Eliseu Pereira

Eliseu Pereira dos Santos, popularly known as Eliseu, is a Portuguese footballer born on the 1st of October, 1983 in Angra do Heroismo, Portugal. He plays for the Portugal National Football team and the club S.L.Benfica .

Background

Eliseu started his footballing career by playing for Sport Clube Marítimo de Angra do Heroísmo. His family’s move from Heroismo to the Portuguese mainland caused him to shift clubs to C.F. Os Belenenses.

He played for the reserves team his entire first season. In 2013, aged 20, during his second season in Belenenses he started featuring as a regular in the Primeira Liga.

Debut

In 2009, Eliseu was selected to be in the squad for an international friendly against Finland. However, he failed to leave the bench. He finally made his international debut in a match that ended in a goalless draw, played against Estonia on the 10th of June of that same year.

Rise To Glory

In 2007 Eliseu was transferred to Malaga and made significant contributions in their promotion to the top tier of spanish football - the La Liga. He naturally became one of their favorite starters after his very first season. Despite playing as a defender, he scored thrice.

In his two seasons at Malaga he scored 10 times in 74 appearances. He transferred to Lazio, but just after 2 games, was sent on a loan to Real Zaragoza.

Low Points

Eliseu has gained negative attention due to him constantly being involved in physical conflicts during the game. This has overshadowed his contributions to games at several occasions. He was sent off for headbutting a Villareal player- Carlos Marchena after scoring in that match which they eventually lost 2-3.

Just after his return from suspension, he was sent off yet again for elbowing Juan Manuel Ortiz in a match against Almeria which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Club Career

Eliseu made his return to Malaga, the club where he achieved most success in the 2010-11 season. He was switched regularly from being a left back to being a winger, but adapted to the changes easily. He managed to score the occasional goal and give his team the edge. He even scored a brace in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.

Eliseu, in 2014 transferred back to Portugal and started playing for Benfica for a two year contract. He has won 3 Primeira Liga titles with Benfica since his transfer.