Postiga - A year in the career

Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) Football Club is located in North London. The club is also known as Spurs. Tottenham's home ground is White Hart Lane. The club motto is Audere est Facere (To dare is to do).

Spurs new boy Helder Postiga certainly knows how to make an exit - departing former club Porto with the team on something of a high.

Silver polish will certainly be on the shopping list at the Estadio das Antas following the securing of a domestic double and a dramatic UEFA Cup triumph over Celtic in Seville.

The SuperLiga win was the club's 18th, while Cup joy has now been sampled 11 times.

Postiga, described on one Porto website as the 'best young player in Portuguese football', played a major part in the 'Dragons' success last season although he unfortunately missed out on the balmy night in Spain where an extra-time goal sunk the then Scottish champions.

However, he certainly raised his profile and topped up his Euro-pedigree during the qualifying rounds - netting six goals in the six rounds leading to the final.

He opened his UEFA account with two goals after coming on as a 69th minute substitute against Polonia Warsaw in a 6-0 first leg win. He followed this up by confirming Austria Vienna's fate with the first of two second leg goals, with his team a goal up from the first.

Postiga's burgeoning reputation only increased further in the following round against highly-rated French outfit RC Lens, where he effectively put the tie beyond doubt with two goals in a 3-0 first leg win.

Perhaps the defining tie of our new striker's season came at the semi-final stage where Porto well and truly upstaged crack Italian side Lazio by a 4-1 scoreline - with the 20-year-old grabbing the fourth. The second leg bought heartbreak when he was denied a final place with a dismissal for two bookable offences.

Of course, by way of consolation, Porto cleaned up on the home front with Postiga scoring 13 league goals in a total of 34 - in at least seven of which he was substitute. The title was secured with four games still to play on the fixture list, Porto were undefeated at home and, just as importantly to the faithful, were also unbeaten against chief rivals Sporting Lisbon, Benfica and Boavista over the campaign.

Over three weeks after the UEFA Cup joy, Porto became only the sixth European side to win a 'treble' in a single season when Leiria were overcome by a 1-0 scoreline in the Portuguese Cup final.

Eleven days later Helder Postiga - architect of much of this success - was unveiled at White Hart Lane as a Tottenham Hotspur player.

Here's hoping that his taste for silverware and the need for silver polish transfers to his new surroundings.

They said...

Postiga is Porto's best Portuguese striker since the days of Fernando Gomes. He is a very quick player who works well in tight spaces, and a smart player that can find the tiniest of openings to poke home a loose ball. FC PORTO ONLINE

The thing about English football that I find really good is the passion of the supporters and the intensity of the game - everything is really good for me. I really like big challenges and this is going to be one for me. I know that if I have a big season then this will create big challenges for me in terms of being selected for Portugal. Porto had a great season last time and all the players really appreciated it. But when I had the chance to come to Tottenham I jumped at the opportunity. HELDER POSTIGA

Helder is going to be a massive star and is someone that is going to be at the forefront of the Portuguese side eventually - I think that says is all. GLENN HODDLE

FACTFILE
Full name - Helder Manuel Marques Postiga
Position - Striker
Nationality - Portuguese
Date of birth - August 2, 1982
Place of birth - Povoa de Varzim
Height - 179 cm
Weight - 79kg
Full International Caps - 3, 2 goals
Other International Caps - Junior, Youth, Under 21 and B levels
Previous Clubs - FC Porto, Varzim SC
Senior Debut - 2001/02
Career Appearances - 85
Career goals - 29
Appearances in season 2002/03 - 46
Goals in season 2002/03 - 19
Club honours - Portuguese Championship 02/03, Portuguese Cup 02/03,
Portuguese Super Cup 01/02

To view four of Postiga's goals from last season, visit the Singapore Spurs Supporters Club website