Miguel Ângelo Leonardo Vítor (; born 30 June 1989) is a 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 plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

club

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club (, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli professional association football, football club from the city of Beersheba, Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The club was estab ...

, where he is also

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 ...

, and for the Israel national team. He spent most of his career with Benfica (mostly as backup),

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

and

. At the latter club, he made more than 275 competitive appearances and won several honours, including the 2016–17 and 2017–18 editions of the

. Born in Portugal, Vítor represented Portugal at youth level before switching his allegiance to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 2022.

Club career

Benfica

Vítor was born in

Torres Vedras Torres Vedras () is a concelho, municipality in the Portugal, Portuguese district of Lisbon (district), Lisbon, approximately north of the capital Lisbon. It is a strong agricultural region thanks to its vineyards, and has an intense commercial ...

Lisbon District Lisbon District () is a district located along the western coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Lisbon, which is also the national capital. From its creation until 1926, it included the area of the current Setúbal District. ...

. Having been promoted from

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 " ...

's junior squad for the 2007–08 season, he made his debut for the first team in August 2007, appearing in both 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 ...

, against

Vitória de Guimarães 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 ...

, 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 ...

, facing F.C. Copenhagen in the

third qualifying round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

; this was because habitual starters

Luisão Ânderson Luís da Silva (born 13 February 1981), known as Luisão, is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre back. Luisão started his career at Clube Atlético Juventus, Juventus-SP in 1999 be ...

and

David Luiz David Luiz Moreira Marinho (born 22 April 1987) is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Fortaleza Esporte Clube, Fortaleza. H ...

were sidelined with injuries. Like Romeu Ribeiro, Vítor was loaned to

Liga de Honra The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal Meu Super for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier ...

side C.D. Aves in January 2008 until the end of the season. Subsequently, he returned to Benfica, being relatively used in his first full campaign. In early July 2010, Vítor joined English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in a

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 ...

-long loan, teaming up with compatriots

Moreno Moreno may refer to: Places Argentina * Moreno (Buenos Aires Metro), a station on Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro *Moreno, Buenos Aires, a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina * Moreno Department, a depatnent of Santiago del Estero Province, ...

and manager

Paulo Sousa Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa (; born 30 August 1970) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is the current manager of UAE Pro League club Shabab Al Ahli. Starting his career ...

. He made his debut on 21 September in a 2–1 win over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in the third round of the League Cup at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a association football, football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it ...

. On 6 November he scored his first professional goal, heading from a

Martyn Waghorn Martyn Thomas Waghorn (born 23 January 1990) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is a former England under-21 international. Waghorn had been with Sunderland since the age of eight and made his first-tea ...

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 ...

after 18 minutes in an eventual 2–0 victory against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

Oakwell Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports ground in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used by Barnsley Football Club for home fixtures, and those of their reserves. As of 2023, the Barnsley F.C. Women's team also play at the stadium. While the na ...

. On 19 December 2010, Vítor suffered a

pulled hamstring Straining of the hamstring, also known as a pulled hamstring, is defined as an excessive stretch or tear of muscle fibers and related tissues. Hamstring injuries are common in athletes participating in many sports. Track and field athletes are p ...

in a 3–0 away defeat to

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

, being sidelined for three months. He netted twice on his return, a 3–0 win at

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

on 12 March 2011. Vítor subsequently returned to Benfica, being completely ostracised by manager

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 ...

– as practically all Portuguese players – and even being demoted to

the B team The B Team is a global nonprofit initiative co-founded by Sir Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz. It advocates for business practices that are more centered on humanity and the climate. History In 2013, a group of leaders came together followin ...

. After he refused to renew his contract, he left in late May 2013.

PAOK

On 24 June 2013, Vítor signed with

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

club

PAOK FC PAOK FC (, ), short for "Pan-Thessalonian Sports club, Athletic Club of Constantinople, Constantinopolitans" (), and commonly known as PAOK Thessaloniki, PAOK Salonika or simply PAOK, is a Greek professional Association football, football cl ...

