Mateus Alberto Contreiras
Gonçalves simply known with the name Manucho is an Angolan international
football player who is currently playing the role of a striker for his club
Real Valladolid in Spain.
source of picture: www.carlosbelmonte.com
Manucho made a move to Petro
Atletico to Manchester United in January of the year 2008. Before he played a
game for Manchester United, he was sent on a loan deal to Panathinaikos for the
remaining part of the 2007/08 season, and that was because of the issue of acquiring
a United Kingdom work Permit. He got his work permit soon after he got back to
Manchester United for the pre-season training in July 2008. He played his first
match for the club in the league Cup that was played against Middlesbrough on
the 23rd September 2008. Manucho joined Hull City on a loan deal to
play for the club until the end of the 2008/09 season. After he had failed to
make the first team of Manchester United, Manucho joined Real Valladolid in
July of the year 2009.
Manucho is a member of the
Angolan national team and has played in four African Cups of Nations for the
country.
Club Football Career
Manucho started his career as a
player at Flamenguinhis, a small youth football club from Terra Nova, Luanda,
his hometown. With the help of his father who is also his coach Alberto
Goncalves, Manucho took up the role of a left winger and became one of the top
stars of the club.
When he turned to professional
footballer, Manucho signed a deal with Benfica de Luanda, a mid-table club
football club in the Angolan league. After that he made a move to Petro
Atletico, and it was there that he initially struggled to made the first team
of the club because of the presence of the start striker of the club, Flavio
Amado. After Amado had joined the Egyptian side, Al-Ahly, Manucho started
establishing his skills on the striking position for the club; he scored the
total of 16 goals in the year 2006 and the total of 15 goals in the year 2007.
On the 21st
January 2008, reports were heard that Manucho was due to sign for
Manchester United, English giants of the year 2007. He joined the league
champions in January of the year 2008 on a three year deal. Before the
announcement was made, he was reported to have gone for three-week trial with
the club and his exhibition on the pitch impressed the Manchester United boss,
Sir Alex Ferguson and as such he was handed a contract by the club.
On the 31st January
of the year 2008, it was announced that the player was due to move to
Panathinaikos on a loan deal till the end of the season, and that was because
of the issue of acquiring a work permit of the country and also with the aim of
acquiring some valuable first team experience. The Manchester United boss
announced that the player has been loaned out to Panathinaikos on the 1st
February. The loan deal kicked off immediately after Angola was eliminated from
the 2008 African Cup of Nations by Egypt.
Manucho scored his first goal
for the club on his debut in a match that finished 2-0 in favor of his club
against Larissa. Panathinaikos completed that season in the 3rd
place and was qualified for the play-off for the remaining European places.
Manucho scored three goals in 6 matches for the club and that helped the club
to top the play-off group and qualify for the 2nd qualifying round
of the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League.
At the end of the 2007/08
season, Manucho made a move back to Manchester United for the pre-season
training with the club members; he also took part in the summer tour of the club
to South Africa. Meanwhile he picked up a metatarsal injury and he never played
in any of the pre-season games that were played by his club. In august of the
year 2008, Manucho was confirmed to have acquired his work permit and was
eligible to play for the club, Manchester United. He was given the number 26
shirt of the club for the 2008/09 season. He played his first match for the
club as a sub in the League Cup 3rd round match that was played at
home against Middlesbrough, which finished 3-1 in favor of Manchester United.
Manucho played his first league match for the club on the 15th
November 2008; he came into the match as a sub for Carlos Tevez in the 74th
minute of the game. He assisted the 4th goal of the club in the match
that was scored by Danny Welbeck. He scored his first goal for the reserve team
of the club on the 18th December 2008, the game finished 1-1 against
Everton.
Having seen the hardness of
making the first team of the club, on the 16th January 2009, Manucho
agreed to join Hull City on a loan deal till the end of the season. He got a
renewed work permit later that day and played in the match that was played
against Arsenal on the 17th. The game finished 3-1 in favor of the
opponents. On the 4th March 2009, Manucho scored his first premier
league for the club in the last minute of the match that was played against
Fulham, and that game finished 1-0.
After his loan stint with the
club, Hull City, Manucho was deemed surplus to requirements for the English Champions
and a deal was arranged with Real Valladolis for the transfer of the player. He
signed a five year deal with the Spanish side and was shown as a player of the
club on the 20th July 2009. He promised to score 40 goals in a
season for the club after his deal has been signed. On the 13th
September 2009, Manucho scored his first goal for the club in the game that
finished 4-2 against Valencia. He waited until the 5th of December
to score another goal for the club, and the goal came in the match that was
played against Sevilla.
In the summer of the year 2010,
Manucho signed a loan deal with Bucaspor from Valladolid. He played his first
match for the club on the 23rd August 2010, and that was in the
match that was played against Kasimpasa SK. He scored his first goal for the
club in the second game her played for the club on the 28th August
2010, in the match that was played against Genclerbirligi.
Manucho signed a loan deal with
another Turkish club, Manisaspor at the end of January 2011 to play for the
club till the end of the season. He played his first match for the club on the
5th February 2011, and that was in the match that was lost 3-1
against Fenerbahce. He played his last league match for the club in the match
that was played against his former club, Bucaspor on the 14th May
2011, providing assist for Murat Erdogan in the 4-2 win.
International Football Career
Manucho plays his international game for the
country, Angola. He was a member of the national team during the successful
qualification of the country for the 2008 African Cup of Nations.
He was part of the Angolan
national team that played in the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Ghana. He was
the man that scored the opening goal for the country in the first game that was
played against South Africa and scored two more goals for the country in the
,match that was played against Senegal, and that match finished 3-1. On the 4th
February, he scored the only goal of the country in the match that was lost 2-1
against Egypt. Though the lost eliminated his country from the tournament, his
goal in that game was described to be the goal of the tournament and was
included in the best 11 of the tournament.
He was among the national team
of the country that played in the 2010 African Cup of Nations. He scored from
the penalty spot in the opening match that was played against Mali and the game
finished 4-4.
Manucho was also among the team of
the country that played in the 2012 African cup of Nations. He scored a
long-range goal in the match that was played against Burkina Faso. In the next
match of the country, he scored twice in the match that finished 2-2 against
Sudan. They lost their third match against Ivory Coast and could not qualify
for the quarter finals of the tournament. The three goals he scored in the
tournament made him a joint top scorer of the tournament along with Didier
Drogba of Ivory Coast, Houssine Kharja of Morocco, Christopher Katango and
Emmanuel Mayuka of Zambia, Cheick Diabate of Mali and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
of Gabon.
Since his debut for the country
in the year 2006, Manucho has played the total of 49 international matches for
the country and scored 22 goals for the country.