Place of birth Cascais, Portugal Name Hugo Leal Career start 1996 Playing position Role Footballer Career end 2013 | 1989–1991 Alcabideche Height 1.8 m Position Midfielder 1991–1992 Estoril Weight 77 kg | |
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Full name Hugo Miguel Ribeiro Leal Date of birth (1980-05-21) 21 May 1980 (age 35) Number 20 (G.D. Estoril Praia / Midfielder) | ||
Hugo leal vs belenenses
Hugo Miguel Ribeiro Leal (born 21 May 1980) is a retired Portuguese footballer. A central midfielder, he was also a reliable set piece taker.
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He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 148 games and nine goals over the course of 11 seasons, having started his career with Benfica. He also played professionally, albeit with little impact in the countries' top division, in Spain and France.
Club career
Born in the Lisbon outskirts of Cascais, Leal started his career with local S.L. Benfica and, not yet 17, made his Primeira Liga debut against S.C. Espinho, in a 2–0 home win on 20 April 1997. He made his breakthrough in the 1998–99 season, playing 27 league games and scoring three goals; in between, he served a loan stint at Benfica's feeder club F.C. Alverca, at the time also in the top level.
In the summer of 1999, Leal moved abroad to play for Spain's Atlético Madrid. In his first year the club was relegated to the second division, and in his only goal of the campaign he was also sent off, in a 13 May 2000 home draw against Sevilla FC; he stayed for the following season but could not help the Colchoneros win promotion back into La Liga, although he had established in the starting XI (36 matches, four goals).
Leal joined Paris Saint-Germain F.C. in 2001, helping the capital side to two French Cup finals in consecutive years. However, on 8 March 2002, in a match against FC Lorient for that competition, he suffered a serious injury to his left knee, being sidelined for the rest of the campaign after undergoing surgery and also missing that year's UEFA European Under-21 Championship; his playing time was gradually cut, and both the player and the team agreed on an early contract termination on 4 August 2004.
In the summer of 2004, Leal signed a four-year contract with FC Porto. He played for six months with the team before moving to Académica de Coimbra on loan as he did not get enough playing time. At this point, he seriously consider ending his playing career.
For 2005–06, Leal moved to S.C. Braga, but left the club by mutual agreement in January 2007 after only managing 17 league contests in nearly two seasons. In August, he returned to Lisbon, joining C.F. Os Belenenses in a one-year deal, in another campaign severely cut short due to injuries.
In late October 2008, Leal signed a one-year contract with newly promoted C.D. Trofense. After the club's top division relegation, he returned to Spain after eight years, joining UD Salamanca (also level two) in a 1+1 deal – second year only if club attained promotion.
During his only season with the Castile and León side, Leal was an undisputed starter, but not only did they not promote but almost suffered relegation. In late July 2010 the 30-year-old returned to his country, signing for Vitória de Setúbal. In his third game, at former team Benfica, he missed a penalty kick to equalize the score after the opponents had just been reduced to ten men, and Vitória eventually lost 0–3.
International career
Leal received one cap for Portugal, aged 18, a 0–0 draw with the Netherlands in Paris on 19 February 1999.