Full name Valmiro Lopes Rocha Weight 77 kg Number 11 Height 1.84 m | Playing position Role Footballer Name Valmiro Rocha Career start 2001 | |
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Date of birth (1981-04-23) 23 April 1981 (age 34) Current teams Atletico de Kolkata, Cape Verde national football team (Midfielder), Racing de Santander (#16 / Midfielder) | ||
Juan calatayud season 2014 15 valmiro lopes rocha carrier highlights
Valmiro Lopes Rocha (born 23 April 1981), known as Valdo, is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Peña Sport FC mainly as a winger.
Contents
- Juan calatayud season 2014 15 valmiro lopes rocha carrier highlights
- Popular Valmiro Lopes Rocha Levante UD videos
- Early years
- Real Madrid Osasuna
- Espanyol
- Levante
- International career
- Club statistics
- References
During his professional career he played for several clubs in La Liga, mainly Osasuna, Espanyol and Levante. Over the course of 12 seasons in the competition he appeared in 258 games, scoring 34 goals.
Popular Valmiro Lopes Rocha & Levante UD videos
Early years
Valdo was born in Villablino, León, in the region of Laciana, where his parents had moved to emigrating from Cape Verde, to work in the coal mines.
He started playing football with amateurs CF Pozuelo de Alarcón, in Madrid, and stayed there for the following seven years.
Real Madrid / Osasuna
In 2001, Real Madrid knocked on Valdo's door and signed him for its reserve teams. He played 2001–02 with Real Madrid Castilla and, also during that season, received first-team opportunities in La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League games, with the Merengues eventually winning the latter competition.
In January 2003, Valdo moved to fellow league club CA Osasuna (first on loan), where he developed as a top division player, scoring five goals in 35 games in his first full season. On 11 April 2004, he netted in a 3–0 away win against his former employer.
In the 2005–06 campaign, although he featured much less mainly due to a groin ailment, Valdo scored in a 2–1 home win over FC Barcelona on 12 March 2006, as the Navarrese qualified for the first time ever for the Champions League qualifying rounds. After the "demotion" to the UEFA Cup, he helped the team reach the last-four against Sevilla FC, netting twice in ten matches.
Espanyol
RCD Espanyol signed Valdo at the end of 2006–07, to a four-year deal. He played his first game for the Barcelona-based side against CF Peralada, during preseason.
On 14 July 2009, after having appeared sparingly for he Catalans, Valdo moved to Málaga CF in a season-long loan. After being dropped out from the squad for several months due to his bad performances, he was brought back on 27 February 2010; he scored his first goal for the club against Barcelona on the same day, but the Andalusians lost 1–2 away.
Levante
On 13 August 2010, Valdo left Espanyol and signed with Levante UD, reuniting with Málaga teammates Gustavo Munúa and Xavi Torres. He contributed heavily during his first season – 2,119 minutes, 25 starts – as the Valencians finally retained their top flight status, scoring against Getafe CF in a 2–0 home win and Villarreal CF for a 1–0 away success.
Valdo was even more important in 2011–12, and found the net on six occasions as Levante qualified for the Europa League for the first time ever after finishing sixth. Two of those goals came in the campaign's final stretch, in home wins over Atlético Madrid (2–0) and Granada CF (3–1).
Upon leaving, Valdo rarely settled with a club, representing in quick succession Asteras Tripoli F.C. in Greece, Racing de Santander and Indian Super League's Atlético de Kolkata. On 1 September 2016, he returned to Spain to sign for CD Lealtad.
International career
Valdo played for the Spanish under-21s in the early 2000s. In late August 2011, aged 30, he was called by the Cape Verdean national team for a match against Mali on 3 September, for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, and made his debut in the 0–3 away loss.