Luis Neto is a famous Portuguese footballer who plays as a center-back. During his long career, he was repeatedly called up to the ranks of the Portuguese national team. Since 2013, he has been known to Russian football fans as a player of St. Petersburg Zenit.
Luis Carlos Novo Neto, as the full name of the football player sounds like, is a pupil of Portuguese football. Born May 26, 1988 in the small town of Povua di Varzine, located in Portugal. The Neto family was football. The father of the future defender played for the amateur team, and his uncle played for the local club Varzim. Upbringing in a sports family from childhood instilled in Neto a love of football. At a young age, Neto dreamed of playing for Borussia Dortmund. This team was one of the best in Europe in the 90s of the XX century. Won the European Cup.
The beginning of a football career
The Portuguese are called "European Brazilians". Many of the guys in childhood want to become outstanding technical strikers, but there are those who, from an early age, choose the role of defenders. Among these children was Luis Neto. Carlos Novu began to receive his first football education at the age of seven, when he entered the children's football school at the Varzim club academy. The defender spent eight years in this team, played for the youth squad. In 2006, the up-and-coming player signed his first professional contract with the team that raised him.
Club Varzim did not play in the elite division of the Portuguese Championship, so Luis Neto spent the first five seasons of his playing career at the senior level in Segunda. In total, the defender took part in 53 matches, scored two goals. In the 2006-2007 season, his first season for the club, he never entered the field. In the next two championships in Segunda he had five and eight meetings, respectively. Neto managed to gain a foothold in the squad only in 2009, as indicated by statistics in the form of twelve matches played for the club. By this time, Neto had gained experience and the next year he spent a full season, entering the field in 28 matches. It was during this time that Neto scored his first goals in adult football.
It is difficult for a player playing in the position of a central defender to demonstrate his technical equipment, however, Neto also approached the defense of his goal creatively. The footballer's performance on the pitch has been seen by many scouts representing the Portuguese elite. In 2011, Luis Neto received an invitation from the Nacional club, playing in the top division of the Portuguese Championship. In the 2011-2012 season, Carlos strengthened the defensive positions of Nacional, contributed to the final seventh place of the team in the standings. In the domestic championship, the defender played 25 matches, entered the field six times as part of the National Cup tournament (once scored a goal) and played twice in the League Cup.
A successful season in the Portuguese Championship was the initial stage in the athlete's professional biography. After Nacional, Neto went to conquer foreign teams. The first country where Neto left Portugal was Italy.
Career Nope in foreign clubs
In 2012, Neto signed a contract with the Italian Siena. By the standards of Italian football, the team was difficult to rank among the top clubs. However, the game experience, football knowledge that Neto gained in the country where the best defenders of the world play, is priceless. In "Siena" Neto played 20 games in the Italian Serie A, once scored a goal. The defender added two more games to his Italian career in the Italian Cup. As a player for Italians, Neto was invited to join his country's national team for the first time.
The next stage in Luis Neto's football career was the national Zenit. On February 1, 2013, having paid 7 million euros for a transfer, the team from the city on the Neva received a Portuguese defender at their disposal. Since that time, Luis Neto has been listed as a Zenit player to this day.
During his career at Zenit, Neto has already played over a hundred matches. He defended the colors of the St. Petersburg club and in thirty-five European Cup meetings. Not all seasons in Russia turned out to be even for the defender. Sometimes there were game recessions, the footballer was recovering from injuries for a long time.
At Zenit, Neto won his first trophies at a high level. In the 2014 - 2015 season he became the champion of Russia, the next year he won the national cup. He twice raised the Russian Super Cup over his head (in 2015 and 2016).
It should be noted that Neto spent the 2017-2018 season in Turkey, where he played for the local Fenerbahce. An agreement with the Turks was reached through a temporary lease from Zenit.
Neto's career in the national team
Luis Neto played several games for the Portuguese youth teams. He made his debut for the main team of the country against the match with Ecuador in 2013. Luis took part in the 2017 Confederations Cup held in Russia. Together with his team he won bronze medals of the championship. Luis Neto was also on the list of the Portuguese for the 2018 World Cup. His team was able to qualify from the group, but lost to Uruguay in the first playoff match.
Luis Neto is an exemplary family man. He is married and has a son. The couple decided to name the boy Rodrigo. According to the defender himself, he and his wife enjoy living in Russia. A married couple are completely satisfied with the living conditions in St. Petersburg.
