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Nuno Tavares

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In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Varela and the second or paternal family name is Tavares.
Nuno Tavares
Tavares with Benfica in 2019
Personal information
Full name Nuno Albertino Varela Tavares[1]
Date of birth (2000-01-26) 26 January 2000 (age 24)[2]
Place of birth Lisbon, Portugal[2]
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Lazio
(on loan from Arsenal)
Number 30
Youth career
2009–2010 Casa Pia
2010–2013 Sporting CP
2013–2015 Casa Pia
2015–2018 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Benfica B 19 (0)
2019–2021 Benfica 25 (1)
2021– Arsenal 22 (1)
2022–2023 → Marseille (loan) 31 (6)
2023–2024 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 8 (0)
2024– → Lazio (loan) 13 (0)
International career‡
2018 Portugal U18 8 (0)
2018–2019 Portugal U19 14 (1)
2019–2023 Portugal U21 16 (1)
2024– Portugal 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:58, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:40, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Nuno Albertino Varela Tavares (European Portuguese: [ˈnunu taˈvaɾɨʃ]; born 26 January 2000) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Serie A club Lazio, on loan from Premier League club Arsenal, and the Portugal national team.

Club career

[edit]

Benfica

[edit]

Born in Lisbon of Cape Verdean descent, Tavares finished his development with Benfica after three years at city rivals Sporting CP and two stints with Casa Pia.[3][4][5] His manager at Casa Pia, João Silva, drove him home from training every day while also allowing his studies to take priority.[6]

Tavares made his senior debut with Benfica's reserves in the LigaPro, his first match being a 3–2 home win against Covilhã on 27 October 2018.[7] He played his first official game with the first team on 4 August 2019, featuring 90 minutes in the 5–0 victory over Sporting in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira at the Estádio Algarve.[8] His Primeira Liga bow took place the following week, opening an eventual 5–0 home defeat of Paços de Ferreira and adding two assists.[9] However, his weaknesses were exposed two weeks later in a 2–0 loss to Porto in O Clássico, which led him to return to the B side and lose his place to Tomás Tavares, being limited to occasional domestic cup matches in place of Alejandro Grimaldo.[6]

Following a difficult season, and a video posted on the Instagram account of a friend of Tavares where Grimaldo was referred to in derogatory terms, Benfica decided to sell the player in spite of his public apologies.[6] During his spell at the club, he made 41 competitive appearances.[10]

Arsenal

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On 10 July 2021, Tavares joined Arsenal on a long-term contract in a deal worth around £8 million.[11][12] He made his Premier League debut on 13 August, coming on as a late substitute for Calum Chambers in a 2–0 away defeat to Brentford.[13] Following an injury to Kieran Tierney he managed to earn a starting spot, initially achieving good performances and earning praise from coach Mikel Arteta, who especially liked his attacking qualities; however, he also struggled with homesickness, and his defensive frailties, positional mistakes and lapses in concentration led to him being regularly substituted at half-time during matches, most notably when he offered a goal to Diogo Jota in the 4–0 defeat to Liverpool following a misplaced pass.[14][15][16]

Tavares scored his first goal on 23 April 2022, through a calm tap-in after David de Gea had saved Bukayo Saka's curl in the third minute of an eventual 3–1 home win against Manchester United.[17]

Loans

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On 30 July 2022, Tavares moved to Ligue 1 club Marseille on a season-long loan;[18] he wanted to have the option to sign permanently at the end of the deal, but Arteta refused to sanction it.[19] He scored on his debut, a 4–1 home victory over Reims.[20] He repeated the feat the following matchday, in the 1–1 draw at Brest.[21]

Tavares improved his form under manager Igor Tudor, with his attacking style being put to good use in the latter's system.[22][23] On 2 January 2023, however, in the last minutes of a 2–1 away defeat of Montpellier – he had opened the score at the start of the second half – he gave away a penalty after deliberately kicking Arnaud Souquet in the box and was consequently sent off,[24] being handed a three-match ban for his actions two days later.[25]

On 1 September 2023, Tavares joined Nottingham Forest on loan for the season with a £12 million option to buy.[26] Even though he featured more after his compatriot Nuno Espírito Santo replaced Steve Cooper on the bench in December, he totalled only 12 appearances.[27][28]

