Quick Facts
AquariusBiography
Vítor Manuel da Costa Araújo (born 16 February 1966), known as Vítor Paneira, is a former Portuguese footballer who played as a right midfielder, and a current manager.
He excelled in the late 80's/early 90's with Benfica, to where he arrived from the lower leagues, going on to amass Primeira Liga totals of 335 games and 43 goals over the course of 11 seasons (289/44 in official matches with his main club) – he also played with Vitória de Guimarães in the competition.
A Portuguese international for eight years, Paneira represented the country at Euro 1996.
Club career
Born in Calendário, Vila Nova de Famalicão, Braga, Paneira started playing professionally with hometown's F.C. Famalicão, joining F.C. Vizela in the second division in the 1987–88 season and also receiving his first under-21 call-ups during the Toulon Tournament.
He was signed by S.L. Benfica in the summer of 1988, and remained there until the end of the 1994–95 campaign, being an instrumental element during his seven-year stay as he helped the Lisbon club to the Primeira Liga championship three times, adding the 1993 domestic cup. He also played in the 1990 Champions Cup final, with Benfica losing 0–1 to A.C. Milan; in the 1992–93 UEFA Cup he scored twice in a 2–1 home win against Juventus FC, coached by Giovanni Trapattoni (albeit in a 2–4 aggregate defeat).
Paneira moved to Vitória de Guimarães for 1995–96, due to problems with Benfica boss Artur Jorge which was also part of a locker room clean-up – he was club captain when this occurred – and played four seasons there. In the 1999 summer he switched to Académica de Coimbra, and retired at 35 after two years in the second level.
Paneira started his coaching career in 2002, with GD Serzedelo in the fourth level. He also managed his very first club Famalicão, but in the regional leagues.
On 16 December 2009, Paneira was named coach of Boavista FC, with the 2001 league champions now in division three. He was appointed at another side in the category, C.D. Tondela, on 24 May 2011, leading them to promotion in the playoffs in his first season.
On 10 June 2012, Paneira signed a one-year contract extension. He was relieved of his duties on 8 November of the following year, leaving the team in the ninth position.
In March 2014, Paneira took charge of Varzim S.C. in the third tier. He was fired in early May 2015, after a series of bad results.
Paneira returned to Tondela on 30 May 2015, being appointed manager for the club's first ever season in the Portuguese top flight.
International career
Paneira made his debut for Portugal the same year he signed for Benfica, in a 0–0 friendly draw with Sweden on 12 October 1988. In total he won 44 caps for the national team (42 for Benfica and two for Guimarães) and scored four goals in a seven-year period, playing his last international in another friendly, a 1–0 win over Republic of Ireland on 29 May 1996.
Paneira was chosen by António Oliveira for the Lusitanos squad that reached the quarter-finals at UEFA Euro 1996, but was one of the few players that never left the bench.
International goals
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 January 1989 | Olympic Stadium (Athens), Athens, Greece |  Greece | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 15 February 1989 | Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal |  Belgium | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1990 World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 26 April 1989 | Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal |  Switzerland | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1990 World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 20 February 1991 | Estádio das Antas, Porto, Portugal |  Malta | 4–0 | 5–0 | Euro 1992 qualifying |
Other ventures
Immediately after retiring and still as an active coach, Paneira worked as a sports commentator with cable channel Sport TV.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Famalicão | 1985–86 | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | ? | ? | |
| 1986–87 | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | ? | ? | ||
| Total | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | ? | ? | ||
| Vizela | 1987–88 | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | ? | ? | |
| Total | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | ? | ? | ||
| Benfica | 1988–89 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 2 |
| 1989–90 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 381 | 4 | |
| 1990–91 | 36 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 10 | |
| 1991–92 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 442 | 3 | |
| 1992–93 | 28 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 43 | 12 | |
| 1993–94 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 453 | 7 | |
| 1994–95 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 374 | 5 | |
| Total | 207 | 28 | 26 | 9 | 46 | 6 | 2885 | 44 | |
| Vitória Guimarães | 1995–96 | 30 | 5 | ? | ? | 4 | 0 | 34 | 5 |
| 1996–97 | 33 | 7 | ? | ? | 3 | 1 | 36 | 8 | |
| 1997–98 | 33 | 2 | ? | ? | 1 | 0 | 34 | 2 | |
| 1998–99 | 32 | 1 | ? | ? | 1 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| Total | 128 | 15 | ? | ? | 9 | 1 | 137 | 16 | |
| Académica | 1999–00 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 28 | 2 | |
| 2000–01 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 17 | 0 | ||
| Total | 44 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 45 | 2 | ||
| Career totals | 55 | 7 | |||||||
1 includes 2 matches in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.
2 includes 2 matches in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.
3 includes 3 matches in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.
4 includes 1 match and 1 goal in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.
5 includes 8 matches and 1 goal in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.
Honours
Player
- Primeira Divisão: 1988–89, 1990–91, 1993–94
- Taça de Portugal: 1992–93
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1989
- European Cup: Runner-up 1989–90
Manager
- Portuguese Third Division: 2003–04
- Portuguese Second Division: 2011–12