Place of birth Oporto, Portugal 1983–1987 Anadia FC Height 1.88 m | Playing position 1986–1987 GD Mealhada Position Defender | |
Full name João Manuel da Silva Moreira Date of birth (1970-06-30) 30 June 1970 (age 46) | ||
João Manuel da Silva Moreira ([ˈʒwɐ̃w mɐnuˈɛɫ dɐ ˈsiɫvɐ ˈmohéiehy]; born 30 June 1970) is a Portuguese former professional footballer, who played as a defender for Swansea City in the Football League.
Club career
In summer 1996 Swansea City manager Jan Mølby spent £50,000 to bring Moreira to the Welsh club, then languishing in the Third Division. It was reported that Moreira was a former Benfica player who had recently had a trial with Birmingham City. At Swansea Moreira lived with team-mate Jason Price, near a group of students who had a Jacuzzi. The duo's off-field antics and excessive partying resulted in a rebuke from coach Alan Curtis. Quickly nicknamed "Joe" Moreira, a knee injury sustained in pre-season kept him out of the Swansea team until November 1996, when he played in a 1–0 win over Brighton. Huw Richards wrote in When Saturday Comes that "elegant but over-left-footed" Moreira became rated highly by supporters at the Vetch Field. Moreira played in the 1997 Football League Third Division play-off Final, which Swansea lost 1–0 to an injury time goal from Northampton Town's John Frain. When Mølby was sacked as manager, Moreira fell out of favour. He was made available for transfer in November 1997 and released in summer 1998.