Full name Hernani Madruga Neves Years Team 1981–1982 Vitoria Setubal Height 1.80 m | 1980–1981 Juventude Setubal Role Football player Place of birth Mourao, Portugal Name Hernani Neves | |
Date of birth (1963-11-02) 2 November 1963 (age 52) | ||
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Hernâni Madruga Neves (born 2 November 1963), known simply as Hernâni, is a retired Portuguese football and beach soccer player. In the former, he played as a defensive midfielder.
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He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 84 games and two goals over the course of ten seasons, representing in the competition Vitória de Setúbal and Benfica.
Football career
Hernâni was born in Mourão, Évora District, and began his professional career with Vitória de Setúbal. In a career greatly hampered by injuries he only played one solid season as a professional, 1987–88, appearing in 23 out of 38 matches to help the club finish in eighth position and attracting the attention of Primeira Liga and European Cup runner-up S.L. Benfica, which signed him in the subsequent off-season.
On 4 December 1988, Hernâni scored a rare goal, netting for Benfica in a 2–0 home win against former side Setúbal. A fortnight later, after a 2–0 home success against Lisbon neighbours Sporting Clube de Portugal, he tested positive for cocaine, and received a three-month ban. He was a first-team regular in the latter part of the 1989–90 campaign, and played the whole of the 1990 European Cup Final, lost 1–0 to A.C. Milan; he remained with the club for a further four years, but made only six appearances combined.
After a return to Setúbal, where he played 14 games in two seasons, and a spell in the Liga de Honra with C.D. Beja where he reunited with former Vitória teammate Adelino Nunes, Hernâni retired from the game in June 1997 at age 33. He also gained two caps for Portugal, his debut coming on 5 December 1987 in a 0–3 defeat to Italy in the UEFA Euro 1988 qualifiers.
Beach soccer
One year after retiring, Hernâni started appearing for the Portugal national beach soccer team, being one of its leading figures for one full decade and winning a total of 14 titles, as well as many other top-three finishes.
From 2006 to 2009, he also played at club level, with Italian side Cavalieri del Mare di Viareggio.