Nani
Full name: Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 17 November 1986
Birthplace: Amadora, Portugal
Nani is the latest outstanding talent to be produced by Sporting’s seemingly endless conveyor belt of world-class wingers. The same system that produced Luis Figo, Simao, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Quaresma appears to have unearthed another sensation capable of attaining the heights of such exalted company.
Nani was brought up in the poor Lisbon suburb of Amadora. A complicated family background saw him being raised by an aunt and he used football as a release from his turbulent childhood.
Too poor to afford the bus or train fair, he walked three miles to train day after day, or fare-dodged his way to his local club, Massama, on the outskirts of Lisbon, earning himself a sharp ticking off from the police on one occasion.
His big break came when he was spotted by Sporting scouts who were so impressed they quickly made sure he joined the club’s famed youth academy and, as they say, the rest is history and a happy one at that.
His speed, strength and trickery have led many to compare him with Cristiano Ronaldo, and like the Manchester United winger Nani has the added bonus of having a keen eye for goal. He is equally at home on either flank.
He broke into the first team at 18 years of age, and made an immediate impression with his dazzling footwork and extreme speed, scoring 6 goals in his debut season.
Nani was brought up in the poor Lisbon suburb of Amadora. A complicated family background saw him being raised by an aunt and he used football as a release from his turbulent childhood.
Too poor to afford the bus or train fair, he walked three miles to train day after day, or fare-dodged his way to his local club, Massama, on the outskirts of Lisbon, earning himself a sharp ticking off from the police on one occasion.
His big break came when he was spotted by Sporting scouts who were so impressed they quickly made sure he joined the club’s famed youth academy and, as they say, the rest is history and a happy one at that.
His speed, strength and trickery have led many to compare him with Cristiano Ronaldo, and like the Manchester United winger Nani has the added bonus of having a keen eye for goal. He is equally at home on either flank.
He broke into the first team at 18 years of age, and made an immediate impression with his dazzling footwork and extreme speed, scoring 6 goals in his debut season.
Trademark celebration
Each goal is exuberantly celebrated, with an acrobatic somersault on the run that wouldn’t shame an Olympic gymnast.Nani enjoyed a blistering start to the 2006/07 season with two goals in Sporting’s first two matches and another on his international debut where he gave a man-of-the-match display against Denmark.
That was followed up by an outstanding goal in the Champions League against Spartak Moscow, and Europe’s biggest clubs began to take note. Manchester United and Inter Milan are among a host of top European giants reportedly vying for Nani’s signature.
The speculation prompted Sporting president Soares Franco to publicly state that Nani was not for sale, before tying the winger to a contract until 2010 with a reported buy-out clause of 25 million euros.
Nevertheless, with the goals continuing to flow it would not be a huge surprise if Sporting were unable to hold on to him for too long.
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