Bruno Aguiar
Personal information
Full name Bruno João Morais Aguiar
Date of birth (1981-02-24) 24 February 1981
Place of birth Lisbon, Portugal
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1992–2000 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2005 Benfica B 46 (4)
2004–2005 Benfica 19 (0)
2002 → Gil Vicente (loan) 3 (0)
2002–2004 → Alverca (loan) 46 (6)
2006 FBK Kaunas 0 (0)
2006–2009 Hearts 61 (10)
2009–2014 Omonia 73 (6)
2014–2016 Oriental 55 (3)
Total 303 (29)
International career
2001–2002 Portugal U20 11 (1)
2001–2004 Portugal U21 6 (0)
2005 Portugal B 2 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Portugal
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Third place2004 Germany
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bruno João Morais Aguiar (born 24 February 1981) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a central midfielder.

After an unsuccessful spell with Benfica, although he contributed to the team's first Primeira Liga title in over one decade, he left the club in 2005, going on to play professionally in Scotland and Cyprus.

Club career

Benfica

Born in Lisbon, Aguiar grew in local S.L. Benfica's youth system, but spent the vast majority of his spell as a senior with their reserves. Additionally, he also served two loans, at Gil Vicente FC – six months – and F.C. Alverca, helping the former farm team return to the Primeira Liga in the second of his two full seasons, after which he returned to his alma mater.[1]

Under Giovanni Trapattoni, hired for the 2004–05 campaign, Aguiar would make all of his appearances for Benfica's main squad, his first being a UEFA Champions League third qualifying round against R.S.C. Anderlecht on 10 August 2004 (1–0 home win, 1–3 aggregate loss).[2][3] He also contributed with 19 matches (840 minutes) as they won the domestic league for the first time since 1994; after the Italian was replaced by Ronald Koeman, however, he fell out of favour and was released from contract.[4]

Hearts

In January 2006, Aguiar signed for FBK Kaunas, who immediately loaned him to Heart of Midlothian,[5] both clubs being owned by Vladimir Romanov. He made his competitive debut in a 1–2 defeat to Aberdeen in February,[6] and made a further 11 appearances before the end of the season, helping the side finish in second place in the Scottish Premier League and adding the Scottish Cup.[7]

2006–07 did not start so well for Aguiar, as he was sent off in the first leg of Hearts' Champions League third round qualifier against AEK Athens FC, after receiving a second yellow card for throwing the ball away with a 1–0 lead – the Greek utilised their subsequent one-man advantage to win it 2–1.[8] A lengthy eighteen-month injury layoff soon followed for the player,[9] and he made his return to first-team action in October 2008, in the Edinburgh Derby where he scored a free-kick to earn his team a draw;[10] on 9 December he was awarded the Clydesdale Bank Premier League Player of the Month award for the previous month,[11] and ended the 2008–09 season as top scorer in the squad with seven goals.[12]

On 1 June 2009, Hearts confirmed Aguiar's departure following the expiration of his contract, leaving him free to sign with another club. He stated that he had enjoyed his time at the Tynecastle Stadium, with the Scottish Cup victory and second-place finish in the league in 2006 being personal highlights, as well as wishing them the best for the future.[13]

Omonia

A free agent, Aguiar signed for AC Omonia from Cyprus in June 2009.[14] He left five years later at the age of 33 after helping the Nicosia club to five major titles, including the 2009–10 edition of the First Division championship where he appeared in 15 games, scoring once; he subsequently returned to his homeland, and joined Clube Oriental de Lisboa.[15]

In November 2016, shortly after his last team's relegation from the Segunda Liga, Aguiar announced his retirement.[16]

International career

Aguiar was a member of the Portugal under-21 team that finished third at the 2004 UEFA European Championship[17] and qualified for the Athens Olympics, along with several future full internationals such as Hugo Almeida, Bruno Alves, José Bosingwa, Danny, Raul Meireles and Hugo Viana. He did not make, however, the final cut for the latter competition.

