Fernando Couto

Fernando Manuel Silva Couto, OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃du ˈko(w)tu]; born 2 August 1969) is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a central defender.
During a 21-year professional career he played in a number of top teams in Portugal, Spain and Italy (12 seasons in the latter country), appearing in nearly 600 official games and winning the double in each country, as well as three other UEFA club trophies.
At international level, Couto represented the Portuguese national team in 110 games, taking part in the 2002 World Cup as well as three European Championships.

Born in Espinho near Porto, Couto joined FC Porto's youth system at the age of 17. On 2 June 1988 he made his first-team – and Primeira Liga – debut, playing 90 minutes in a 1–0 away win against Académica de Coimbra in what would be his only appearance of the season for the national champions. He was then released by the club, playing one year apiece with F.C. Famalicão and Académica.

Couto returned to Porto in 1990, being an instrumental defensive unit in the conquest of six titles during his four-year spell. He subsequently moved to Italy with Parma AC, scoring a career-best four goals in 27 games in his first season and adding the campaign's UEFA Cup, in a 2–1 aggregate win against fellow Serie A side Juventus FC.

In summer 1996 Couto joined FC Barcelona in Spain, alongside former Porto teammates Vítor Baía and manager Bobby Robson, as Luís Figo was also playing for the La Liga club. Regularly used by the English manager, he was less played by his successor Louis van Gaal, but managed to appear in one of the two European finals the Catalans won, the 1996–97 edition of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

After two seasons at the Camp Nou, Couto left Barça and moved to Rome's SS Lazio in late June 1998, alongside teammate Iván de la Peña. He appeared in 22 matches in his first year to help the club to the second place in the league, and appeared one minute in the final of the last Cup Winners' Cup, in a 2–1 win against RCD Mallorca at the Villa Park in Birmingham.

In 2001, Couto failed a doping test for the steroid nandrolone. He denied having taken forbidden substances, but his "B" test confirmed the finding and he eventually served four months out of a nine-month worldwide ban for the offence. He continued to appear regularly for Lazio in the following seasons.

In 2005, aged 36, Couto returned to Parma after eleven years, as Lazio was unable to match his wage demands for a contract renewal. After two seasons of regular use he only appeared in 17 games in 2007–08, with the Emilia-Romagna team also suffering top flight relegation; as his contract expired, he decided to retire from football.

In June 2010, two years after his retirement, Couto was named director of football at S.C. Braga. He was named the club's assistant manager for the 2012–13 campaign.

As a member of Famalicão in the third division, Couto appeared in four games as Portugal won the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship, being part of a group of players dubbed the "Golden Generation" of Portuguese football. He made his debut for the senior team on 19 December 1990, in a friendly with the United States played in Maia (1–0 win).

Always as first-choice, Couto represented the nation at UEFA Euro 1996 – scoring the game's only goal for the eventual quarterfinalists in a group stage contest against Turkey – Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, partnering former Porto teammate Jorge Costa in the last two tournaments, the latter of which ended in group stage exit.

Couto became the first Portuguese player to reach 100 caps (in a total of 110) on 11 October 2003, in a 5–3 home friendly victory over Albania. He was selected as captain for Euro 2004 which was played on home soil, starting the first game but eventually being relegated to the bench by Ricardo Carvalho as Portugal lost in the decisive match against Greece.

Couto – goals for Portugal
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	24 February 1993	Estádio das Antas, Porto, Portugal	Italy	1–2	1–3	1994 World Cup qualification
2	18 December 1994	Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal	Liechtenstein	5–0	8–0	Euro 1996 qualifying
3	24 January 1996	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	France	0–1	3–2	Friendly
4	14 June 1996	City Ground, Nottingham, England	Turkey	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 1996
5	9 November 1996	Estádio das Antas, Porto, Portugal	Ukraine	1–0	1–0	1998 World Cup qualification
6	18 November 1998	Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal	Israel	1–0	2–0	Friendly
7	10 June 2003	Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal	Bolivia	2–0	4–0	Friendly
8	5 June 2004	Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal	Lithuania	1–0	4–1	Friendly

Club

• Also played three Supercoppa Italiana games (1995, 1998, 2004).

1Includes one Champions League qualification match.

International

Club

Porto

• Primeira Liga: 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93
• Taça de Portugal: 1987–88, 1990–91, 1993–94
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1991, 1994

Parma

• UEFA Cup: 1994–95

Barcelona

• La Liga: 1997–98
• Copa del Rey: 1996–97, 1997–98
• Supercopa de España: 1996
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97
• UEFA Super Cup: 1997

Lazio

• Serie A: 1999–00
• Coppa Italia: 1999–00, 2003–04
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1998, 2000
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1998–99
• UEFA Super Cup: 1999

Country

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1989
• UEFA European Championship: Runner-up 2004