João Aurélio

João Miguel Coimbra Aurélio (born 17 August 1988) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Vitória S.C. as a midfielder.

Club career

Nacional

Born in Beja, Aurélio began his professional career with lower league club S.C. Penalva. In the 2008–09 season, he moved straight into the Primeira Liga with Madeira's C.D. Nacional, managing ten league appearances in his first year and scoring in a 2–1 away win against C.F. Os Belenenses on 26 April 2009.

In the following campaign, Aurélio started impressively, netting against Sporting Clube de Portugal in the opener – although he also scored in his own net – and S.C. Olhanense, both 1–1 draws. Additionally, he also started and scored in the UEFA Europa League 4–3 home triumph over FC Zenit Saint Petersburg (eventually 5–4 aggregate win).

Aurélio continued to be an important first-team element in the following six top division seasons, appearing in 149 games combined and netting in a 3–0 triumph at Rio Ave F.C. on 28 September 2013. He also featured regularly as right back.

Vitória Guimarães

On 9 June 2016, Aurélio signed a two-year contract with Vitória SC, where he had played youth football from ages 17–19.

International career

After good performances for Nacional, Aurélio was called up to the under-21 side by Oceano, for the 2011 UEFA European Championship qualifiers: in the 81st minute of the match against Lithuania, he came on as a substitute for S.L. Benfica's Fábio Coentrão and headed in the final 4–1 three minutes later.

Personal life

Aurélio's twin brother, Luís, is also a footballer and a midfielder. He played most of his career in the lower leagues, and they shared teams at Nacional.

Club statistics

As of 11 May 2014