10 Things You Didn’t Know About Luis Nani
Luis Nani the Portuguese who plays as a winger for Spanish club Valencia CF and the Portugal national team. Although predominantly right-footed, he has been utilised on the left wing on many occasions,but there are 10 things you didn’t know about Luis Nani.
1. Nani was born in Cape Verde and emigrated to Europe with his family at an early age.
2. He was raised in Portugal and began his football career playing for local side Real Massamá.
3. At the age of nine, he began training with Sporting Clube de Portugal and S.L. Benfica on alternate days, eventually joining Sporting’s youth squad after they offered him pre-season training.
4. In 2005, he made his professional debut with the club and won the Portuguese Cup during his second season with them.
5. Nani was named the SJPF Young Player of the Month for May 2007 and his performances with Sporting culminated into a move to English club Manchester United in July 2007 for a fee of €25 million.
6. Nani won the Community Shield on his competitive debut at Manchester United and added a number of trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League during his debut season at the club.
7. He established himself as first-choice winger at United and won a further three Premier League titles, the Football League Cup, one FIFA Club World Cup, and three Community Shield titles.
8. Individually, Nani was included in the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Premier League Team of the Year on one occasion and was a nominee for the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2011.
9. European Championships: he took part at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 European Championships, reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2012, and winning Euro 2016; he also participated at the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Portugal.
10. Since his debut, he has made over 100 appearances and scored 21 goals for the Portugal national team, making him their fourth-most capped player of all time.
