Nélson Morais

Portuguese footballer

Nélson MoraisPersonal information

Full name|  Nélson Dias Morais
Date of birth|  (1974-03-24) 24 March 1974 (age 49)
Place of birth|  Lisbon, Portugal
Height|  1.66 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)|  Full back
Youth career
1984−1988|  Ginásio Corroios
1988−1992|  Benfica
Senior career*
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Gls)
1992−1994|  Gil Vicente|  15|  (0)
1994−1995|  União de Leiria|  3|  (0)
1995−2001|  Alverca|  110|  (1)
1997|  → Benfica (loan)|  1|  (0)
1998|  → Campomaiorense (loan)|  1|  (0)
2001−2003|  Seixal|  15|  (1)
Total|  |  145|  (2)
International career
1990−1991|  Portugal U17|  9|  (0)
1992−1993|  Portugal U18|  13|  (1)
1994|  Portugal U20|  4|  (0)
1995|  Portugal U21|  7|  (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nélson Dias Morais (born 24 March 1974), is a former Portuguese footballer who played as a full back.

## Career[edit]

Born in Lisbon, Morais started is youth development at Ginásio Corroios at age 10, joining the larger Benfica in 1988. In 1992, he joined Gil Vicente, debuting for the Gilistas on 30 August 1992, in a home loss against S.C. Braga.[1] In the two seasons he sent in Barcelos, he was mainly a reserve player, representing them in only 15 league games.

In 1994-95 season, he joined U.D. Leiria, playing just 3 games, only one as starter. For the next seasons, Morais dropped down to the second tier, joining F.C. Alverca and becoming an undisputed starter, adding nearly 90 caps in the three seasons the team spent in the second tier.[2]

Acting as a farm team for Benfica, he represented the Reds on one occasion, a 0–2 home loss against Vitória S.C. on 30 May 1997.[3]

In 1998, he was loaned out to S.C. Campomaiorense, starting one match, a 0–5 home trashing by Benfica, on 29 November 1998.[4] He returned to Alverca in January 1999, but did not have the same influence as before, with Valente and later Gaspar Azevedo being preferred choices.[5]

Morais left Alverca in 2001 and played the last two seasons of his career in the third tier, at Seixal

## International career[edit]

Morais earned 33 caps for Portugal from under-17 to under-21 level, representing Portugal U20 in the 1993 FIFA U20.[6]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Gil Vicente 0 - 1 Braga". ForaDeJogo.
2. ^ "A Malta de Alverca 1997 - parte 1" [The Alverca Guys 1997 . parte1]. Cromos da Bola (in Portuguese). 13 October 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
3. ^ "Benfica 0-2 Vitória Guimarães". ForaDeJogo.
4. ^ "Campomaiorense 0 - 5 Benfica". ForaDeJogo.
5. ^ "Alverca a meio gás" [Alverca at half throttle]. Record. 5 October 1999. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
6. ^ "Nelson Morais". Federação Portuguesa de Futebol. Retrieved 23 September 2014.

## External links[edit]

* Nélson Morais at ForaDeJogo (archived)

*[Apps]: League appearances
*[Gls]: League goals