Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Portuguese name Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography

Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes Template:Post-nominals (born 28 April 1973), known as Pauleta ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}), is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a striker.

During 18 years as a senior he never played in the Primeira Liga, having spent 12 of those campaigns in Spain and France. He had his most successful spell at Paris Saint-Germain, where he scored 109 goals across all competitions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Three times the top goalscorer in Ligue 1, he was also voted twice as the division's player of the season.

Pauleta also scored 47 goals in 88 matches for Portugal, a national record at the time of his retirement. He played for his country in two World Cups and two European Championships.

Club careerEdit

Early years and SpainEdit

Born in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island in the Azores, Pauleta started his career with local clubs in his native region, before turning professional in the lower leagues. He was part of FC Porto's youth team for a brief stint yet left soon due to homesickness, signing his first professional contract with CU Micaelense in 1994 and spending one year there. He then moved to second division's G.D. Estoril Praia in 1995, helping them to the 12th position in his first and only season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The goals continued to flow following a switch to Spanish second level side UD Salamanca in 1996, with Pauleta scoring 19 goals as it gained promotion to La Liga in the following year, adding a further 15 in his first season in the top flight.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That rate earned him a move to Deportivo de La Coruña, in summer 1998.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Pauleta scored his first goal in European competition in the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, netting in a 3–1 home win against Montpellier HSC<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and repeating the feat in the second leg (2–0).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 22 November 1999 he netted a hat-trick for Depor in a home fixture against Sevilla FC,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> going on to enjoy a two-year spell with the Galicians which included 33 goals in 92 official matches, including eight from 12 starts as the club won its first league championship title in 2000.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

BordeauxEdit

On 1 September 2000, after being tracked by the likes of Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Sunderland, Pauleta joined FC Girondins de Bordeaux in France, reportedly for financial and family reasons.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He scored three as his new club crushed FC Nantes 5–0 in an away match,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Season 2000/2001 French League Week 6 – Match StatsTemplate:Dead link, at French League</ref> and some days later, on 26 September, did the same in a UEFA Cup first round match against Lierse SK, with his team qualifying for the next round;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> he enjoyed an impressive run in his first season, ending it as team top scorer with 26 goals in all competitions,<ref>2000–01 Bordeaux's Top Scorers Template:Webarchive; at Scapulaire</ref> and the Ligue 1's second leading scorer with 20.

In the 2001–02 campaign, Pauleta was the league's top scorer with 22 goals. He also led the team charts in all competitions with 35 successful strikes – a record.<ref>2001–02 Bordeaux's Top Scorers Template:Webarchive; at Scapulaire</ref> Subsequently, he was voted the best player in the French League and was also awarded the 'Oscar of football' by fellow players and coaches,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was named one of the 50 players shortlisted for the 2002 European Footballer of the Year award (Ballon d'Or), with only one other player from the French League in the list;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> additionally, he won the French League Cup, being instrumental to the success by netting twice in the final.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Season 2001/2002 League Cup Final – Match Stats; at French League</ref> After these performances, Manchester City's manager Kevin Keegan expressed an interest in the striker, but Bordeaux's chairman Jean-Louis Triaud said that, initially, they were not interested in the transfer, showing that he could be for sale only in the right circumstances.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2002–03, Pauleta proved himself another time, scoring 23 league goals and 30 overall. For the second time he won the title for the best player in the league, and was also named in its team of the year. In total, he registered 65 league goals in 98 games and 91 in 130 matches in all competitions for Bordeaux,<ref>Pedro Pauleta – 2002–03 Stats Template:Webarchive; at French League</ref> ranking third all-time upon his departure.<ref>Bordeaux's all time goalscorers Template:Webarchive; at Scapulaire</ref>

Paris Saint-GermainEdit

File:Pedro Pauleta.jpg
Pauleta in action for PSG at the Emirates Cup in July 2007, finding space around Denílson of Arsenal

Pauleta joined Paris Saint-Germain F.C. ahead of the 2003–04 season, signing a three-year contract in a reported 12 million transfer deal.<ref>Pauleta prize for PSG; UEFA, 10 July 2003</ref> He helped the capital side to its first silverware in six years by scoring the only goal of the 2004 French Cup final against LB Châteauroux, and continued with his goal scoring exploits in the league, netting 18 times in 37 contests as they finished the league in second place.

On 2 April 2006, Pauleta scored his first hat-trick for Paris Saint-Germain against former club Bordeaux, as the hosts won 3–1.<ref>Pauleta punishes former friends; UEFA, 3 April 2006</ref> Despite reported interest from defending champions Olympique Lyonnais, he stayed put to help clinch the 2006 French Cup; he netted his 99th and 100th overall goals for the side in heroic fashion, off a fantastic volley and a textbook header respectively.<ref>Hundred up for Pauleta; UEFA, 2 November 2007</ref>

Pauleta scored one of PSG's goals as they won the 2008 Coupe de la Ligue Final 2–1 against RC Lens.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> After the 2007–08 campaign, as PSG faced relegation until the very last matchday (eventually reaching safety at 16th), Pauleta retired from football after his last match on 17 May 2008, with the possible exception being if any of the Big three (S.L. Benfica, Sporting CP and Porto) in Portugal came calling, which they did not.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He retired at 35 without having played one game in Portugal's Primeira Liga, subsequently staying at PSG but in an ambassadorial role;<ref>Retired Pauleta returns to PSG; UEFA, 21 November 2008</ref> he remained the club's top scorer of all time with 109 goals in 211 matches, until the record was broken by Zlatan Ibrahimović in October 2015.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In late May 2009, Pauleta played his farewell match at the Parc des Princes, playing one half each with a team of friends and PSG – former and current – players. His son André, 13, replaced him at the end of the game and scored the final two goals.<ref>Résumé du jubilé de Pauleta (Pauleta's testimonial sumup); PSG en Force, 31 May 2009 Template:In lang</ref>

