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Miguel Veloso
Full name	Miguel Luís Pinto Veloso
Date of birth	May 11, 1986 (1986-05-11) (age 21)
Place of birth	Coimbra, Portugal
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Defensive Midfielder, Left Back, Centerback
Current club	Sporting CP
Number	24
2001-2004 2004-2006 2006-2007	SL Benfica Sporting CP Olivais e Moscavide
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2006-Present	Sporting CP	22 (0)

Miguel started his career in the same club where his father became famous, but at the age of 14 he switched to the rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal, where he played for 5 straight years, eventually training with the first team during the 2004 season.

In order to give him game time, Sporting CP loaned him to Olivais e Moscavide for the entire 2005-06 season. There, his team accomplished the promotion to Liga de Honra, and Veloso was one of the most influential players in this conquer.

As a result of his positive career with Olivais e Moscavide, Sporting recalled him for the 2006 season. He was attributed the jersey #24. It appeared difficult for him to grab a spot in Sporting CP's starting team, because of the presence of players with much more experience, such as Polga, Tonel, Caneira or Custódio.

However, he has proved everyone wrong and played in the Sporting first team for most of the season in 2006/07. He was especially impressive in the famous Champions League win against Inter where he stopped Patrick Vieira and Luís Figo from playing. Before the match, much was made of Figo’s homecoming, but by the end of the ninety minutes all the talk was about Veloso, who turned in a man-of-the-match display in a memorable 1-0 win.

It is widely tipped that either one of the big European teams, including Manchester United, Arsenal F.C., Valencia C.F., will bag him in the 2008 winter transfer window.

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João Moutinho
Full name	João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho
Date of birth	September 8, 1986 (1986-09-08) (age 21)
Place of birth	Portimão, Portugal
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder
Current club	Sporting CP
Number	28
	Sporting CP B
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2005-	Sporting CP	81 (8)
2005-	Portugal	8 (0)

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.