Flávio Miguel Magalhães Sousa Meireles (born 3 October 1976) is a Portuguese former

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 as a

defensive midfielder 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. ...

. Most of his 16-year professional career was associated with Vitória de Guimarães, which he represented in three different spells, appearing in nearly 250 official games. He later worked as the club's

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...

Club career

Born in

Ribeira de Pena Ribeira de Pena () is a municipality in the Vila Real District, in Norte Region in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 6,544,Vila Real District The District of Vila Real ( ) is a district of northern Portugal. With an area of , the district is located east of the port city of Porto and north of the Douro, Douro River. Vila Real has always belonged to the historical province of Trás- ...

, Meireles began his professional career with Vitória de Guimarães, having no impact whatsoever at the club in his first spell and moving to the lower leagues in 1996, first with

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 ...

(where he was also featured rarely, in the Segunda Liga) then

AD Fafe Associação Desportiva de Fafe (abbreviated as AD Fafe) is a Portuguese professional football club based in Fafe, in the district of Braga. Background AD Fafe currently plays in the Campeonato Nacional de Seniores – Série A which is ...

. Meireles returned to Vitória in summer 1999, being quickly loaned to Fafe. In the 2000–01 campaign he switched to another former side, Moreirense, being instrumental as they – also based in

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved ...

– promoted from the third division to the

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 ...

in only two years, under manager Manuel Machado. For 2003–04, Meireles re-joined Vitória de Guimarães for a third spell. His first appearance was on 18 August 2003, when he played the entire 1–0 home win over U.D. Leiria. At the

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

team, he was now first-choice and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

from the start, helping them achieve promotion in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for 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 ...

in the following season, with the player appearing in all games but one and scoring three goals; in two different stints at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, he was again coached by Machado. On 22 May 2011, after appearing in the final of the

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 ...

against

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

, the 34-year-old Meireles announced his immediate retirement from football. Shortly after, he was appointed as a coach at the club. In May 2012, still with Vitória, Meireles was appointed new

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

. In remained in the position for one decade.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meireles, Flavio 1976 births Living people 20th-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Vila Real District Men's association football midfielders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Vitória S.C. players Moreirense F.C. players AD Fafe players