São RoqueEdit

Pauleta returned to football at the age of 37, joining amateurs Grupo Desportivo São Roque in the Azores' regional leagues and retiring shortly after arriving.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

International careerEdit

File:Pauleta2011.JPG
Pauleta with Portugal in 2011

Pauleta was the first Portugal national team player to never have played in the Portuguese top level when he made his international debut against Armenia, in August 1997. He would have to wait 18 months for his first start, against the Netherlands. His first goals came a month later, when he scored two in a 7–0 rout of Azerbaijan in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier on 26 March 1999.<ref name=RSSSF>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A substitute at the Euro 2000 tournament, Pauleta led the Portuguese attack at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, scoring three times against Poland<ref>Portugal back on track; BBC Sport, 10 June 2002</ref> and ending with that tally in as many games, as the nation was ousted in the group stage. On 19 November 2003, he scored four goals in an 8–0 friendly win over Kuwait in Leiria.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Although he played all but one game on the road to the final of Euro 2004, Pauleta did not score in that tournament finals. After the competition, with the international retirements of Fernando Couto, Luís Figo and Rui Costa, he was made captain,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a role he held until Figo's return; however, he sporadically played as captain in the latter's absence, including a 2–0 win over Egypt at the Estádio de São Miguel in his hometown on 17 August 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 12 October, against Latvia, he netted twice to become the national team's all-time goal scoring leader at the time, surpassing Eusébio's previous record of 41.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

During the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, Pauleta was the European zone's top scorer and, in a friendly match against Cape Verde in May 2006 preluding the final stages, he showed great form as he netted a hat-trick in a 4–1 win.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, after scoring the side's first goal in the group stage match against Angola,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> he failed to find the net again during the tournament; after Portugal's defeat to Germany in the third place play-off, he announced his international retirement.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Style of playEdit

A prolific goalscorer in his prime, Pauleta was considered one of the best strikers in Europe. He usually operated as a lone striker or alongside another forward, and combined mobility, pace and athleticism with good technique, two-footedness and strength in the air.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal lifeEdit

Pauleta's nickname was passed down from generation to generation in the family of his father's maternal grandmother,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while his goal celebration of spreading his arms like wings earned him the additional moniker The Eagle of the Azores.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In November 2005, he signed to become a FIFA ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages, the first Portuguese to do so.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career statisticsEdit

ClubEdit

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>Template:ForaDeJogo</ref><ref>Template:BDFutbol</ref><ref>Template:Soccerway</ref>Template:Citation needed
Club Season League National cupTemplate:Efn League cupTemplate:Efn Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Estoril 1995–96 Segunda Liga 29 18 4 5 33 23
Salamanca 1996–97 Segunda División 37 19 3 0 40 19
1997–98 La Liga 34 15 1 0 35 15
Total 71 34 4 0 75 34
Deportivo 1998–99 La Liga 28 10 9 1 37 11
1999–2000 30 8 3 0 7Template:Efn 3 40 11
2000–01 0 0 0 0 1Template:Efn 0 1 0
Total 58 18 12 1 7 3 1 0 78 22
Bordeaux 2000–01 Ligue 1 28 20 1 3 1 0 7Template:Efn 3 37 26
2001–02 33 22 2 4 4 4 6Template:Efn 5 45 35
2002–03 37 23 5 5 2 1 4Template:Efn 1 48 30
Total 98 65 8 12 7 5 17 9 130 91
Paris Saint-Germain 2003–04 Ligue 1 37 18 5 5 0 0 42 23
2004–05 35 14 2 4 0 0 6Template:Efn 1 1Template:Efn 0 44 19
2005–06 36 21 6 5 2 2 44 28
2006–07 33 15 3 1 2 2 9Template:Efn 6 0 0 47 24
2007–08 27 8 2 1 5 6 34 15
Total 168 76 18 16 9 10 15 7 1 0 212 109
Career total 424 211 46 34 16 15 39 19 2 0 526 279

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InternationalEdit

National Team Year Friendlies International
Competition
Total Goals per match
App Goals App Goals App Goals
Portugal 1997 0 0 3 0 3 0 {{#expr:0/3 round 3}}
1998 1 0 0 0 1 0 {{#expr:0/1 round 3}}
1999 2 1 5 2 7 3 {{#expr:3/7 round 3}}
2000 5 1 4 1 9 2 {{#expr:2/9 round 3}}
2001 3 0 7 7 10 7 {{#expr:7/10 round 3}}
2002 8 4 3 3 11 7 {{#expr:7/11 round 3}}
2003 12 8 0 0 12 8 {{#expr:8/12 round 3}}
2004 4 3 10 6 14 9 {{#expr:9/14 round 3}}
2005 5 2 7 5 12 7 {{#expr:7/12 round 3}}
2006 3 3 6 1 9 4 {{#expr:4/9 round 3}}
Total 43 22 45 25 88 47 {{#expr:47/88 round 3}}

Template:See<ref name=RSSSF/>

HonoursEdit

Deportivo

Bordeaux

Paris Saint-Germain

Portugal

Individual

Orders

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ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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