Forest did not eventually activate the purchase clause.[29][30] On 15 July 2024, Tavares was loaned to Lazio for the 2024–25 campaign with an obligation to buy if certain conditions were met.[31][30]

International career

[edit]

Tavares won his first cap for Portugal at under-21 level on 10 September 2019, in a 2–0 win in Belarus for the 2021 UEFA European Championship qualifiers.[32] On 7 October 2021, against Liechtenstein in the next edition, he scored the first goal in the 11–0 rout in Vizela.[33]

Tavares was included in a provisional squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar,[34] but did not make the final cut.[35] Courtesy of his Lazio performances,[36] he made his full debut on 15 November 2024, replacing Nuno Mendes late into the 5–1 home victory over Poland in the UEFA Nations League.[37][38]

Media

[edit]

Tavares was involved in the Amazon Original sports docuseries All or Nothing: Arsenal, which documented the club by spending time with the coaching staff and players behind the scenes both on and off the field throughout their 2021–22 season.[39][40]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of match played 28 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Benfica B 2018–19[41] Liga Portugal 2 12 0 — — — — 12 0
2019–20[41] Liga Portugal 2 7 0 — — — — 7 0
Total 19 0 — — — — 19 0
Benfica 2019–20[41] Primeira Liga 11 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 1[c] 0 16 1
2020–21[41] Primeira Liga 14 0 4 0 1 0 5[d] 0 1[c] 0 25 0
Total 25 1 5 0 4 0 5 0 2 0 41 1
Arsenal 2021–22[42] Premier League 22 1 1 0 5 0 — — 28 1
Marseille (loan) 2022–23[41] Ligue 1 31 6 2 0 — 6[e] 0 — 39 6
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2023–24[43] Premier League 8 0 4 0 — — — 12 0
Lazio (loan) 2024–25[41] Serie A 13 0 0 0 — 2[d] 0 — 15 0
Career total 123 8 12 0 9 0 13 0 2 0 159 8
  1. ^ Includes Taça de Portugal
  2. ^ Includes Taça da Liga, EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  4. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

[edit]
As of match played 15 November 2024[44]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Portugal 2024 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

[edit]

