Maxi Pereira

Victorio Maximiliano "Maxi" Pereira Páez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaksi peˈrejra]; born 8 June 1984) is an Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a right back for Peñarol.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Pereira and the second or maternal family name is Páez.
Maxi Pereira
Pereira with Porto in 2018
Personal information
Full name Victorio Maximiliano Pereira Páez[1]
Date of birth (1984-06-08) 8 June 1984[1]
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay[1]
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Right back
Club information
Current team
 Peñarol
Youth career
2002 Defensor
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2007 Defensor 125 (25)
2007–2015 Benfica 212 (13)
2015–2019 Porto 89 (3)
2021– Peñarol 0 (0)
National team
2005–2018 Uruguay 125 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 May 2019

He played with Defensor in Uruguay, joining Benfica in 2007 and going on to remain with the club for eight seasons, appearing in 333 official matches and winning 11 major titles. In 2015, he signed with Porto also in Portugal.

A Uruguay international on 125 occasions, Pereira represented the nation in three World Cups and four Copa América, winning the 2011 edition of the latter tournament.

Club career

Defensor

Born in Montevideo, Pereira started playing professionally with Defensor Sporting as an 18-year-old, early in the 2002–03 season. He took no time to adjust to the first team, being a crucial part alongside Álvaro González and scoring a career-best 12 goals in the Primera División of 2005–06.

After the 2006–07 campaign, Defensor lost both gems as González was transferred to Boca Juniors and Pereira went to S.L. Benfica, accompanied by countryman Cristian Rodríguez;[3] the Primeira Liga club signed the player for €3 million and 70% of his rights.[4]

Benfica
Pereira playing for Benfica in 2014

In his first year in Portugal, Pereira was initially played as a right midfielder, failing to adjust to that position.[5] He did score in two consecutive home games in November 2007, in a 6–1 league thrashing of Boavista F.C.[6] and in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League 1–1 draw against A.C. Milan, with his left foot from outside the box.[7]

Pereira switched to right-back the following campaign after Nélson Marcos moved to Real Betis, and became an everpresent fixture. In 2009–10, as Benfica won the league after five years – adding the Taça da Liga – he appeared in 40 competitive matches, scoring five goals in 2,932 minutes of action.

On 17 December 2011, Pereira renewed his contract until 2015 and the club paid €2.7 million for the remaining 30% of his rights, still in possession of Defensor.[8][9] He netted two goals in the 2011–12 Champions League, both coming against FC Zenit Saint Petersburg in the round-of-16 (2–3 away loss, 2–0 home win, both through tap-ins)[10][11] as his team eventually reached the quarter-finals of the competition, where he was sent off in the first half of the second leg against Chelsea after two bookable offences (1–1 away draw, 1–2 aggregate defeat).[12]

Pereira reached the 300-game milestone at Benfica on 2 October 2014, in a Champions League match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, becoming the second foreigner behind Luisão to achieve this feat.[13] On 2 May of the following year, he scored twice in a 5–0 rout at Gil Vicente FC,[14] contributing a further three goals as the team renewed their domestic supremacy.[15]

Porto
Pereira with Porto in October 2018

On 30 June 2015, Pereira left Benfica following the expiration of his contract. Fifteen days later, he joined rivals FC Porto as a replacement for Real Madrid-bound Danilo.[16] His competitive debut occurred on 15 August, in a 3–0 home victory over Vitória S.C. where he provided two assists for teammates Vincent Aboubakar and Silvestre Varela.[17][18] The following 6 March he scored his first goal for the team, a late equaliser in a 1–3 loss at S.C. Braga.[19]

On 22 May 2016, in the final of the Taça de Portugal, also against Braga, Pereira's attempt in the penalty shootout was saved by José Marafona, in an eventual 2–4 defeat (2–2 after 120 minutes).[20] The following 14 March, in the away leg of the last 16 of the Champions League against Juventus FC, he received a straight red card for handling Gonzalo Higuaín's goal-bound shot, conceding a penalty from which Paulo Dybala scored the only goal to eliminate the Portuguese 3–0 on aggregate.[21]

