Abel Silva
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abel Jorge Pereira da Silva | ||
| Date of birth | 21 August 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Lisbon, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Right back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1978–1984 | Atlético | ||
| 1984–1988 | Benfica | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1994 | Benfica | 16 | (1) |
| 1989–1990 | → Académica (loan) | 14 | (2) |
| 1990–1991 | → Penafiel (loan) | 33 | (1) |
| 1991–1992 | → Marítimo (loan) | 22 | (0) |
| 1995 | Vitória Setúbal | 9 | (0) |
| 1995–1996 | Felgueiras | 23 | (0) |
| 1996–1997 | Campomaiorense | 21 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | Estoril | 20 | (0) |
| 1998–2000 | Alverca | 39 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Atlético | 9 | (0) |
| Total | 206 | (4) | |
| National team | |||
| 1989 | Portugal U20 | 5 | (1) |
| 1989–1991 | Portugal U21 | 13 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2004–2005 | Benfica (assistant) | ||
| 2005–2007 | Al-Nassr (assistant) | ||
| 2007 | Famalicão (assistant) | ||
| 2007–2008 | Portosantense | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Abel Jorge Pereira da Silva, CvIH (born 21 August 1969), sometimes known as just Abel, is a retired Portuguese footballer.
One of the players who scored (both editions combined) goals in Portugal's two consecutive U-20 World Cup triumphs, the right back played for a total of ten clubs.
He started his career with Benfica, where he later worked as an assistant coach and a sport after amassing Primeira Liga totals of 142 games and two goals over the course of nine seasons.
Playing career
In 1987, at the age of 18, Lisbon-born Abel was invited to play for S.L. Benfica's youth teams, where he performed well winning many awards, moving to the first team after just one season. He was on squad for Portugal when it won the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring the opener in the final against Nigeria (2–0).[1]
After an unspectacular first year, only playing one game (his debut came against S.C. Braga, on 2 April 1989, in a 1–0 win), Silva transferred to Académica de Coimbra in the second division on loan, where he was given his first real chance as a senior.[2] His next stop was at F.C. Penafiel in the same predicament, where he started most of the year to help his team avoid top level relegation, ultimately netting his penultimate goal as a professional.
Abel experienced a final loan spell with C.S. Marítimo also in the Primeira Liga, in the 1991–92 campaign, then returned to Benfica. In January 1995 he was finally released and joined Vitória FC, where he remained until the end of the season.
Subsequently Silva represented F.C. Felgueiras, S.C. Campomaiorense, G.D. Estoril Praia, F.C. Alverca and Atlético Clube de Portugal – the latter in division three – with an average of about 20 appearances per year, before retiring from the game in June 2001 at nearly 32.
Coaching career
In the 2004–05 season Abel took up coaching, being part of Giovanni Trappatoni's staff as the Eagles put an end to an 11-year drought and won the national league.
After more assistant spells, with F.C. Famalicão and Al-Nassr FC, he began his head coaching career in 2007, with lowly C.D. Portosantense. In 2011 he returned to Benfica, as scout.
References
- ↑ Pierrend, José Luis. "World Youth Cup Champions Squads 1977 – 2005". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
- ↑ "Veteranos da Associação Académica de Coimbra" [Associação Académica de Coimbra veterans] (in Portuguese). Veteranos AAC. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
External links
- Abel Silva at thefinalball.com
- Abel Silva profile at ForaDeJogo
- Benfica career stats (Portuguese)
- Abel Silva – FIFA competition record