Nuno Ricardo de Oliveira Ribeiro (born 11 November 1977), known as Maniche (), is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He played top-flight football in Portugal, Russia, England, Spain, Italy and Germany, and in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

he helped

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

to the Champions League, one of eight trophies won with that club. He amassed

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 ...

totals of 177 matches and 31 goals in seven seasons. Maniche won 52 caps for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, representing the nation at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup and finishing runner-up in the former competition.

Club career

Benfica and Porto

Born in

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 ...

, Maniche played youth football for local S.L. Benfica. After three seasons with neighbouring F.C. Alverca, who acted as the former's

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

, he returned to Benfica, where he was initially deployed as a winger. Following disciplinary problems at Benfica, Maniche was signed by

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

for

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 manager made him a key member of his sides, reconverting him to

. Maniche enjoyed a successful period at Porto, winning both the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and 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 ...

and contributing 13 goals in 60 matches as the club also managed back-to-back

titles. He was chosen

Man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in the 2004 Intercontinental Cup, which his team won on penalties against Once Caldas of Colombia.

Dynamo and Chelsea

Maniche was sold to

FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', , ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Footba ...

in May 2005, for €16 million; he was accompanied in that adventure by Porto teammates Giourkas Seitaridis and Costinha (another club player, Derlei, had left for the Russian team in January). Unsettled, as were the vast majority of foreign players bought by new owner Alexey Fedorychev, he left in January 2006 on loan to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side Chelsea. Maniche was part of Chelsea's 2006 league-winning squad. In his first start, a home game against West Ham United on 9 April, he had an opportunity to score an equaliser from six yards out but smashed his shot against the crossbar, and was shown an immediate red card in the 17th minute for a challenge on Lionel Scaloni; nevertheless, they went on to win 4–1. However, Maniche did not make enough appearances in the league to earn a winners' medal, challenged for a central midfield place by Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and Claude Makélélé. Chelsea had the option of making the transfer permanent at the end of the season, for £5 million (

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

9 million), but the player eventually returned to Dynamo Moscow.

Atlético Madrid

Maniche was signed by Atlético Madrid in late August 2006. Partnering his compatriots Costinha and Zé Castro, he scored four goals in 28

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 ...

matches in his first season in a seventh-place finish. Following a run-in with Atlético coach, Javier Aguirre, Maniche was cut from the squad, and agreed to join

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

on a January loan, running for the second part of 2007–08. Splitting time between the bench and the starting eleven in eight

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

appearances, he managed to score one goal, in a 1–2 home defeat to

Juventus FC Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

on 22 March, also hitting the post in stoppage time. In July 2008, Maniche returned to Atlético Madrid, playing a major part in the ''Colchoneros early

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

as they had returned to the

after a 12-year absence. In late February 2009, however, he was ousted after a new quarrel with the management, now led by former club player Abel Resino. According to additional reports in the Spanish press, Maniche was deemed surplus to requirements in Madrid after he rejected the club's offer of a new deal, as his contract was going to expire on 30 June 2009.

"We informed Maniche three or four weeks ago that we wanted to renew his contract", said Atlético's
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Miguel Ángel Gil Marín." "We really wanted him to accept the conditions and sign the contract. It is a shame for us."

Maniche was released on 6 May 2009.

1. FC Köln

On 20 July 2009, Maniche moved to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

with 1. FC Köln, signing a two-year deal and rejoining former Benfica and Portugal teammate Petit. He scored the first of his three goals on 27 October, closing the 3–0 away victory over SV Eintracht Trier 05 in the last 16 of the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

Return to Portugal

Maniche left after only one season in Germany, and on 16 June 2010 he returned to his native country, signing a one-year deal (plus an option for two further seasons) with the club he still had not represented in the Portuguese Big Three,

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

. Frequently injured during his spell with the ''Lions'' and vastly underperforming, the 33-year-old terminated his contract by mutual consent – even though he had automatically renewed it in December after appearing in his 20th competitive game– on 6 July 2011; in May of the following year, not being able to find a new team, he decided to retire. On 12 June 2013, Maniche was appointed as assistant at F.C. Paços de Ferreira after his former Porto and international teammate Costinha was hired as the manager. Three years later, he was hired in the same role alongside the same boss at Segunda Liga side Académica de Coimbra, but left four months later for personal reasons.

International career

Maniche made his debut for the Portugal national team on 29 March 2003, in a 2–1 friendly win over

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. He was a key element in the country's runner-up run at

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

, scoring in a 2–0 group stage defeat of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and adding another in the semi-finals against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, which ended in a 2–1 victory; he was subsequently selected for the Team of the Tournament. On 21 June 2006, in the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, Portugal played

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in the final group fixture. Maniche netted in the sixth minute in an eventual 2–1 win that sealed the group win. Four days later, in the round of 16, as the national side faced the Netherlands once again, he scored the only goal of the game, and was the only Portuguese player to feature on

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

' Golden Ball shortlist. After appearing significantly during the qualifying stages for Euro 2008, he was surprisingly left out of the nation's final squad, although younger brother Jorge Ribeiro would make the final cut. He also featured little during the

qualification 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 2010 World Cup, and was subsequently left out of the squad for the final stages by manager Carlos Queiroz.

Style of play

Known for his teamwork, stamina and powerful shot, Maniche received his nickname after Benfica's 1980s Danish forward

Michael Manniche Michael Manniche (born 17 July 1959) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Even though he played professionally for four clubs in his country, he was best known for his spell with Benfica in Portugal. Ca ...

Personal life

Jorge Ribeiro, Maniche's younger brother, was also a footballer. Mainly a left midfielder, he also represented Benfica amongst many other clubs, and the two were teammates at Dynamo Moscow.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Maniche goal.''

Honours

Porto *

: 2002–03, 2003–04 *

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 ...

: 2002–03 *

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 ...

: 2003–04 *

: 2002–03 * Intercontinental Cup:

Inter Milan *

: 2007–08 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 ...

runner-up:

Individual * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

* UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament:

* UEFA Team of the Year:

* Intercontinental Cup Man of the Match: 2004 Orders * PRT Ordem de Nossa Senhora da Conceicao de Vila Vicosa Cavaleiro ribbon

Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (

House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza (), also known as the Brigantine dynasty (''dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Americas. The hous ...

)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maniche 1977 births Living people 20th-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Lisbon Men's association football midfielders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players S.L. Benfica footballers F.C. Alverca players S.L. Benfica B players FC Porto players Sporting CP footballers Russian Premier League players FC Dynamo Moscow players Premier League players Chelsea F.C. players Serie A players Inter Milan players La Liga players Atlético Madrid footballers Bundesliga players 1. FC Köln players UEFA Champions League–winning players UEFA Europa League–winning 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 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Russia Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Germany F.C. Paços de Ferreira non-playing staff