Nené (footballer, born 1979)

Nené
Personal information
Full name	Adriano Barbosa Miranda da Luz
Date of birth	24 August 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1989–1991	Águias da Póvoa
1991–1994	Ponte Frielas
1994–1997	Odivelas
1997–1998	Boavista
Senior career*
Years	Team
1998–1999	Marco
1999–2000	Vilafranquense
2000–2002	Gondomar
2002	Braga B
2002–2005	Braga
2004	→ Çaykur Rizespor (loan)
2004–2005	→ Aves (loan)
2005–2006	União Leiria
2006	→ Aves (loan)
2006–2007	Aves
2007	Al Arabi
2008	Enosis Neon
2009	Pontevedra
2009–2010	Braşov
2010–2012	Arouca
2012–2013	Covilhã
2014	Famalicão
2014–2019	Vilaverdense
Total
International career
2004–2008	Cape Verde
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Adriano Barbosa Miranda da Luz (born 24 August 1979), commonly known as Nené, is a Cape Verdean former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.

Club career

Born in the capital Lisbon, Nené spent most of his professional career in Portugal. After starting out in the lower leagues, he signed in early 2002 with Primeira Liga club S.C. Braga from Gondomar SC,^[2] 31 of his 38 league games with the Minho team coming in the 2002–03 season, in a 14th-place finish.^[3]

After definitively leaving Braga (which also loaned him twice during his spell), Nené signed with U.D. Leiria which in turn loaned him to C.D. Aves, with the latter side promoting to the top division at the end of 2005–06. The move was subsequently made permanent, and the player was relatively used the following campaign – 1,131 minutes, one goal in a 2–1 away loss against Boavista FC,^[4] whom he had represented as a youth – which ended in immediate relegation.

Nené rarely settled in the following years, playing in Kuwait, Cyprus, Spain and Romania. In 2010–11, aged 31, he returned to his birth nation and joined F.C. Arouca, promoted for the first time ever to the second tier. On 12 July 2012, he switched to S.C. Covilhã of the same league.^[5]

In the summer of 2014, following a brief spell with F.C. Famalicão, Nené moved to the lower leagues with Vilaverdense FC, going on to retire well past his 30s.^[6]^[7]

International career

Nené was part of the Cape Verde squad which progressed to the second stage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, appearing in six out of 12 possible matches. The national team finished second bottom in their group, failing to qualify for both the competition in Germany and the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Nené" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
^ "Nené promete disputar lugar com Glauber" [Nené promises to fight for a place with Glauber]. Record (in Portuguese). 22 August 2002. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
^ "Jesualdo regressa a uma casa que ajudou a crescer" [Jesualdo returns to a home he helped grow]. Record (in Portuguese). 6 June 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
^ "Boavista-Aves, 2–1 (Ricardo Silva 74, Linz 90+2; Nené 9)". Record (in Portuguese). 4 November 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
^ "Nené chegou a acordo por uma época" [Nené agreed to one season] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
^ Nogueira, Carlos (12 December 2017). "Vilaverdense em Alvalade para "continuar a fazer história"" [Vilaverdense at Alvalade to "keep making history"]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ Sepúlveda, António (20 June 2018). "Nené continua no Vilaverdense FC" [Nené continues in Vilaverdense FC]. Desportivo Vale do Homem (in Portuguese). Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ Nené – FIFA competition record (archived)

External links

Nené at ForaDeJogo (archived)
Nené at BDFutbol
Nené at National-Football-Teams.com
Nené at Soccerway

[Profile-1] "Nené" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 4 April 2020.

[2] "Nené promete disputar lugar com Glauber" [Nené promises to fight for a place with Glauber]. Record (in Portuguese). 22 August 2002. Retrieved 2 June 2024.

[3] "Jesualdo regressa a uma casa que ajudou a crescer" [Jesualdo returns to a home he helped grow]. Record (in Portuguese). 6 June 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2024.

[4] "Boavista-Aves, 2–1 (Ricardo Silva 74, Linz 90+2; Nené 9)". Record (in Portuguese). 4 November 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2017.

[5] "Nené chegou a acordo por uma época" [Nené agreed to one season] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2020.

[6] Nogueira, Carlos (12 December 2017). "Vilaverdense em Alvalade para "continuar a fazer história"" [Vilaverdense at Alvalade to "keep making history"]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 5 April 2020.

[7] Sepúlveda, António (20 June 2018). "Nené continua no Vilaverdense FC" [Nené continues in Vilaverdense FC]. Desportivo Vale do Homem (in Portuguese). Retrieved 5 April 2020.

[8] Nené – FIFA competition record (archived)

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