BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Silvestre Manuel Gonçalves Varela (born 2 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for F.C. Porto in the Portuguese first division, as a winger.
Club career
Sporting
A product of Sporting Clube de Portugal's youth system, Varela was born in Almada, Setúbal District, being loaned to Casa Pia A.C. and Vitória Futebol Clube in his early years as a professional. Despite being a regular with the Portuguese under-21s and having enjoyed a decent form in various tournaments, he was not able to secure a place in the Lions' first team, only managing two substitute appearances in the 2005–06 season.
In 2007–08 Varela, alongside two former Sporting players, Beto and Carlos Martins, played for Recreativo de Huelva in Spain (Varela on loan again).[1] After a disappointing campaign despite having received playing time in La Liga, he returned to Sporting in July 2008, only to be immediately sold to C.F. Estrela da Amadora.
Porto
Before the season was over, in March 2009, courtesy of his solid performances at Estrela, only relegated from the top division off the field, Varela signed a four-year agreement with champions F.C. Porto on a free transfer, starting in July.
In his first year at Porto he ranked second in overall goals in the team, only behind Radamel Falcao. In March 2010, however, he broke his fibula in training, being lost for the remainder of the campaign,[2] as Porto finished third.
In the 2011–12 season, under new manager Vítor Pereira, Varela – as practically all Portuguese players (the roster was composed of three nationals) – lost his importance in the first team. On 16 February 2012, in a rare start, he put Porto ahead against Manchester City in the season's UEFA Europa League round-of-32, in an eventual 1–2 home loss.[3]
International career
Due to his Porto performances, Varela gained his first full cap for the Portuguese team on 3 March 2010, appearing in the second half of the 2–0 friendly win with China in a match played in Coimbra. His first goal came on 26 March 2011 in a 1–1 friendly draw against Chile, in Leiria.[4]
Varela was selected by manager Paulo Bento for the 23-man squad that competed in UEFA Euro 2012. He played ten minutes in the group stage opener against Germany, in an eventual 0–1 loss;[5] again coming from the bench for Raul Meireles, he scored an 88th-minute 3–2 winner against Denmark in the following game.[6]
International goals
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 March 2011 | Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria,Portugal |  Chile | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 13 June 2012 | Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine |  Denmark | 2–3 | 2–3 | UEFA Euro 2012 |
| 3 | 11 September 2012 | Estádio Municipal de Braga, Braga, Portugal |  Azerbaijan | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2014 World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 15 October 2013 | Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal |  Luxembourg | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2014 World Cup qualification |
Honours
- Porto
- UEFA Europa League: 2010–11
- Portuguese League: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13
- Portuguese Cup: 2009–10, 2010–11
- Portuguese Supercup: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- UEFA Super Cup: Runner-up 2011
- Portuguese League Cup: Runner-up 2009–10, 2012–13
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