Quick Facts
Biography
Silvestre Manuel Gonçalves Varela (born 2 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for FC Porto as a winger.
He represented mainly Sporting and Porto during his career, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 216 games and 44 goals over the course of ten seasons and winning 11 major titles with the latter, including three national championships and the 2011 Europa League. He also competed professionally in Spain, England and Italy.
Varela appeared for Portugal at Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup, scoring in both tournaments.
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 F.C. 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 former Sporting players Beto and Carlos Martins, played for Recreativo de Huelva in Spain (Varela on loan again). 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 Primeira Liga off the field, Varela signed a four-year agreement with champions FC 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, 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.
On 24 August 2014, Varela signed with Premier League side West Bromwich Albion on a season-long loan deal. Having arrived whilst still recovering from injury, he made his official debut on 2 December, replacing Craig Gardner midway through the second half of a 1–2 home defeat to West Ham United; he scored his first goal for the Baggies on the 20th, but in a 2–3 loss at Queens Park Rangers.
On 20 January 2015, still owned by Porto, Varela joined struggling Serie A team Parma F.C. until June.
International career
Due to his Porto performances, Varela gained his first full cap for the Portuguese national 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.
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; again coming from the bench for Raul Meireles, he scored an 88th-minute 3–2 winner against Denmark in the following game.
On 19 May 2014, Varela was named in the final 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 23 June, again after having replaced Meireles, he headed home in the 94th minute to earn his team a 2–2 group stage draw against the United States.
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 |
| 5 | 22 June 2014 | Arena da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil |  United States | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup |
Club statistics
- As of 8 May 2016
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting | 2001–02 | Primeira Liga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Casa Pia (loan) | 2004–05 | Portuguese Second Division | 36 | 11 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 11 | |||
| Vitória Setúbal (loan) | 2005–06 | Primeira Liga | 15 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 19 | 3 | |||
| 2006–07 | Primeira Liga | 30 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 3 | ||
| Total | 45 | 5 | 5 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 53 | 6 | |||
| Recreativo (loan) | 2007–08 | La Liga | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| Estrela Amadora | 2008–09 | Primeira Liga | 28 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 35 | 10 | ||
| Porto | 2009–10 | Primeira Liga | 18 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 11 |
| 2010–11 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 13 | |
| 2011–12 | Primeira Liga | 21 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 5 | |
| 2012–13 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 6 | |
| 2013–14 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 10 | |
| 2015–16 | Primeira Liga | 21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 | |
| Total | 136 | 33 | 20 | 8 | 17 | 3 | 40 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 220 | 48 | ||
| West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 2014–15 | Premier League | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| Parma (loan) | 2014–15 | Serie A | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 20 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 267 | 59 | 36 | 11 | 19 | 5 | 44 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 374 | 79 | ||
Honours
- Porto
- UEFA Europa League: 2010–11
- Primeira Liga: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13
- Taça de Portugal: 2009–10, 2010–11; Runner-up 2015–16
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- UEFA Super Cup: Runner-up 2011
- Taça da Liga: Runner-up 2009–10, 2012–13