Nuno Gomes

Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro (born 5 July 1976), known as Nuno Gomes, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a striker.

He was given the nickname Gomes during childhood after Fernando Gomes, and was regarded as one of the country's most recognisable attacking players in the 1990s and 2000s; he consistently scored for both club and country, and was also capable of being a good link-up player, accumulating a number of assists throughout his career, which was spent mainly with Benfica, for which he netted 166 goals in 398 games over the course of 12 seasons.

Gomes represented Portugal in two World Cups and three European Championships.

Born in Amarante, Gomes established his reputation with Boavista FC, where he made his Primeira Liga debut in the 1994–95 season, aged 18.

He helped the under-20s to third place in the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship by netting four goals in as many games, including two in the third-place match against Spain.

The following year, he appeared at the 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing fourth.

Gomes made his senior debut at 19, in a 1996 friendly against France.

He collected his first silverware as his team beat S.L. Benfica to lift the Taça de Portugal in 1997, scoring a goal and winning a penalty kick in a 3–2 win in the final; he and fellow scorer Erwin Sánchez had already agreed to transfer to the opponents.

Gomes ranked joint-fourth top scorer in his last year at the Estádio do Bessa, before moving to Benfica.

In the 1998–99 campaign he netted 34 times in all competitions, in an eventual third-place finish in the league.

After three seasons at Benfica, his Euro 2000 exploits earned Gomes a €17 million move to ACF Fiorentina.

He scored his first goal in Portugal's opening match at the UEFA Euro 2000, marking his fourth start with the winner as the side came from two goals down to beat England 3–2.

He finished the competition with four goals as the national team reached the last four, but earned a seven-month international ban after pushing referee Günter Benkö following the semi-final defeat by France, in which he had opened the score; he was selected to the UEFA team of the tournament.

He won the Coppa Italia over Parma F. C. in his first year, scoring in a 1–1 draw in the second leg of the final at home, which allowed his team to clinch the title 2–1 on aggregate; however, his second season was less successful, as financial collapse by the Viola and their subsequent relegation precipitated a 2002 return to his previous club on a four-year deal as a free agent.

A series of injuries limited Gomes to under 70 games from 2002 to 2005, but he still helped Benfica win the domestic cup in 2003–04 and the league the following season – in the latter, he contributed seven goals from 23 appearances.

With seven goals in only six matches, Gomes helped Portugal qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup – this included four in a 7–1 away demolition of Andorra.

He would struggle to hold a starting place in the finals in South Korea and Japan, only appearing twice from the bench.

On 19 November 2003 he scored his second hat-trick, in only 21 minutes of play against Kuwait.

He helped the national team finish second at Euro 2004 and third at Euro 2000, and won 79 senior caps.

Things went better for Gomes at Euro 2004, where he played each game and, after coming on as a half-time substitute, scored the winning goal against Spain to send the hosts through to the quarter-finals.

He enjoyed his best season in 2005–06, scoring 15 goals in the league, including two in an away win over FC Porto (2–0) and a hat-trick against U.D. Leiria, finishing second in the scorers' list and adding the subsequent Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, where he netted the game's only goal against Vitória de Setúbal.

From 2006–07 onwards, Gomes faced tough competition for a starting place: he only netted six times in the league, and would suffer even more after the signing of Paraguayan Óscar Cardozo the following summer.

However, still a valuable member of the squad, he finished the campaign with nine overall goals, handing the captain armband to legendary Rui Costa in the process.

He was often injured during the nation's 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, only managing to play four times, with one goal; he found limited time at the final stages and only made two appearances, but managed to find the back of the net with a header against hosts Germany in the third-place playoff, a 3–1 defeat.

After the retirement of Pauleta, Gomes was expected to become his successor in the striker role.

On 2 October 2008, Gomes scored his 150th goal for Benfica in a UEFA Cup game against SSC Napoli (2–0 home win, 4–3 aggregate victory) with a fine header.

He played ten matches and scored three times in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, captained Portugal at the finals and scored against Germany in the quarter-finals, thus becoming the fourth player to achieve the feat at three straight European Championships.

Following the arrival of Argentine Javier Saviola in June 2009, he further fell down the striker pecking order.

Again a reserve player in 2010–11 – but playing even less – the 34-year-old Gomes made the most with the minutes provided to him by manager Jorge Jesus.

He scored his first goal in the season on 14 November 2010 in a 4–0 home defeat of Associação Naval 1º de Maio, the 200th in the competition, and dedicated it to his father Joaquim who had died in August.

In two consecutive league games in March 2011, he scored three goals, one at home against Portimonense SC (1–1 draw) and two in a 5–1 away rout of F.C. Paços de Ferreira, appearing as a late substitute in all three matches.

Gomes was released by Benfica on 30 June 2011, after the club decided not to renew his contract; he was, however, offered a position in the managerial structure, effective immediately or when he eventually retired.

Shortly after, he signed with fellow top-division S.C. Braga.

On 11 September 2011, Gomes scored a brace in a 3–1 home win against Gil Vicente FC.

During his only season with the Minho side, he was mostly used as a backup.

On 3 July 2012, Gomes signed a two-year deal at Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Championship, becoming their third signing of the 2012–13 summer transfer window.

On 18 August he made his league debut for his new club, against Ipswich Town, scoring his first goal the following round in the 2–1 home victory over Leicester City.

On 28 June 2013, aged 37, Gomes was released.

After retiring, he was appointed director of Benfica's academy at Futebol Campus in Seixal, leaving his position in September 2017.

Gomes represented Portugal at every level, earning 143 caps across all youth levels and scoring at an excellent rate.