Romeu Silva


Romeu Fernando Fernandes da Silva, known simply as Romeu, is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a central midfielder.

Football career

Born in Vila Praia de Âncora, Caminha, Viana do Castelo, Romeu made his professional debuts with Vitória de Guimarães, first appearing with the first team not yet aged 19. After a career-best ten goals in 28 matches in 1974–75, he caught the attention of S.L. Benfica, where he would however appear rarely over the course of two Primeira Liga seasons.
After reviving his career with his first club, Romeu moved in 1979 to FC Porto, where he would be much more used than at Benfica, in a four-season spell. The northern side however, only won one Portuguese Supercup, in 1981.
Aged 29, Romeu joined the last of the Big Three, Sporting Clube de Portugal. Except for his debut campaign, he would not be more than a fringe player as the team came totally empty on silverware, and finally retired in 1988 after one-year spells with modest S.C. Salgueiros and Amora FC.
In the 90s/2000s, Romeu had several spells as a manager, also working with Benfica as a scout and match observer. During eight years, still as a player, he appeared eight times for the Portugal national team.