Steven de Sousa Vitória (born 11 January 1987) is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player 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

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 ...

club Boavista and the Canada national team. Having started out at

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 ...

, he went on to play for several clubs in Portugal in both the

and the Segunda Liga, this including a one-year spell at Benfica. He also competed professionally in the United States and Poland. Vitória is a Canadian international, making his debut in 2016 at the age of 29, after previously representing Portugal at youth international level. He was part of the squads at the

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

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 ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, reaching the semi-finals in 2021, as well as at the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Early life

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, to Portuguese immigrants from the

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 ...

, Vitória played youth

with the Sudbury Lions, CS Azzurri, Mississauga Falcons, Dixie SC, Kleinburg-Nobleton SC, and Glen Shields SC. He joined the

Woodbridge Strikers Woodbridge Strikers Soccer Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Woodbridge, Ontario. The club was founded in 1976 as a youth soccer club and added its semi-professional club in League1 Ontario in 2014. The team plays home g ...

at the age of 17, being deployed mainly as a striker. He was approached to appear for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

's youth national teams on multiple occasions after leaving the country, but declined each time.

Club career

Porto

Vitória was signed by

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 ...

at the age of 18, already reconverted as a

central defender 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 ...

. In the following years he began a series of loans, starting out at G.D. Tourizense in the third division then joining

S.C. Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense (), commonly known as Olhanense, is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its Association football, football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Algarve Football Association Portuguese Di ...

for two years, and helping the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

side promote to the

in his second season by appearing in 18 games, 15 as a starter. In the 2009–10 campaign, Vitória continued on loan, this time with S.C. Covilhã in the Segunda Liga. He played his first official match for his new club on 2 August 2009, in a 1–0 away win against A.D. Carregado in the

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 ...

Estoril

Vitória cut all ties with Porto in July 2010, signing with

G.D. Estoril Praia Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia (), commonly known as Estoril, is a Portuguese professional sports club from Estoril, Cascais, Lisbon. Founded on 17 May 1939, its Association football, football team currently plays in Primeira Liga and hold home g ...

in the second division. In his debut season in the top flight, 2012–13, he played 27 games and scored 11 goals to finish ninth in the top scorers' chart– eight of them from penalties – to help his team finish fifth and qualify for the

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 ...

Benfica

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 ...

Vitória joined S.L. Benfica on 16 June 2013, signing a four-year contract; he called the day of his signing "the most important and happiest day of my life". His only league appearance took place in the last day of the season as the club had already been crowned champions, and he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 loss at former side Porto. Vitória was an unused substitute in Benfica's loss in the Europa League final to

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

on penalties. After becoming unsatisfied with his status, he was targeted by

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

and C.S. Marítimo. On 9 February 2015, Vitória was loaned to

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

for one season. He scored his first goal for the team in his hometown, in a 3–1 away defeat to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

, being released in December after the club declined against exercising its contract option on the player.

Lechia Gdańsk

Vitória joined

Lechia Gdańsk Lechia Gdańsk () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Gdańsk. As of the 2025–26 Ekstraklasa, 2025–26 season, they compete in the Ekstraklasa. The club was founded in 1945 by people Polish population transfers (1944–1946 ...

on 17 August 2016, signing a three-year contract. He made his debut on 21 September, playing the entire round-of-16 penalty shootout loss to Puszcza Niepołomice in the

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

(1–1 after 120 minutes).

Moreirense

Vitória returned to Portugal to sign with Moreirense F.C. on 4 July 2019, agreeing to a three-year deal. He made his debut on 11 August, playing the entire 3–1 defeat at S.C. Braga. He scored his first goal on 2 November, in a 1–1 home draw against Vitória de Guimarães.

Chaves

On 4 July 2022, after being relegated, the 35-year-old Vitória joined newly promoted G.D. Chaves for an undisclosed fee. He scored his first goal on 27 August, a powerful long-range header to open the 2–0 victory at

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,

. Totalling seven goals, he led the squad alongside Héctor Hernández in a seventh-place finish.

Boavista

On 12 February 2025, Vitória signed with

Boavista F.C. 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 league system, Portuguese football, at the Estádio do B ...

on a four-month contract.

International career

Portugal

Vitória represented

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 ...

at the 2006 Lusophony Games in

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, the

2006 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2006 Final Tournament was held in Poland between 18 July and 29 July 2006. The top three teams in each group qualified for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Players born after 1 January 1987 were allowed to par ...

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 ...

and the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the scor ...

in his birth nation. In the latter tournament, he featured in the 2–1 group stage loss to

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

Canada

In September 2012, without having been capped at senior level, 25-year-old Vitória considered switching allegiance to

. In January 2016, he accepted a call-up by the country for a friendly against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on 5 February, and played the full 90 minutes in the 1–0 defeat at the Home Depot Center. He scored his first goal on 6 October, helping to a 4–0 friendly win over

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

. Vitória was named to the Canadian squads for the

and

. In the latter tournament, he captained the side to the semi-final, where he was suspended for the 2–1 defeat to

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 ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. In November 2022, Vitória was included in the squad for the

. He made his debut in the competition on the 23rd at the age of 35, in a 1–0 loss against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In June 2023, Vitória was selected for the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals. Later that month, he made the final 23-man squad due to appear at the 2023 Gold Cup. 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 ...

against the United States in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, he equalized in added time in a 1–1 draw, but his attempt in the shootout was saved by Matt Turner in a Canadian defeat.

Style of play

Vitória is known for his heading, marking and scoring abilities, especially on penalty kicks and free kicks.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Olhanense * Segunda Liga: 2008–09 Estoril *Segunda Liga: 2011–12 Benfica *

: 2013–14 *

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 ...

: 2013–14 *

runner-up: 2013–14 Lechia Gdańsk *

: 2018–19 Canada *

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

runner-up:

Individual *CONCACAF Nations League Finals Best XI:

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vitoria, Steven 1987 births Living people Canadian people of Portuguese descent Canadian people of Azorean descent Sportspeople of Portuguese descent 21st-century Canadian sportsmen 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Canadian men's soccer players Portuguese men's footballers Soccer players from Toronto Men's association football central defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players FC Porto players G.D. Tourizense players S.C. Olhanense players S.C. Covilhã players G.D. Estoril Praia players S.L. Benfica B players S.L. Benfica footballers Moreirense F.C. players G.D. Chaves players Boavista F.C. players Major League Soccer players Philadelphia Union players Ekstraklasa players Lechia Gdańsk players Portugal men's youth international footballers Canada men's international soccer players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Poland