Youth
After showing great promise as a boy playing for his hometown club, Portimonense, when João Moutinho turned 13 he signed with Sporting Clube de Portugal to continue his football education. His sports-fanatic parents (his father himself a former football player) played an important part in his choice, due to Sporting's unparalleled reputation at nurturing home-grown talent.
Senior squad
During the 2004-05 pre-season, only 17 years old, Moutinho was called by then-manager José Peseiro onto the first squad, where he played some preseason games and began to display some talent for a such a young player. After the pre-season, however, he returned to the junior team, at the time coached by Paulo Bento, with players such as Miguel Veloso and Nani. He helped the team win the national title that season, although he was regularly training with the main squad.
In the beginning of 2005 he was called up for a game in the Portuguese Cup, thus making his official debut on 23 January 2005. Based on extremely consistent displays, Moutinho wasted no time in establishing himself as a regular as he quickly grew into a polished performer, able to play in any position across a flat midfield or in a diamond formation. His box-to-box dynamism, pinpoint passing and tremendous determination quickly made him a firm fans favourite. He has rarely missed a game since becoming a first-choice player.
His performances in the closing stages of 2004-05, especially in the UEFA Cup with man-of-the-match displays against Feyenoord and Newcastle United that helped the Lions reach the final of the competition, made him an automatic starter for Sporting despite his young age.
In his second season Moutinho's further progress and exceptional consistency (the midfielder was the only player in Portugal in 2005-06 to play every minute of every match in the Portuguese league) was one of the brightest spots in Sporting's runner-up final place. Incidentally, Moutinho netted his team's final goal of the campaign in a 1-0 win over SC Braga to ensure a return to Champions League football for the Lisbon club.
In 2006-07, following the departure of veteran Ricardo Sá Pinto, Moutinho was made sub-captain at just 19 years of age (in 2007-08, after Custódio and Ricardo left, he would be named captain, the youngest in the history of the club's professional football).
His natural position is to play behind the forwards, but with the presence of another attacking midfielder, Leandro Romagnoli, he has been moved to play at right midfield, where he still manages to deliver impressive performances. |
發表於 2007-11-1 02:36 PM
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