Vítor Lima

Vítor Manuel Lima Santos (born 10 August 1981 in Guimarães) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Vítor Lima
Personal information
Full name Vítor Manuel Lima Santos
Date of birth (1981-08-10) 10 August 1981
Place of birth Guimarães, Portugal
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1991–2000 Vitória Guimarães
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Salamanca 0 (0)
2000–2001 → Zamora (loan) 3 (0)
2001–2004 Caçadores Taipas 101 (17)
2004–2005 Académico Viseu 35 (1)
2005–2007 Falkirk 36 (0)
2007–2009 Ethnikos Piraeus 57 (3)
2009–2010 Falkirk 26 (0)
2010–2012 Doxa Drama 55 (2)
2012–2013 Ethnikos Achna 9 (0)
2013–2014 Iraklis 28 (0)
2014–2018 Famalicão 129 (8)
Total 479 (31)
National team
1996–1997 Portugal U15 11 (4)
1997–1998 Portugal U16 15 (0)
1998–1999 Portugal U17 8 (0)
1999 Portugal U18 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Early years

Aged 19, Lima left his country and joined UD Salamanca in Spain. He would never appear officially for the first team – also being loaned to modest Zamora CF – and left the Castile and León club in the summer of 2001.

In the following four seasons, Lima played in the Portuguese third division with Clube Caçadores das Taipas (three years) and Académico de Viseu FC.

Falkirk

On 15 June 2005, free agent Lima joined Scottish Premier League side Falkirk alongside compatriot Tiago Jonas, being discovered by the club's player-coach Russell Latapy, who spent several seasons in Portugal as a player.[1] He made his official debut on 6 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 away win against Livingston.[2]

On 28 April 2006, Lima extended his contract with the Bairns for a further season.[3] He left the club in the 2007 summer after having appeared in 42 competitive games (30 starts), hoping to "return to Portugal".[4]

Greece / Return to Scotland

In June 2007, Lima joined Greek team Ethnikos Piraeus FC. He rarely missed a second level match during his tenure, almost always in the starting XI.

On 30 July 2009, Lima returned to Falkirk on a one-year deal.[5] He missed several games during the campaign due to a knee injury,[6] with the club eventually being relegated from the top flight after ranking 12th and last, following which he was released.[7]

Late career

Lima return to Greece and its division two for 2010–11, helping Doxa Drama F.C. promote to the Superleague. In the 2012 off-season he moved to neighbouring Cyprus, signing with Ethnikos Achna FC.

On 12 July 2013, Lima joined Greek Football League club Iraklis Thessaloniki FC.[8] On 7 June of the following year he was supposed to sign for another team in the country, Agrotikos Asteras FC,[9] but the deal eventually fell through.

References
  1. Falkirk move for Portuguese pair; BBC Sport, 15 June 2005
  2. Livingston 0–2 Falkirk; BBC Sport, 6 August 2005
  3. Midfield duo extend Bairns stay; BBC Sport, 28 April 2006
  4. Lima latest to depart from Bairns; BBC Sport, 6 June 2007
  5. Lima completes return to Falkirk; BBC Sport, 30 July 2009
  6. Vitor Lima injury fears allayed at Falkirk; BBC Sport, 25 March 2010
  7. Falkirk release eight players after relegation; BBC Sport, 13 May 2010
  8. "Υπέγραψε ο Vítor Lima" [Vítor Lima signed] (in Greek). Iraklis F.C. 12 July 2013. Archived from the original on 15 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  9. "Πρώτη μεταγραφή ο Vitor Lima" [Vítor Lima the first transfer] (in Greek). Agrotikos Asteras F.C. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
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