Nuno Luís Costa Santos (born 20 April 1973) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, currently a goalkeeping coach.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Nuno Luís Costa Santos[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1973-04-20) 20 April 1973 (age 49)[1] | ||
Place of birth | Setúbal, Portugal[1] | ||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Youth career | |||
1984–1985 | OVNI 2001 | ||
1985–1991 | Vitória Setúbal | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1991–1998 | Vitória Setúbal | 42 | (0) |
1991–1992 | → Caldas (loan) | 13 | (0) |
1993–1994 | → Operário (loan) | ||
1998–1999 | Leeds United | 0 | (0) |
1999–2004 | Benfica | 0 | (0) |
2000 | → Badajoz (loan) | 0 | (0) |
2001 | → Santa Clara (loan) | 7 | (0) |
2001–2002 | → Beira-Mar (loan) | 24 | (0) |
2003–2004 | → Vitória Setúbal (loan) | 13 | (0) |
2004–2007 | Santa Clara | 69 | (0) |
2007 | Raging Rhinos | 2 | (0) |
2008 | Toronto FC | 0 | (0) |
2008–2009 | Gondomar | 19 | (0) |
2009–2010 | Arouca | 9 | (0) |
2010–2012 | Ethnikos Assia | 10 | (0) |
Total | 208 | (0) | |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Born in Setúbal, Santos made his professional debut with his hometown club Vitória FC,[2] also serving two loans with lowly teams (Caldas S.C. and CD Operário). His performances in the 1997–98 campaign attracted the attention of Leeds United,[3][4] but he made no official appearances whatsoever for the Premier League side, returning to his country with S.L. Benfica.[2]
During his stint in Lisbon, Santos was almost always only third choice, and went on to also serve several loans, including in Spain's CD Badajoz, playing no games in the Segunda División during his four-month spell.[2] Released by Benfica in June 2004 after a season-long loan spell at Vitória,[5] he stabilised at C.D. Santa Clara – which he had already represented on loan from Benfica – starting in two of his three campaigns in the Azores.[6][2]
After one year in North America, appearing for both the Rochester Raging Rhinos and Toronto FC, Santos returned to Portugal and played in slightly more than half of the league's matches for Gondomar SC, with the club, also in the Segunda Liga, being relegated. In the summer, he dropped down to the third tier and joined F.C. Arouca.[2]
Upon retiring at the age of 39, Santos worked as goalkeeper coach of the Canadian national team.[7] In 2018, in the same capacity, he signed with Lille OSC of the French Ligue 1.[8][9]
Santos moved to English club Tottenham Hotspur in November 2019, still in that role.[10] After the dismissal of manager José Mourinho on 19 April 2021, the entire coaching staff was relieved of their duties.[11] On 7 April 2022, while working as goalkeeping coach of A.S. Roma, he was involved in an altercation with the head coach of FK Bodø/Glimt following a UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final match.[12]