Things went better for Gomes at Euro 2004, where he played each game and, after coming on as a half-time substitute, scored the winning goal against Spain to send the hosts through to the quarter-finals. He was often injured during the nation's 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, only managing to play four games, with one goal; he found limited time at the final stages and only made two appearances, but managed to find the back of the net with a header against hosts Germany in the third-place game, a 1–3 defeat.

After the retirement of Pauleta, Gomes was expected to become his successor in the striker role. He played ten matches and scored three times in Euro 2008's qualifying campaign, captained Portugal at the finals and scored against Germany in the quarter-finals, thus becoming the fourth player to score at three straight European Championships.

After the appointment of Carlos Queiroz as coach, Gomes was constantly left out of the squad due to his lack of minutes at his club. During the 2010 World Cup qualification, he only took part in four out of twelve matches, all as a substitute, with Liédson and Hugo Almeida being preferred; he was later on left out of the 23-men squad for the final stages in South Africa, this being the first time the player was left out of a major tournament.

On 7 October 2011, after more than two years out of international play, 35-year-old Gomes replaced Hélder Postiga in the last minute of a 5–3 home win against Iceland for the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Four days later, he played against Denmark in what was his 79th and last full international appearance; due to little playing time for his club in 2011–12, he was left out of Paulo Bento's squad for the finals in Poland and Ukraine.

International goals

Nuno Gomes: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 June 2000	Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands	England	3–2	3–2	UEFA Euro 2000
2	24 June 2000	Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Turkey	0–1	0–2	UEFA Euro 2000
3	24 June 2000	Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Turkey	0–2	0–2	UEFA Euro 2000
4	28 June 2000	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	France	1–0	1–2	UEFA Euro 2000
5	1 September 2001	Camp d'Esports, Lleida, Andorra	Andorra	0–1	1–7	2002 World Cup qualification
6	1 September 2001	Camp d'Esports, Lleida, Andorra	Andorra	0–3	1–7	2002 World Cup qualification
7	1 September 2001	Camp d'Esports, Lleida, Andorra	Andorra	1–5	1–7	2002 World Cup qualification
8	1 September 2001	Camp d'Esports, Lleida, Andorra	Andorra	1–7	1–7	2002 World Cup qualification
9	5 September 2001	Antonis Papadopoulos, Larnaca, Cyprus	Cyprus	1–1	1–3	2002 World Cup qualification
10	6 October 2001	Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal	Estonia	2–0	5–0	2002 World Cup qualification
11	6 October 2001	Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal	Estonia	4–0	5–0	2002 World Cup qualification
12	14 November 2001	Estádio José Alvalade (1956), Lisbon, Portugal	Angola	2–1	5–1	Friendly
13	14 November 2001	Estádio José Alvalade (1956), Lisbon, Portugal	Angola	4–1	5–1	Friendly
14	25 May 2002	Estádio Campo Desportivo, Macau, China	China PR	0–1	0–2	Friendly
15	19 November 2003	Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal	Kuwait	6–0	8–0	Friendly
16	19 November 2003	Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal	Kuwait	7–0	8–0	Friendly
17	19 November 2003	Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal	Kuwait	8–0	8–0	Friendly
18	28 April 2004	Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal	Sweden	2–2	2–2	Friendly
19	29 May 2004	Estádio Municipal de Águeda, Águeda Municipality, Portugal	Luxembourg	2–0	3–0	Friendly
20	5 May 2004	Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal	Lithuania	3–1	4–1	Friendly
21	20 June 2004	Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal	Spain	0–1	0–1	UEFA Euro 2004
22	26 March 2005	Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, Barcelos Municipality, Portugal, Portugal	Canada	4–1	4–1	Friendly
23	8 October 2005	Estádio Municipal de Aveiro, Aveiro Municipality, Portugal	Liechtenstein	2–1	2–1	2006 World Cup qualification
24	8 July 2006	Mercedes-Benz Arena (Stuttgart), Stuttgart, Germany	Germany	3–1	3–1	2006 FIFA World Cup
25	6 September 2006	Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	1–1	1–1	Euro 2008 qualifying
26	11 October 2006	Stadion Śląski, Chorzów, Poland	Poland	2–1	2–1	Euro 2008 qualifying
27	24 March 2007	Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal	Belgium	1–0	4–0	Euro 2008 qualifying
28	26 March 2008	Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany	Greece	1–2	1–2	Friendly
29	19 June 2008	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland	Germany	1–2	2–3	UEFA Euro 2008

Gomes' younger brother, Tiago (born 1981), was also a footballer and a striker. He played most of his career in the lower leagues but, from 2004 to 2007, competed in the second division with F.C. Marco (two seasons) and C.D. Olivais e Moscavide (one), amassing overall totals of 30 games and one goal.

He has been married twice, first to Isméria with whom he had a daughter, Laura, born in 1999. In July 2006 he married lawyer Patrícia Aguilar, with whom he also had another child, born in July 2010.

Gomes was featured on the cover of the Portuguese edition of FIFA Football 2002.

Club

1 includes one match in the Italian Supercup.
2 includes one match and one goal in the Portuguese Supercup.

International

Club

Boavista

• Taça de Portugal: 1996–97

Benfica

• Primeira Liga: 2004–05, 2009–10
• Taça de Portugal: 2003–04
• Taça da Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2005

Fiorentina

• Coppa Italia: 2000–01

Country

Portugal

• UEFA European Championship: Runner-up 2004; Third place 2000
• FIFA U-20 World Cup: Third place 1995
• UEFA European Under-18 Championship: 1994
• Toulon Tournament: Third place 1996

Individual

• Toulon Tournament: Top Scorer 1996
• UEFA European Championship: Team of the Tournament 2000
• Primeira Liga: Player of the Year 1998–99, 1999–2000
• SJPF Player of the Month: September 2005, October 2005

Orders

• Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)

• ^ "Bicampeões para a história" [Back-to-back champions to history]. Visão (in Portuguese). Portugal: Impresa Publishing: 60. May 2015. ISSN 0872-3540. 
• "Selecção distinguida pelo Duque de Bragança" [National team honoured by Duke of Bragança] (in Portuguese). Cristiano Ronaldo News. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2006.