After playing a part in winning the national championship in the 2017–18 season, Pereira was awarded a new deal of undisclosed length.[22] On 4 August 2018, he scored in the 3–1 win over C.D. Aves in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, and was voted player of the match.[23]

Pereira's contract expired in June 2019.[24] In November 2020, it was reported that he was training with Porto's farm team Padroense F.C. and had not announced his retirement.[25] In the same month, he sued his former club for an alleged debt of €1.24 million to him.[26]

International career
Pereira in action in a friendly against Austria in March 2014

A Uruguayan international since making his debut on 26 October 2005 in a friendly loss, away against Mexico, Pereira quickly became a regular for his country, and represented it at the 2007 Copa América. He was selected for the squad at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, playing all the games and minutes for the eventual semi-finalists; in the quarter-finals against Ghana, he missed his penalty shootout attempt but the side eventually qualified for the next stage, where he scored his first goal as an international in a 2–3 loss against the Netherlands, finding the net in the 91st minute.[27]

Pereira was again an undisputed starter for Uruguay in the 2011 Copa América held in Argentina, with the national team winning their 15th continental tournament.[28] He played 14 times in qualification for the 2014 World Cup, scoring once in a 4–2 victory over Peru on 10 June 2012[29] and opening the scoring as his team won 5–0 away to Jordan in a play-off to qualify for the tournament, on 13 November of the following year.[30]

Pereira was the first player sent off in the finals in Brazil, receiving his marching orders in injury time of the 1–3 defeat to Costa Rica in Fortaleza after kicking Joel Campbell.[31] He played a further two matches in the tournament, which ended for the Charrúas at the last-16 stage.

On 28 March 2015, Pereira earned his 100th cap in a 1–0 friendly defeat of Morocco in Agadir, becoming only the second Uruguayan after Diego Forlán to reach the milestone.[32][33] He played every minute of the campaign at that year's Copa América,[34][35][36][37] captaining the team in their final group fixture against Paraguay in place of the suspended Diego Godín.[38]

On 9 June 2016, Pereira surpassed Forlán as Uruguay's most capped player by earning his 113th in the team's final group game at the Copa América Centenario in the United States;[39] the 1–0 loss to Venezuela eliminated the nation. The 34-year-old was also selected for the 2018 World Cup,[40] and retired in November of that year with 125 caps to his name.[41]

Career statistics

Club
As of 6 March 2019[42][43]
Team Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Defensor 2002 Primera División 50————50
2003 Primera División 193————193
2004 Primera División 141————141
2005 Primera División 346————346
2005–06 Primera División 2912————2912
2006–07 Primera División 233——91—324
2007–08 Primera División 10——20—30
Total 12525——111—13526
Benfica 2007–08 Primeira Liga 23240108[lower-alpha 3]1—363
2008–09 Primeira Liga 28121506[lower-alpha 4]0—412
2009–10 Primeira Liga 25200408[lower-alpha 4]2—374
2010–11 Primeira Liga 260504014[lower-alpha 5]100491
2011–12 Primeira Liga 250104113[lower-alpha 6]2—433
2012–13 Primeira Liga 28340109[lower-alpha 7]0—423
2013–14 Primeira Liga 250502011[lower-alpha 8]0—430
2014–15 Primeira Liga 32510305[lower-alpha 6]01[lower-alpha 9]0425
Total 212132212417561033321
Porto 2015–16 Primeira Liga 32130007[lower-alpha 10]0—421
2016–17 Primeira Liga 24220207[lower-alpha 6]0—352
2017–18 Primeira Liga 15030203[lower-alpha 6]1—231
2018–19 Primeira Liga 16010107[lower-alpha 6]01[lower-alpha 9]1261
Total 8739050241111265
Career total 4244131129111082159452
  1. Appearances in Taça de Portugal
  2. Appearances in Taça da Liga
  3. Six appearances and one goal in Champions League, two appearances in Europa League
  4. Appearances in Europa League
  5. Six appearances in Champions League, eight appearances and one goal in Europa League
  6. Appearances in Champions League
  7. Five appearances in Champions League and four appearances in Europa League
  8. Four appearances in Champions League and seven appearances in Europa League
  9. Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  10. Six appearances in Champions League and one appearance in Europa League

