Rui Esteves

Rui Esteves
Personal information
Full name	Rui Manuel Guerreiro Nobre Esteves
Date of birth	30 January 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1983–1985	Real Benfica
Senior career*
Years	Team
1985–1986	Torreense
1986–1988	Olhanense
1988–1990	Louletano
1990–1991	Farense
1991–1992	Louletano
1992–1993	Torreense
1993–1994	Vitória Setúbal
1994–1995	Benfica
1995	→ Birmingham City (loan)
1995–1997	Belenenses
1998–1999	Daewoo Royals
2000	Beijing Guoan
Managerial career
2001–2002	Fazendense
2002–2003	Alcochetense
2004	Olivais Moscavide
2004	Sintrense
2005	Beira-Mar Monte Gordo
2005–2006	Portosantense
2006	Maia
2006–2007	Torreense
2008–2009	Fabril
2009–2010	Farense
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rui Manuel Guerreiro Nobre Esteves (born 30 January 1967) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 93 matches and five goals during five seasons, in representation of Farense, Vitória de Setúbal, Benfica and Belenenses.

Playing career

Born in Lisbon, Esteves started playing professionally at the age of 18, representing several teams in the Portuguese second division, most of them hailing from the Algarve region: S.C.U. Torreense, S.C. Olhanense and Louletano DC. His Primeira Liga debut occurred in the 1990–91 season, but he appeared just six times for S.C. Farense and resumed his career in the second level, representing old acquaintances Louletano and Torreense.

Late in 1994, after having helped Vitória de Setúbal finish sixth in the top flight, Esteves earned himself a transfer to S.L. Benfica, but never settled with his hometown club, playing for a third side in the campaign as he was loaned to England's Birmingham City, although his only match for Blues was a 45 minute appearance in the Auto Windscreens Shield against Leyton Orient.^[1] He returned to Portugal in the following summer, spending two years with Benfica neighbours C.F. Os Belenenses also in the top tier, and closed out his career at 33 after spells in Asia, with K-League's Daewoo Royals and in the Chinese Jia-A League with Beijing Guoan FC.

Esteves began working as a coach in 2001, starting with Associação Desportiva Fazendense and going on to be in charge of Grupo Desportivo Alcochetense and C.D. Olivais e Moscavide in the following two years. In December 2008 he was appointed at G.D. Fabril,^[2]^[3] and never managed in higher than division three.

^ Rollon, Jack (1995). Rothman's Football Yearbook. Queen Anne Press.
^ "Rog-Rut" (in Portuguese). Liga de Honra. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
^ "Rui Esteves é o novo treinador do GDF" [Rui Esteves is new GDF manager] (in Portuguese). G.D. Fabril. 21 December 2008. Archived from the original on 23 June 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.