Benfica

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Nuno Tavares" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  3. ^ Da Moura, Bruno (19 May 2018). "Benfica de Luis Lopes é campeão nacional de juniores" [Luis Lopes' Benfica are junior national champions] (in Portuguese). DTudo1Pouco. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Benfica confirma cinco jogadores da formação na pré-época" [Benfica confirm five youth players in preseason]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 27 June 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Nuno Tavares: outro menino de Lage que a mãe tirou de Alcochete" [Nuno Tavares: another Lage kid that his mother took from Alcochete]. Observador (in Portuguese). 4 August 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Lowy, Zach (2 July 2021). "Nuno Tavares' ascent to Arsenal". Breaking The Lines. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Benfica B vence Covilhã e dorme na liderança" [Benfica B beat Covilhã and sleep in first place]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 27 October 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  8. ^ a b Ribeiro, Patrick (4 August 2019). "Benfica stick five past Sporting in season curtain-raiser". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  9. ^ ""Golo do Nuno Tavares? Ninguém estava à espera que ele aparecesse ali, nem eu..."" ["Nuno Tavares' goal? Nobody expected he would appear there, not even me..."]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 11 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Benfica confirma transferência de Nuno Tavares para o Arsenal" [Benfica confirm transfer of Nuno Tavares to Arsenal]. Público (in Portuguese). 10 July 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Welcome Nuno! | Tavares joins us from Benfica". Arsenal F.C. 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Nuno Tavares: Arsenal sign left-back from Benfica in £8m deal". BBC Sport. 10 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  13. ^ McNulty, Phil (13 August 2021). "Brentford 2–0 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  14. ^ Desmond, Rhys (19 December 2021). "Mikel Arteta – Arsenal – Tactical analysis (2021–22 edition)". The Mastermindsite. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Arsenal loanees Nuno Tavares & Folarin Balogun grab debut goals". Medium. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  16. ^ Freeman, Will (12 September 2022). "Why Nuno Tavares is enjoying life at Marseille alongside former Arsenal player Matteo Guendouzi". Football London. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  17. ^ McNulty, Phil (23 April 2022). "Arsenal 3–1 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  18. ^ "Nuno Tavares joins Marseille on loan". Arsenal F.C. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  19. ^ Marsh, Dan (12 September 2022). "Mikel Arteta's transfer "solution" vindicated as wantaway Arsenal star thrives". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  20. ^ Frand, Arthur (7 August 2022). "Ligue 1. L'OM s'amuse face à Reims avec un doublé de Luis Suarez lors de la première journée" [Ligue 1. OM have fun against Reims with Luis Suarez brace in matchday one]. Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  21. ^ Pugmire, Jerome (14 August 2022). "Sanchez makes debut for Marseille in a 1–1 draw at Brest". Associated Press. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  22. ^ Killen, Stephen; Martin, Laurie (8 September 2022). "Nuno Tavares' crucial Arsenal problem revealed amid Matteo Guendouzi 'flourishing' at Marseille". Football London. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  23. ^ "EPL: He doesn't even realise his qualities – Marseille boss, Tudor hails Arsenal star". Saga Gist. 13 September 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  24. ^ McAvoy, Callum (3 January 2023). "Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares 'lost his mind' after getting sent off for horror tackle". Metro. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  25. ^ "OM. Nuno Tavares suspendu trois matches" [OM. Nuno Tavares with three-match suspension]. Ouest-France (in French). 4 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  26. ^ "Forest sign Nuno Tavares on loan from Arsenal". Nottingham Forest F.C. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  27. ^ Smart, Ryan (10 April 2024). "What happened to the Arsenal outcast 'kicked out of training' who 'annoyed' Mikel Arteta". SPORTbible. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  28. ^ Holland, Josh (21 May 2024). "Arsenal miss out on crucial transfer windfall as Mikel Arteta handed headache". Football London. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  29. ^ Critchlow, Dan (21 May 2024). "Arsenal loanee's club confirm they aren't activating purchase clause". Daily Cannon. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  30. ^ a b Onyeagwara, Nnamdi; McNicholas, James (15 July 2024). "Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares joins Lazio on loan". The Athletic. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  31. ^ "Nuno Tavares completes loan move to Lazio". Arsenal F.C. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  32. ^ "Portugal vence Bielorrússia e sobe à liderança do Grupo 7" [Portugal beat Belarus and climb to first place in Group 7]. Record (in Portuguese). 10 September 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  33. ^ "Goleada histórica. Seleção de sub-21 vence Liechtenstein por 11–0" [Historic rout. Under-21 national team defeat Liechtenstein 11–0]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 7 October 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  34. ^ Thanveer, Dakir Mohammed (25 October 2022). "Portugal reportedly name provisional 55-man squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup; Liverpool star receives surprise call up". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  35. ^ "Os 26 convocados de Portugal: Gonçalo Ramos, António Silva, Otávio e Matheus Nunes chamados" [Portugal select 26: Gonçalo Ramos, António Silva, Otávio and Matheus Nunes called] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  36. ^ Pires, António (8 October 2024). "Nuno Tavares é o expresso de Roma: "Sinto-me cada vez mais em casa"" [Nuno Tavares is the Roman express: "I feel more at home by the day"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  37. ^ "Vitinha sparks second-half demolition job as Portugal thrash Poland 5–1 in Porto". PortuGOAL. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  38. ^ "Nuno Tavares "feliz" pela 1.ª internacionalização: "Estou entre os melhores, onde quero estar"" [Nuno Tavares "happy" for the 1st cap: "I am among the best, where I want to be"]. Record (in Portuguese). 15 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  39. ^ "Full 'All Or Nothing' trailer released". Arsenal F.C. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  40. ^ All or Nothing: Arsenal | Official full trailer 🎬. Amazon Prime Video. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022 – via YouTube.
  41. ^ a b c d e f "Nuno Tavares". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  42. ^ "Games played by Nuno Tavares in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  43. ^ "Games played by Nuno Tavares in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  44. ^ "Nuno Tavares". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
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