Vitor Baia

Vitor Manuel Martins Baia, OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvitɔɾ bɐˈiɐ]; born 15 October 1969) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

One of the most decorated goalkeepers of all time, his career was intimately connected with FC Porto, which he started representing professionally still in his teens, helping it to 25 titles and eventually remaining with the club in an ambassadorial role.

Also having played for Barcelona, Baia appeared with the Portugal national team in two European Championships and the 2002 World Cup.

Club Career

FC Porto

Born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto District, Baia joined FC Porto's youth ranks at thirteen, from also northern club Leca FC. In early 1989, he renounced to appear at the FIFA World Youth Championship, as he had relegated Pole Jozef Mlynarczyk to the bench and his club was still chasing the Primeira Liga title, which eventually eluded them (second place).

Baia made his first-team debut in a game against Vitoria de Guimaraes, and did not lose his starting place for the following seven seasons, winning five leagues and two domestic cups and conceding only 116 goals (16,5 goals per year). It was between 1994 and 1996 that he made his name as a world-class goalkeeper, being voted for the "ESM Team of the Year" after the 1994–95 season and being named in the "IFFHS' World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year 1995" list, finishing sixth in the voting and improving to fifth in the following year; consequently he was named in the Portugal squad for Euro 1996, being transferred after this tournament to Spain's FC Barcelona for the highest amount paid for a player in the position in the world.

Barcelona

While he only missed one La Liga match in his first season, as Barcelona finished second to Real Madrid, adding the campaign's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Baia also suffered from knee problems during his two-and-a-half-year spell.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Витор Баия (russian)