International

[44][45]

National teamYearAppsGoals
Uruguay 200510
200670
2007100
2008100
200970
2010131
2011150
201291
2013151
2014120
2015100
201670
201780
201810
Total1253

International goals

(Uruguay score listed first, score column indicates score after each Pereira goal)[43]

#DateVenueOpponentScoreFinalCompetition
1.6 July 2010Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa Netherlands2–32–32010 FIFA World Cup
2.10 June 2012Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay Peru2–04–22014 World Cup qualification
3.13 November 2013Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan Jordan1–05–02014 World Cup qualification

Honours

Benfica

Porto

Uruguay

Individual

See also

References
  1. "Maxi Pereira" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  2. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2014. p. 31. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  3. "Mantorras out for three months". BBC Sport. 27 August 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  4. "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Portuguese Securities Market Commission. 27 August 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  5. "Maxi Pereira é o novo lateral-direito" [Maxi Pereira is the new right back]. Record (in Portuguese). 13 October 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  6. "Benfica goleia o Boavista por seis bolas a uma" [Benfica rout Boavista six to one]. Açoriano Oriental (in Portuguese). 11 November 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  7. "Goals, goals, goals". UEFA. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  8. "Vieira anuncia renovação de Maxi Pereira" [Vieira announces Maxi Pereira renewal]. Record (in Portuguese). 17 December 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  9. "Maxi Pereira prolonga contrato até 2015" [Maxi Pereira extends contract until 2015]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 17 December 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  10. "Zenit's Shirokov scores twice to down Benfica". UEFA. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  11. Burke, Chris (6 March 2012). "Benfica progress at Zenit's expense". UEFA. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  12. McNulty, Phil (4 April 2012). "Chelsea 2–1 Benfica (agg 3–1)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  13. "Maxi Pereira cumpriu 300 jogos de "águia ao peito" (com vídeo)" [Maxi Pereira reached 300-game mark with "eagle to chest" (with video)] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  14. Castro, Gaspar (2 May 2015). "Exibição esmagadora deixa Benfica a dois passos do título" [Overwhelming display leaves Benfica inches away from title] (in Portuguese). SAPO. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  15. Cunha, Pedro Jorge (17 May 2015). "Benfica bicampeão: 28 com as faixas e dois à espera" [Benfica back-to-back champion: 28 with the sashes and two await] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  16. "FC Porto anuncia contratação de Maxi Pereira" [FC Porto announce signing of Maxi Pereira]. Público (in Portuguese). 15 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  17. Tovar, Rui Miguel (18 August 2015). "Maxi Pereira, o hat-trick de duas assistências" [Maxi Pereira, the hat-trick of two assists]. i (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  18. "Maxi Pereira: "Fizemos grande jogo"" [Maxi Pereira: "We played great"]. Record (in Portuguese). 16 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  19. "Porto loses ground to leader Benfica after 3–1 loss to Braga". Yahoo! News. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  20. "Marafona the hero as Braga win Taca de Portugal". FourFourTwo. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  21. "Juventus 1 Porto 0 (agg 3–0): Maxi Pereira sent off for handball on the line as Juve coast into quarter-finals". The Daily Telegraph. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  22. "FC Porto anuncia renovação de Maxi Pereira e os regressos de Herrera e Corona" [FC Porto announce Maxi Pereira's renewal and the returns of Herrera and Corona]. Observador (in Portuguese). 21 July 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  23. Lima, Fábio (4 August 2018). "Maxi Pereira foi o melhor em campo na Supertaça" [Maxi Pereira was the best on the field in the Supercup]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  24. "Maxi é um jogador que está ao alcance de alguns clubes, não de todos" [Maxi is a player who is in reach of some clubs, not all] (in Portuguese). Notícias ao Minuto. