Manú (Portuguese footballer)


Emanuel Jesus Bonfim Evaristo, known as Manú, is a Portuguese footballer who plays for U.D. Vilafranquense mainly as a right winger.
He played 129 Primeira Liga matches over seven seasons, scoring a combined 13 goals for Alverca, Estrela da Amadora, Benfica, Marítimo and Vitória de Setúbal. He also competed professionally in Italy, Greece, Poland, China and Cyprus, winning the Polish Cup with Legia Warsaw.

Club career

Born in Setúbal, Manú started his professional career in the 2001–02 season playing for F.C. Alverca, before signing for S.L. Benfica in 2004 on a four-year contract. He was immediately loaned after arriving, serving stints in Italian clubs Modena F.C. and A.C. Carpenedolo to gain experience, and returned to Portugal in the 2005–06 campaign for another temporary spell with C.F. Estrela da Amadora, where he played in 31 league games and scored seven goals, contributing to the preservation of the side's Primeira Liga status.
In June 2006, Manú was given a new four-year deal and made his official debut for Benfica by playing in both legs of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round win against FK Austria Wien, also making a substitute appearance for them in the group stages against F.C. Copenhagen, on 13 September 2006.
Thanks to his time in Italy, Manú attracted interest from the likes of Udinese Calcio and Parma F.C. in the summer of 2007. Finally, Greek team AEK Athens F.C. managed to sign him on a one-year loan, after which he returned to Lisbon, being immediately sold to C.S. Marítimo.
Manú scored his first goal for the Madeirans on 7 October 2008, in a 2–0 win at Vitória de Setúbal. In his second year he appeared even more as a starter, as the side qualified for the UEFA Europa League as fifth. On 1 November 2009, he netted from 30 meters to put Marítimo ahead at Sporting CP.
On 9 June 2010, Manú signed a three-year contract with Legia Warsaw in Poland. On 3 May of the following year, he scored the equalising goal in the season's Polish Cup final against Lech Poznań, which secured his team extra time and then a penalty shootout, in an eventual 5–4 win for the 14th conquest in the competition in the club's history.
On 9 December 2011, Manú signed a "1+1" contract with Beijing Guoan F.C. in China, effective as of January of the following year.

Club statistics

Honours

Legia Warsaw