| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bruno Ricardo Mendonça de Caires | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1976-04-02) 2 April 1976 (age 48) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lisbon, Portugal | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1994 | Benfica | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–1997 | Benfica | 35 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | → Belenenses (loan) | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Celta | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | → Tenerife (loan) | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2004 | Sporting CP | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Sporting B | 42 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | → Maia (loan) | 26 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003 | → Covilhã (loan) | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Louletano | 34 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 194 | (7) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Portugal U16 | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Portugal U17 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Portugal U18 | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Portugal U20 | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Portugal U21 | 8 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Bruno Ricardo Mendonça de Caires (born 2 April 1976) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
A product of S.L. Benfica's youth system, Lisbon-born Caires was initially loaned to C.F. Os Belenensesinhis first year as senior, where he made his Primeira Liga debuts. He returned in the 1995 summer, playing 24 competitive games during the season to help his team finish in second position.[1]
In the 1997 summer, Caires signed for Celta de Vigo, who paid €3.5 million for his services. He made his La Liga debut on 9 November by coming on as a late substitute in a 3–1 away win against CD Tenerife,[2] but his spell in Spain was plagued by injury problems, and he was also loaned to precisely Tenerife in January 2000.[3]
Subsequently, Caires returned to Lisbon, signing for Sporting Clube de Portugal. He mainly played for its B-side in competitive matches, his only first-team appearances being against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League[4] and F.C. Famalicão in the Portuguese Cup. He retired in 2005 at the age of only 29 after spells with F.C. Maia, S.C. Covilhã and Louletano DC, the latter two clubs competing in the third tier.
Caires participated with the Portugal under-20 team at the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship, contributing with six games to an eventual third-place finish in Qatar. All youth categories comprised, he gained 52 caps and scored two goals.[5]
He is the son of Eurico Caires, a footballer who represented clubs in Portugal, Canada and the United States.
Benfica