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  25. Custódio, Miguel (19 November 2020). "O que é feito de Maxi Pereira? Manteve a forma no Padroense e ainda não anunciou o final da carreira" [What happened to Maxi Pereira? He kept in shape at Padroense and still has not announced the end of his career]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  26. "Maxi Pereira processa FC Porto em 1,2 milhões de euros" [Maxi Pereira takes FC Porto to court for 1.2 million euros] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  27. Bevan, Chris (6 July 2010). "Uruguay 2–3 Netherlands". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  28. "Uruguay celebrates well into early Monday its record winning 15th Copa America". MercoPress. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  29. "Perú perdió 4–2 ante Uruguay en Montevideo y es último en la Eliminatoria" [Peru lost 4–2 to Uruguay in Montevideo and are now last in the qualifying group]. El Comercio (in Spanish). 10 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  30. Wilson, Jonathan (13 November 2013). "Jordan panic after Maxi Pereira goal sets up emphatic Uruguay victory". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  31. "Costa Rican comeback undoes Uruguay". FIFA. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  32. "Uruguay with team confirmed and Pereira with 100 games to his credit". CONMEBOL. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  33. "Uruguai vence Marrocos no 100.º jogo de Maxi Pereira" [Uruguay defeat Morocco in Maxi Pereira's 100th game]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 28 March 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  34. "Cristian Rodriguez gives Uruguay unconvincing win over Jamaica". Eurosport. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  35. "Argentina se impone a un Uruguay rocoso gracias a un gol de Agüero" [Argentina impose themselves on a rock-solid Uruguay thanks to a goal from Agüero] (in Spanish). RTVE. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  36. "Uruguay secure quarter-final place with draw against Paraguay". Eurosport. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  37. Iturra, Leopoldo (25 June 2015). "Isla termina con la angustia y Chile clasifica a semifinales" [Isla ends the anxiety and Chile qualify for the semi-finals]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  38. ""Maxi" Pereira será el capitán" ["Maxi" Pereira will be the captain] (in Spanish). Ovación Digital. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  39. "Maxi Pereira se convierte en el jugador con más partidos con Uruguay" [Maxi Pereira becomes Uruguay's most capped player]. Marca (in Spanish). 10 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  40. "Maxi Gómez y Stuani se cuelan en la lista de 23 de Uruguay" [Maxi Gómez and Stuani squeeze into Uruguay's list of 23]. Marca (in Spanish). 2 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  41. Gonçalves, André (14 November 2018). "Maxi Pereira abandona seleção do Uruguai" [Maxi Pereira leaves Uruguay national team] (in Portuguese). One Football. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
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  45. Maxi Pereira at National-Football-Teams.com
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  48. Ruela, João (18 May 2014). "Benfica faz a "dobradinha" no Jamor 27 anos depois" [Benfica get "double" at the Jamor 27 years later]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
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  53. Piedade, Luís (7 May 2014). "Portuguese League Cup boosts Benfica". UEFA. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  54. "Benfica 0–0 Rio Ave (3–2 on penalties): Portuguese champions win another trophy". Goal. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
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  56. Atkin, John (14 May 2014). "Spot-on Sevilla leave Benfica dreams in tatters". UEFA. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
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  58. "FC Porto conquista Supertaça pela 21.ª vez" [FC Porto conquer Supercup for the 21st time] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  59. "Uruguai conquista Copa América (vídeo)" [Uruguay win Copa América (video)]. Expresso (in Portuguese). 24 July 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  60. "Gala do Benfica: Aimar distinguido como o melhor de 2010/11" [Benfica Gala: Aimar distinguished as the best of 2010/11] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
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