Anthony da Silva


Anthony da Silva, commonly known as Tony, is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a right back, and a video analyst for the Cameroonian national team.

Playing career

The son of a Portuguese couple, Silva was born in Le Creusot, Saône-et-Loire. He returned to his parents' hometown of Chaves in his teens, making his debut in professional football at the age of 20 with G.D. Chaves in the second division and remaining four years with the club in that level.
In the 2005–06 season, Silva made his Primeira Liga debut, only missing two games as C.F. Estrela da Amadora easily retained their league status. In January 2007 he moved abroad, signing with CFR Cluj in Romania.
During his spell at Cluj, Silva quickly became a fan favourite for his strong work ethic and dedication, also eventually gaining team captaincy. During his stint he won six major titles, including two Liga I championships, contributing with a combined 50 appearances and one goal to those conquests ; in the following campaign he suffered a knee ligament injury which sidelined him for several weeks, but he still recovered in time to help the club win the domestic cup for the second time in its history.
In January 2011, aged 30, Silva returned to his country and signed with Vitória de Guimarães. In the following year, in the same transfer window, he joined fellow league side F.C. Paços de Ferreira.
On 5 May 2013, Tony scored his only goal in the Portuguese top flight, netting through a rare header to help his team defeat Sporting CP 1–0 at home and cling on to a best-ever third position in the league, with the subsequent qualification to the UEFA Champions League. He finished his career in 2015, following a spell with F.C. Penafiel in the same tier.

Coaching career

After becoming a manager, Silva worked mainly in the lower leagues or amateur football. The exception to this was late into the 2015–16 season, when he went from assistant to interim at Académico de Viseu F.C. after Ricardo Chéu was dismissed by the second division club.
In October 2019, Silva left Chaves' youths and joined his compatriot Toni Conceição's staff at the Cameroon national team, as a video analyst.

Honours

CFR Cluj