Place of birth Setúbal, Portugal Number 60 Height 1.8 m | Playing position 1994–1995 GDR Portugal Weight 75 kg | |
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Full name Marco Paulo Silva Soares Date of birth (1984-06-16) 16 June 1984 (age 32) Current teams AEL Limassol (#60 / Midfielder), Cape Verde national football team (Midfielder), AC Omonia (#60 / Midfielder) | ||
Marco Paulo da Silva Soares (born 16 June 1984) is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays for Cypriot club AEL Limassol as a defensive midfielder.
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Club career
Born in Setúbal, Portugal, Soares started playing professionally with F.C. Barreirense, competing two seasons in the third division and one in the second. In 2006 he signed for U.D. Leiria, but only made two Primeira Liga appearances in his first two years combined, also serving two loans in the process, one of them in Romania with CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu.
Soares returned to Leiria for the 2008–09 campaign, helping União return to the top flight after a one-year absence. Eventually, he would also gain team captaincy.
On 31 October 2010, during a 1–2 home loss against Sporting Clube de Portugal – where he started his youth career in 1997 – Soares fractured his left leg while attempting a shot, being sidelined for four months. After returning, he contributed with 14 games in 2011–12 as his team suffered relegation.
International career
Soares opted to represent Cape Verde internationally. He was a member of the squad in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign and, after the national team was eliminated, was called up for friendlies with Malta and Angola, in August 2009.
On 24 May 2010, he appeared in a friendly in Covilhã with Portugal who was preparing for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, playing the entire match as the minnows (ranked 117th) managed a 0–0 draw.