Rafa Soares

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In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Soares and the second or paternal family name is Alves.
Rafa Soares
Personal information
Full name Luís Rafael Soares Alves[1]
Date of birth (1995-05-09) 9 May 1995 (age 26)[1]
Place of birth Marco de Canaveses, Portugal[1]
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[1]
Position(s) Left back
Club information
Current team
 Vitória Guimarães
Number 5
Youth career
2003–2005 Alpendorada
2005–2014 Porto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2018 Porto B 61 (8)
2016 → Académica (loan) 15 (1)
2016–2017 → Rio Ave (loan) 32 (3)
2017–2018 → Fulham (loan) 3 (0)
2018 Portimonense 11 (0)
2018– Vitória Guimarães 52 (0)
2020–2021 → Eibar (loan) 25 (0)
National team
2010–2011 Portugal U16 11 (0)
2011–2012 Portugal U17 12 (1)
2012 Portugal U18 3 (0)
2012–2014 Portugal U19 30 (2)
2014 Portugal U20 7 (0)
2014–2016 Portugal U21 9 (0)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  Portugal
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Runner-up 2014 Hungary
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:40, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Luís Rafael "Rafa" Soares Alves (born 9 May 1995) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a left back for Vitória de Guimarães.

Club career[]

Born in Marco de Canaveses, Porto District, Soares joined FC Porto's youth system in 2005 from local F.C. Alpendorada. On 21 August 2013, while still a junior, he made his professional debut with the former's B reserves, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute in a 1–0 away win against Portimonense S.C. in the Segunda Liga.[2]

From January 2016 to June 2017, Soares was on loan to Académica de Coimbra and Rio Ave FC, with both clubs in the Primeira Liga.[3][4] He played his first game in the competition on 22 January 2016 while at service of the former in a 2–1 away loss to Vitória de Setúbal,[5] and scored his first goal the following matchday but in a 3–2 defeat at Sporting CP.[6]

On 22 August 2017, deemed surplus to requirements by new Porto manager Sérgio Conceição, Soares was loaned to EFL Championship side Fulham in a season-long deal.[7] He made his debut on 31 October, coming from the bench in a 0–2 home loss to Bristol City.[8]

Soares' loan deal was mutually terminated by on 31 January 2018, after they had loaned Matt Targett earlier that month.[9] The same day, he signed a permanent deal with Portimonense in his country's top flight.[10]

On 6 July 2018, Soares agreed to a contract at Vitória de Guimarães.[11] On 31 January 2020, he joined SD Eibar of Spain's La Liga on an 18-month loan with the option to buy.[12] After returning from the relegated Basque team, he scored his first Vitória goal on 21 November 2021 as a substitute in a 3–2 defeat at neighbours Moreirense F.C. in the fourth round of the Taça de Portugal.[13]

Club statistics[]

As of match played 16 January 2020[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Porto B 2013–14 Segunda Liga 11 1 — — — 11 1
2014–15 30 2 — — — 30 2
2015–16 20 5 — — — 20 5
Total 61 8 — — — 61 8
Académica (loan) 2015–16 Primeira Liga 15 1 0 0 0 0 — 15 1
Rio Ave (loan) 2016–17 Primeira Liga 32 3 0 0 3 0 2[a] 0 37 3
Fulham (loan) 2017–18 Championship 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Portimonense 2017–18 Primeira Liga 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
Vitória Guimarães 2018–19 Primeira Liga 27 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 30 0
2019–20 9 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 15 0
Career Total 158 12 2 0 5 0 7 0 172 12
  1. ^ Appearances in the Europa League

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d "Rafa Soares" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Portimonense-FC Porto B, 0–1: O "miúdo" deu 3 pontos" [Portimonense-FC Porto B, 0–1: The "kid" gave 3 points]. Record (in Portuguese). 21 August 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Oficial: Académica anuncia Rafa por empréstimo do FC Porto" [Official: Académica announce Rafa on loan from FC Porto] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Dragões emprestam Rafa ao Rio Ave" [Dragons loan Rafa to Rio Ave] (in Portuguese). Rádio Renascença. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  5. ^ "V. Setúbal-Académica, 2–1 (resultado final)" [V. Setúbal-Académica, 2–1 (final score)] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Sporting 3–2 Académica: jogo pleno de emoções, muitos golos e incerteza até perto do fim" [Sporting 3–2 Académica: game full of excitement, many goals and uncertainty until the last minutes] (in Portuguese). Vavel. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Rafa Soares: Fulham complete loan signing of Porto left-back". BBC Sport. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Fulham 0–2 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Soares loan terminated". Fulham F.C. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Rafa Soares assina pelo Portimonense a título definitivo" [Rafa Soares signs permanently with Portimonense]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 31 January 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Rafa Soares ruma ao Vitória de Guimarães" [Rafa Soares heading to Vitória de Guimarães]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  12. ^ "El Eibar ficha al lateral izquierdo Rafa Soares procedente del Vitoria Guimaraes" [Eibar sign left-back Rafa Soares from Vitória Guimarães]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 31 January 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Moreirense elimina V. Guimarães da Taça" [Moreirense eliminate V. Guimarães from the Cup] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  14. ^ Rafa Soares at Soccerway

External links[]

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