Pedro Miguel Pauleta

Pauleta is undoubtedly one of the strikers who has most marked the history of the first division of French football. Skillful and formidable in front of goal, he scored 141 times in 266 Ligue 1 matches.

Trophies

340

Goals

638

Games

1994/95 União Micaelense (POR) 23 games, 11 goals

1995/96 GD Estoril (POR) 34 games, 24 goals

(Portuguese Championship D2: 30 games, 19 goals)

(Portuguese Cup: 4 games, 5 goals)

1996/98 Salamanca (ESP) 75 games, 34 goals

(Spanish Championship: 34 games, 15 goals)

(Spanish Championship D2: 37 games, 19 goals)

(Spanish Cup: 4 games)

1998/2000 Deportivo La Coruña (ESP) 77 games, 22 goals

(Spanish Championship: 58 games, 18 goals)

(Portuguese Cup: d'Espagne: 12 matches, 1 goal)

(UEFA Cup: 7 matches, 3 goals)

2000/03 Bordeaux (FRA) 130 matches, 91 goals

(French Championship: 98 matches, 65 goals)

(Coupe de France: 8 matches, 12 goals)

(Coupe de la Ligue: 7 matches, 5 goals)

(UEFA Cup: 17 matches, 9 goals)

2003/08 Paris SG (FRA) 210 matches, 109 goals

(French Championship: 168 matches, 76 goals)

(Coupe de France: 18 matches, 16 goals)

(Coupe de la Ligue: 9 matches, 10 goals)

(Champions League: 6 matches, 1 goal)

(Coupe de UEFA: 9 matches, 6 goals)

2010/11 São Roque (POR) 1 match, 2 goals

With the National Team :

88 caps, 47 goals

(Friendly matches: 43 caps, 22 goals)

(World Cup qualifiers: 25 caps, 19 goals)

(World Cup: 9 caps, 4 goals)

(Euro qualifiers: 5 caps, 2 goals)

(Euro: 6 caps)

1st cap: 20 August 1997 against Armenia (3-1)

Last cap: 8 July 2006 against Germany (1-3)

U23: 1 cap

U16: 4 caps

Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes

Born April 28, 1973 in Ponta Delgada (POR)

Portuguese, striker, 1m80

Nickname: the Eagle of the Azores

A long period in lower divisions

Pauleta, whose real name is Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes, was born on April 28, 1973 in Ponta Delgaada, Portugal. Located on the island of the Azores, he paid tribute to his city with each of his goals by celebrating like an eagle, which gave rise to his nickname: the eagle of the Azores.

He began his career in the small club União Micaelense in 1994 when he was already 21 years old. In 23 matches, he scored 11 goals and was spotted by a slightly stronger club, CD Estoril Praia, far from the Portuguese big guns, this club allowed the player to play in the Portuguese second division. He scored 24 goals in 34 games in all competitions, enough to get himself spotted by a Spanish club: Salamanca.

A player who does not have a great burst of speed, he will have worked on his strengths such as his movements, his anticipations, his controls and his finishing. With the Spanish second division club, he scored 34 goals in 75 games in 2 seasons. Enough to get himself spotted by the first division club that is Deportivo La Coruña.

Proof of an irrefutable talent, but also of a dark period in Portuguese football, Pauleta honors his first cap with the Portuguese selection on August 20, 1997 in a match between Portugal and Armenia, a 3-1 victory for the Portuguese.

From substitute in Spain to best striker in Ligue 1

In 1998, at the age of 25, he played his first match in a country's first division. A slow start, but which will give way to the explosion of one of the best finishers of his generation. At Deportivo, he will be one of the players of one of the greatest feats in the history of modern football, the club's championship title in La Liga, ahead of clubs like Real Madrid or FC Barcelona. Despite everything, individually, it's not that, Diego Tristan and Roy Makaay are preferred to him and he only plays 12 games as a starter.

In search of playing time and constant progress, the player decides to join the French championship and the Girondins de Bordeaux club and what a choice! He plays his first match against FC Nantes, he scores 3 goals and already becomes a star of the championship.

He is compared to a predator in his game, playing with a lot of malice, simple but effective dribbling. Efficiency is what will mark his time in France. Fine shots, shots against the goalkeeper's foot, lobs, there is everything in the player's finishing palette.

During his second season in Bordeaux, he reached the final of the Coupe de la Ligue, a final that he would not miss, after just 5 minutes of play, he already scored, before registering a second good one in the 59th, on a magnificent scissor kick. Bordeaux won 3-0.

Disappointing European competitions and Ligue 1 legend

A real attraction of the championship, he was twice elected best player of the championship, in 2002 and 2003. At the same time, his career with Portugal was rather good, statistically exceptional, a little disappointing in the overall impact. In 2000, he participated in the Euro, but was eliminated in the semi-final by France, who would win the tournament. In 2002, Portugal was eliminated in the group stages despite a hat-trick from Pauleta against Poland...

In 2004, it was the Euro, which took place in Portugal, but the player completely failed in his competition and did not score. He disappointed an entire nation. But he made up for it two years later, during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, where he scored his 41st goal with Portugal, surpassing Eusébio and becoming the Portuguese team's top scorer. He would continue to score until his 47th goal with Portugal, a record he would hold for 8 years before Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed it.

At club level, he joined Paris Saint-Germain. For his first season, he finished runner-up in Ligue 1 and won the Coupe de France by scoring the only goal of the match against Châteauroux.

Absolute legend of PSG and end of career

For the 2004/05 season, he took part in the Champions League where he scored the only goal of his career in the competition against FC Porto. During the 2006-2007 season, Pauleta scored 24 goals in all competitions, then, on October 30, 2007, he scored twice against Montpellier in the Coupe de la Ligue, and at the same time his 99th and 100th goals with PSG. He thus became PSG's top scorer on December 15, 2007 by scoring his 101st goal, thus surpassing that of Dominique Rocheteau.

He became a living legend there, and scored a total of 109 goals. After 5 years in Paris, he made an emotional farewell to the Parc des Princes. "The Eagle of the Azores" joined his son in the São Roque club where he only played one match for two goals before retiring in 2011, at the age of 38.