Eliseu Pereira dos Santos (born 1 October 1983), known simply as Eliseu (), is a Portuguese former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played either as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. After starting out at

Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses (), commonly known as Os Belenenses or simply Belenenses, is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 19,856 ...

, he went on to spend most of his career with

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

after signing in 2007, appearing in 214 official games and scoring 27 goals in two separate spells. In 2014 he signed with Benfica, with whom he won three consecutive

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

titles among other major trophies over four seasons. A full international since 2009, Eliseu was part of the Portugal national squad that won

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

Early years

Eliseu was born in

Angra do Heroísmo Angra do Heroísmo (), or simply Angra, is a city and municipality on Terceira Island, Portugal, and one of the three capital cities of the Azores. Founded in 1478, Angra was historically the most important city in the Azores, as seat of the Roma ...

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

to a Cape Verdean mother, Inês Furtado (a restaurant owner), and a Portuguese father, José (an ambulance driver). The couple divorced when he was a teenager.

Club career

Belenenses

Eliseu moved to Portugal's mainland in 2002, moving from Sport Clube Marítimo de Angra do Heroísmo to

C.F. Os Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses (), commonly known as Os Belenenses or simply Belenenses, is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 19,856 ...

. He gradually broke into the

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

-based club's first team, appearing in 24

games in his second season and scoring in a 4–0 home win against

C.F. Estrela da Amadora Club Football Estrela Amadora SAD (), sometimes just Estrela da Amadora, is a Portuguese professional sports club (predominantly football) based in Amadora, northwest of Lisbon. The team is currently competing in the Primeira Liga, after winnin ...

on 7 September 2003; his first had come in his only appearance of 2002–03, to close the 1–1 draw with

Vitória de Setúbal Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

after just one minute on the pitch. After a loan with

Varzim S.C. Varzim Sport Club () is a Portuguese football club based in Póvoa de Varzim. The club was founded on 25 December 1915, and has played at the Estádio do Varzim Sport Club since its foundation. The club plays in Liga 3, following relegation in ...

in the Segunda Liga, where he was banned for eight months after a positive doping test, Eliseu continued to be a relatively important attacking player for Belenenses, but was used mainly as a substitute.

Málaga

For 2007–08, Eliseu and his compatriots

Hélder Rosário Hélder Miguel do Rosário (born 9 March 1980; ) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Born in Lisbon of Cape Verdean descent, Rosário started playing professionally with Sporting CP's far ...

and Paulo Jorge moved to

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...

, helping the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

ns to return to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

after a two-year absence, with the trio combining for 108 matches and six goals (three from Eliseu). The following campaign, he continued to be first-choice, scoring his first Spanish top flight goal(s) in a 4–0 away victory over neighbours

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

on 5 October 2008. He also found the net the following month, but in a 4–3 loss at

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. On 25 June 2009, Eliseu joined

S.S. Lazio (; ; ''Lazio Sport Club'') is an Italian professional sports club based in Rome, most known for its football activity. The society, founded in 1900, plays in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian footba ...

in Italy for exactly €1 million. However, after receiving few opportunities, he moved to

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

on 7 January of the following year, on loan until the end of the season. He scored in only his second match for the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

ese, who lost 4–2 at

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...

. After contributing to Zaragoza avoiding relegation – he also scored in the last fixture, a 35-yard

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

against the same opponents, in a 3–3 home draw– Eliseu returned to

La Rosaleda Stadium Estadio La Rosaleda (; literally The Rose Garden) is a football stadium in the city of Málaga, in Andalusia, southern Spain. It is the home stadium of Málaga CF in Segunda División and was previously that of Club Deportivo Málaga, of which M ...

. Subsequently, he became teammate of fellow Portuguese

Duda The Hungary, Hungarian duda (also known as ''tömlősíp'' and ''bőrduda'') is the traditional bagpipe of Hungary. It is an example of a group of bagpipes called Medio-Carparthian bagpipes. Accounts are conflicting regarding the exact form of ...

. Eliseu started

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

firmly established in the starting XI. On 27 September 2010, he scored from 25 meters against Villarreal to open the score but, minutes later, he

headbutt A headbutt or butt is a targeted strike (attack), strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's Skull#Humans, cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of ...

Carlos Marchena Carlos Marchena López (; born 31 July 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer. Mainly a central defender with an aggressive approach, he also played as a defensive midfielder. Most of his career (nine years) was spent at Valencia, wh ...

and was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in an eventual 2–3 home loss; as his suspension was lifted, he was able to appear in the next fixture at

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001 ...