. He scored his first goal for his new team – also their first in the new season – on 17 August, netting through a header in a 3–0 home win against Skoda Xanthi FC. Vítor was first choice during his spell in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, scoring twice in 33 games in the 2014–15 campaign to help his side finish third. On 10 June 2016, it was announced he would be released as his contract would not be renewed.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

On 1 July 2016,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Vítor agreed to a three-year deal at

champions Hapoel Be'er Sheva FC, for an undisclosed fee. He won the national championship in his first two seasons, totalling three goals in the process. Vítor extended his contract in November 2017, to last until 2021. He became

, and accompanied by compatriots

David Simão David Martins Simão (born 15 May 1990) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Primeira Liga club Arouca. Club career Born in Versailles, Yvelines, France, Simão played most of his youth career at S.L. Benfic ...

and

Josué Pesqueira Josué Filipe Soares Pesqueira (born 17 September 1990), known simply as Josué, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série B club Coritiba. He spent most of his career attache ...

, won the State Cup on 13 July 2020 with a 2–0

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

victory over Maccabi Petah Tikva FC. In February 2022, Vítor's link to his club was extended by another year, to June 2023.

International career

Portugal

Vítor earned 33

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for Portugal at youth levels, starting with a 2–1 win for the under-18s against

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Montemor-o-Novo Montemor-o-Novo (), officially the City of Montemor-o-Novo (), is a city and municipality in the District of Évora (district), Évora in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 17,437, in an area of 1232.97 km2. The city itself had a population ...

on 30 November 2006; he scored the opening goal. His final appearance was his sole game for the under-23 team on 23 March 2011, a 3–2 victory over an Italian

Lega Pro The Lega Italiano Calcio Professionistico (Italian for Professional Football Italian League), commonly known as Lega Pro (Pro League), is the governing body that runs the third tier of professional football competitions in Italy, the Serie C. I ...

XI in

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

Israel

In October 2021, Vítor declared his wish to naturalise himself as an Israeli citizen and to play for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

, a decision supported by Austrian manager Willibald Ruttensteiner.

Israel Football Association The Israel Football Association (IFA; , ''HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael'', ) is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a variety of association football leagues where the highest level is the Israeli Premier League; as well a ...

chairman Oren Hasson sent the player's official application to the government – the Minister of Culture and Sport

Hili Tropper Yehiel Moshe "Hili" Tropper (; born 22 April 1978) is an Israeli educator, social worker and politician. He is currently a member of the Knesset for National Unity and served as a minister without portfolio in the thirty-seventh government fro ...

recommended it to the

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Ayelet Shaked Ayelet Shaked ( ; born 7 May 1976) is an Israeli former politician, activist, and Software engineering, software engineer. She served as Ministry of Interior (Israel), Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2022 and as Ministry of Justice (Israel), ...

, who granted Vítor's application to become a citizen on 1 May 2022. Vítor's naturalisation was criticised by some in Israel as motivated only by his footballing ability. His case was contrasted with that of African-American Jewish basketball player Jared Armstrong, who was refused citizenship despite his religion and was only given a temporary residency permit. Vítor made his debut on 2 June 2022 at the age of 32 years and 11 months, starting in a 2–2 home draw against

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 ...

in the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

Personal life

Vítor resided in Israel since 2016, having moved to the country along with his wife and three daughters.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Benfica *

: 2009–10 *

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 ...

: 2008–09, 2011–12 PAOK *

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

runner-up: 2013–14 Hapoel Be'er Sheva *

: 2016–17, 2017–18 *

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup (, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involves clubs of all standards ...

: 2019–20, 2021–22, 2024–25 *

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup (, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League Ligat ha'Al, Ligat Ha'Al; and the Israeli 2nd division Liga Leumit. Both of the ...

: 2016–17 *

Israel Super Cup The Israel Super Cup, also known as the Champion of Champions (, Aluf HaAlufim), is an Israeli association football club competition played as a single match between the winner of the latest Israeli top league champions and the winner of the late ...

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 ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Individual *

Young Player of the Month: September 2008 *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

Team of the Week: 2016–17 * Israeli Footballer of the Year: 2017

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vitor, Miguel 1989 births Living people Israeli people of Portuguese descent Portuguese emigrants to Israel Naturalized citizens of Israel 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen 21st-century Israeli sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Israeli men's footballers Footballers from Torres Vedras Naturalised association football players Men's association football central defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players S.L. Benfica footballers C.D. Aves players S.L. Benfica B players English Football League players Leicester City F.C. players Super League Greece players PAOK FC players Israeli Premier League players Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Israel men's international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Israel Israeli Footballer of the Year recipients

Club career

Benfica

PAOK

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

International career

Portugal

Israel

Personal life

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

References

External links