Place of birth Lisbon, Portugal Name Adriano Miranda Current team Vilaverdense FC 1991–1994 Ponte Frielas Position Midfielder | 1989–1991 Aguias da Povoa Height 1.86 m Playing position Role Footballer Date joined 2009 | |
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Full name Adriano Barbosa Miranda Luz Date of birth (1979-08-24) 24 August 1979 (age 36) | ||
Adriano Barbosa Miranda da Luz (born 24 August 1979), commonly known as Nené, is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays for Vilaverdense FC as a central midfielder.
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Club career
Born in the capital Lisbon, Nené spent most of his professional career in Portugal. After starting out in the lower leagues, he signed in early 2002 with Primeira Liga side S.C. Braga from Gondomar SC, 31 of his 38 league games with the Minho team coming in the 2002–03 season, with his team finishing in 14th position.
After definitively leaving Braga (which also loaned him twice during his spell), Nené signed with U.D. Leiria, which in turn loaned him to C.D. Aves, with the latter promoting to the top division at the end of 2005–06; the move was subsequently made permanent, and the player was relatively used in the following campaign – 1,138 minutes, one goal in a 1–2 away loss against Boavista FC, a club he had represented as a youth – which ended in immediate relegation back.
In the following years, Nené rarely settled, playing in Kuwait, Cyprus, Spain and Romania. In 2010–11, aged 31, he returned to his birth nation and joined F.C. Arouca, promoted for the first time ever to the second level.
International career
Nené was part of the Cape Verde squad which progressed to the second stage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, appearing in six out of 12 possible matches. The national team finished second last in its group, failing to qualify for both the competition in Germany and the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.