Statistics

Club

Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Benfica 2001–02[18] Primeira Liga 0000—00—00
2004–05[18] Primeira Liga 19050—6[lower-alpha 1]0—300
2005–06[18] Primeira Liga 0000—00—00
Total 19050—60—300
Gil Vicente (loan) 2001–02[18] Primeira Liga 3000———30
Alverca (loan) 2002–03[18] Segunda Liga 29420———314
2003–04[18] Primeira Liga 17200———172
Total 46620———486
Hearts 2005–06[19] Scottish Premier League 1012000——121
2006–07[20] Scottish Premier League 25210215[lower-alpha 1]0—333
2007–08[21] Scottish Premier League 00000000—00
2008–09[22] Scottish Premier League 2671000——277
Total 6110402150—7211
Omonia 2009–10[23] Cypriot First Division 151—4[lower-alpha 2]0—191
2010–11[23] Cypriot First Division 19100—001[lower-alpha 3]0201
2011–12[23] Cypriot First Division 18352—2[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0265
2012–13[23] Cypriot First Division 13120—2[lower-alpha 2]000171
2013–14[23] Cypriot First Division 8000—00—80
Total 73672—8020908
Oriental 2014–15[23] Segunda Liga 2421020——272
2015–16[23] Segunda Liga 400010——50
Total 2821030——322
Career total 23024192511902027527
  1. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League
  2. 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. 1 2 Appearances in Cypriot Super Cup

Honours

Club

Benfica

Hearts

Omonia

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Bruno Aguiar cobiçado" [Bruno Aguiar coveted] (in Portuguese). Record. 1 June 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  2. ↑ "Benfica-Anderlecht, 1–0 (Zahovic 12)" (in Portuguese). Record. 10 August 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  3. ↑ "Anderlecht-Benfica, 3–0 (Dindane 34 e 59, Jestrovic 73 gp)" [Anderlecht-Benfica, 3–0 (Dindane 34 and 59, Jestrovic 73 pk)] (in Portuguese). Record. 24 August 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "Bruno Aguiar: "Equipa campeã foi desmontada"" [Bruno Aguiar: «Champion team has been dismantled»] (in Portuguese). Record. 2 February 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  5. ↑ Romanov delivers big style Archived 16 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine; The Scotsman, 1 February 2006.
  6. ↑ "Hearts 1–2 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 11 February 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  7. ↑ Hearts 1–1 Gretna (4–2 on pens); BBC Sport, 13 May 2006
  8. ↑ Hearts 1–2 AEK Athens; BBC Sport, 9 August 2006
  9. ↑ Gardner, John (9 October 2008). "Bruno Aguiar: New Hearts deal is last thing on my mind". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  10. ↑ Gordon, Phil (20 October 2008). "Bruno Aguiar marks his return for Hearts with classic strike". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  11. ↑ Aguiar given monthly player award; BBC Sport, 9 December 2008
  12. ↑ Smith, Ewan (31 July 2009). "I'LL GET YOUR GOALS GAFFER – Hearts striker Nade's vow to Laszlo". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  13. ↑ Bruno wishes Hearts well Archived 6 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine; Heart of Midlothian, 1 June 2009
  14. ↑ Aguiar joins Omonia after Old Firm fail to make bid; The Scotsman, 9 June 2009
  15. ↑ "Bruno Aguiar issues word of warning to Ryan Gauld". The Scotsman. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "Bruno Aguiar pendura as chuteiras" [Bruno Aguiar hangs up boots] (in Portuguese). Record. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  17. ↑ "Hugo Viana nos sub-21 falha Euro 2004" [Hugo Viana to the under-21s misses Euro 2004] (in Portuguese). Correio da Manhã. 17 May 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bruno Aguiar". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Games played by Bruno Aguiar in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Games played by Bruno Aguiar in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "Games played by Bruno Aguiar in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  22. ↑ "Games played by Bruno Aguiar in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Bruno Aguiar". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  24. ↑ "Nov 08 Awards". CB Football. Archived from the original on 17 January 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
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