, but he again received his marching orders after elbowing Juan Manuel Ortiz in the 1–1 draw. Eliseu was a regular starter when available, netting in a 4–1 home win over

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

on 5 December 2010 from a volley and also providing two assists to

Salomón Rondón José Salomón Rondón Giménez (; born 16 September 1989) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga MX club Pachuca and captains the Venezuela national team. After starting out at Aragua, Rondón went on to spen ...

. Following the arrival of

Manuel Pellegrini Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti (; ; born 16 September 1953) is a Chilean professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Real Betis. As a coach, he has managed clubs in S ...

, who replaced the dismissed

Jesualdo Ferreira Manuel Jesualdo Ferreira (born 24 May 1946) is a Portuguese Manager (association football), football manager who last managed Zamalek SC, Zamalek in the Egyptian Premier League. In a managerial career of over forty years, he was in charge of all ...

, he was mostly used as a

. After the signing of

Nacho Monreal Ignacio "Nacho" Monreal Eraso ( or ; born 26 February 1986) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left-back or centre-back. He started playing with Osasuna in 2005, going on to appear in 144 official games over the course ...

, Eliseu played in the midfield more often than not. On 3 October 2012, he scored a

brace Brace (formerly known as ''Brace For War'') was an Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. Brace was founded in 2005 by Kya Pate. In an interview with MMA Kanvas Kya Pate detailed what it is like to be the promoter of Australian MMA. Si ...

in a 3–0 away victory against

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, the first coming from 20 meters and the second through a lob over the goalkeeper.

Benfica

On 24 July 2014, Eliseu signed for Portuguese champions

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be around €1.5 million, on a two-year deal with the option for a further one. He was reunited at the club with former Belenenses coach

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Most recently he was the manager of Saudi Professional League, Saudi P ...

, who had previously tried to acquire his services. Eliseu made his official debut on 10 August 2014, playing the full 120 minutes as a left-back in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

win against Rio Ave F.C. in the

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

( 0–0 draw). He scored his first goal for his new team with a strike from outside the box, which ended up being the winner at

Boavista FC Boavista Futebol Clube (), commonly known as Boavista, is a Portuguese professional sports club from the of Porto that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football, at the Estádio do Bessa. It is one of the oldest clubs ...

's artificial turf. His second came on 21 September also in the league, striking from 30 meters in a 3–1 home defeat of

Moreirense FC Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaqui ...

. On 21 February 2015, Eliseu also scored from long range against Moreirense in the league (3–1 away win). He ended the campaign with 33 games in all competitions, as Benfica won the national championship for the second time in a row. It was reported by Portuguese press in December 2017 that Eliseu had been told by manager

Rui Vitória Rui Carlos Pinho da Vitória (; born 16 April 1970) is a Portuguese football manager and a former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the manager of Super League Greece club Panathinaikos. As a manager, he most notably spent th ...

that he would be released at the turn of the year. This did not happen, but in March it was confirmed that his contract would not be renewed once it expired at the end of the campaign. Already retired, Eliseu returned to the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, Ben ...

in May 2019 to celebrate the team's league win by driving around the pitch on his scooter, wearing sunglasses at night; he had marked the victory two years prior in the same way.

International career

Courtesy of his Málaga performances, Eliseu was first called to the Portugal national team for an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

with

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

on 11 February 2009, but did not leave the bench. He finally made his debut on 10 June, in a 0–0 friendly against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Although not part of the provisional 24-player list for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

in South Africa, Eliseu was named in a backup list of six players. He scored his first international goal on 7 October 2011, in a 5–3 home win over

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

for the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

qualifiers where he featured as a left-back and also made two assists. Eliseu did not make any appearances for his country in 2012 and 2013. He was selected by manager Fernando Santos for his

squad, featuring against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in the group stage (3–3) and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in the

quarter-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

(1–1, win on penalties) as the tournament ended in victory.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Lazio *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Benfica *

: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

: 2016–17 *

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

: 2014–15, 2015–16 *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Portugal *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

third place:

Orders *

Commander of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

References

External links

* *
National team data
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eliseu 1983 births Living people People from Angra do Heroísmo Portuguese sportspeople of Cape Verdean descent Black Portuguese sportspeople 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from the Azores Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football wingers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players C.F. Os Belenenses players Varzim S.C. players S.L. Benfica footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Málaga CF players Real Zaragoza players Serie A players SS Lazio players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's B international footballers Portugal men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2016 players UEFA European Championship–winning players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Portuguese sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in association football Commanders of the Order of Merit (Portugal)