Celestino (footballer)
Cape Verdean footballer (born 1987)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pedro Celestino Silva Soares (born 2 January 1987), known as Celestino, is a former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pedro Celestino Silva Soares[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 January 1987[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Tarrafal, Cape Verde[1] | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1996–2003 | Amora | ||
| 2003–2006 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2009 | Sporting CP | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Olivais Moscavide (loan) | 19 | (3) |
| 2007–2008 | → Estoril (loan) | 15 | (3) |
| 2008–2009 | → Estrela Amadora (loan) | 36 | (2) |
| 2009–2011 | Belenenses | 53 | (5) |
| 2011–2013 | CFR Cluj | 12 | (1) |
| 2013–2015 | Olhanense | 56 | (5) |
| 2015–2016 | Atlético | 41 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | Enosis Neon | 18 | (0) |
| 2019 | Farul Constanța | 17 | (3) |
| 2019–2020 | Fabril | 21 | (3) |
| 2020 | Pinhalnovense | 5 | (1) |
| Total | 293 | (28) | |
| International career | |||
| 2006–2007 | Portugal U20 | 11 | (2) |
| 2007–2009 | Portugal U21 | 7 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He also held a Portuguese passport, due to the many years spent in the country.
Club career
Born in Tarrafal, Celestino spent six years at Sporting CP (formative years included), but never appeared officially for the first team. He spent his first season as a professional with Olivais e Moscavide, on loan, being relegated from the Segunda Liga.[2]
For 2007–08, also on loan, Celestino joined Estoril[3][2] but, in January 2008, still owned by Sporting, he moved to another side in the Lisbon Region, Estrela da Amadora.[4] He made his competitive debut on the 20th, starting in a 1–0 home win against Braga in the Taça de Portugal,[5] and played his first Primeira Liga match the following week, featuring the second half of the 1–1 draw at Naval.[6]
Celestino suffered top-flight relegation with Estrela the following campaign, due to irregularities.[7] He met the same fate with his following club, Belenenses, but only due to sporting factors this time.[8]
On 16 August 2011, Celestino signed a three-year contract with CFR Cluj in Romania.[9] He returned to Portugal subsequently, going on to represent Olhanense[10] and Atlético Clube de Portugal.[11]
On 7 February 2019, Celestino agreed to a deal at Farul Constanța, moving to the Liga II side alongside his compatriots João Diogo and Diogo Rosado.[12]
International career
Celestino earned seven caps for the Portugal under-21 team. His debut occurred on 16 October 2007, as he played the entire 2–1 away victory over Montenegro in the 2009 UEFA European Championship qualifiers and provided the assist for Tiago Targino's winning goal.[13]
