Name Michael Domingues Role Footballer Playing position Height 1.95 m | Number 1 Weight 90 kg 2002–2006 Sporting Pombal Career start 2010 | |
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Full name Michael Simoes Domingues Date of birth (1991-03-08) 8 March 1991 (age 24) Current team Boavista F.C. (#1 / Goalkeeper) | ||
Place of birth Yverdon, Switzerland | ||
Michael Simões Domingues (born 8 March 1991), known as Mika, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for English club Sunderland as a goalkeeper.
Contents
- Mika welcome to sunderland best saves
- Club career
- International career
- Club statistics
- International
- Individual
- References
Mika welcome to sunderland best saves
Club career
Born in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland to Portuguese parents, Mika joined U.D. Leiria's youth ranks in 2006, aged 15. He was promoted to the main squad for the 2009–10 season, as third-choice. On 26 February 2010, in a home match against Vitória de Guimarães, he made his Primeira Liga debut, replacing Carlão after Hélder Godinho received a red card for committing a foul inside the box – he was not able to prevent Andrezinho from scoring the game's only goal, in the subsequent penalty kick; the following campaign he was still a backup, but two of his three appearances were against Sporting Clube de Portugal (0–0 away draw) and S.L. Benfica (3–3, also away).
On 7 July 2011, whilst on international duty with the Portuguese under-20s, Mika signed a five-year contract with Benfica for €500,000. He played no official games during 2011–12, playing understudy to experienced Artur and Eduardo, going on to spend the following two seasons with the B-team in the second division.
On 27 January 2014, Mika cut ties with the Lisbon club. He signed for two years with second level side Atlético Clube de Portugal the same day, being first-choice during his short tenure but not being able to help prevent relegation.
Mika returned to the top flight in the 2014 summer, penning a three-year deal with Boavista FC. During the 2016 summer, he gained interest from Premier League clubs Leicester City and Sunderland: initial reports stated he agreed a move to the latter on transfer deadline day, but the deal was not finalized as the transfer window had already closed. The reason for the delayed transfer was a technical fault at the Portuguese end, but after an appeal to FIFA he was granted permission to join and signed a two-year contract.
Mika played no official games in his first season, serving as backup to Jordan Pickford and Vito Mannone.
International career
Mika was Portugal's starter at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia: he helped the national team reach the final without conceding a single goal, before losing to Brazil 2–3 in the decisive match. In the quarter-finals against Argentina he saved three penalties in the shootout and, in the following game, against France, he broke the record for number of minutes without conceding a goal in U-20 World Cup history, in a 2–0 win, and was eventually voted as best goalkeeper in the tournament.
Subsequently, Mika was chosen by under-21 manager Rui Jorge for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying campaign. He played in half of the games, with Portugal just missing out on the play-off round.