Sa: Armando Miguel Correia (Armando)

2007-2007 (Player Details)

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Born: Maputo, Mozambique: 06-09-1975

Debut v West Bromwich Albion (a) (Substitute): 06-01-2007

5’9” 11st 0lb (2007)

Sa played for Portuguese teams CF Belenesses from 1992 to 1994, Vilafranquense from 1994 to 1996, Braganca in 1997 and Vila Real de Santo Antonio from 1997 to 1998. He remained in Portugal and joined Rio Ave in 1998 and scored four times in eighty-four appearances before leaving at the end of the 2000-2001 season. He had one year at Sporting Braga before joining SL Benfica, where he scored once in forty-eight appearances and gained a Portuguese Cup Winners’ medal in 2004. He then moved to Spain and joined Villareal CF in 2004. He was a member of the Villareal team that won the Inter-Toto Cup the same year but could not find a regular place in the team but made nineteen appearances, three being as a substitute, as well as six starts and two substitute appearances in European competition in his three years there. He was loaned out to RCD Espanyol for his last two years but again was not a regular and scored once in twenty games, of which nine were as a substitute, but he was a member of their Spanish Cup winning team in 2006, playing two games in the competition as well as five starts and one game from the bench in the UEFA Cup. Unable to win a place in the team, he was loaned to Leeds United on 3rd January 2007 and was part of their unsuccessful battle to avoid relegation from the CCCL staying with them until the end of the season in May 2007. He soon made his debut in the Third Round FA Cup tie at the Hawthorns and came on as substitute for Matt Heath at half-time as Leeds lost 3-1. He started the next game at Hull City and played almost the entire match before giving way to Gylfi Einarsson in the eighty-fourth minute as Leeds emerged 2-1 winners. He was again in the side, this time for the entire ninety minutes as Leeds went down at Norwich by 2-1, and he kept up his growing reputation as a solid workman-like performer of little frills but total reliability. He was, however, on the bench for United’s 2-1 home victory over Crystal Palace, replacing Eddie Lewis in the sixty-fourth minute. He was there for the full game at Cardiff City, when he made a casual clearance on the edge of the box and Ian Westlake had to concede a free-kick from which Cardiff scored the only goal of the game. He started the next game in a 0-0 draw at Elland Road with Queens Park Rangers at right back but was replaced in the seventy-seventh minute by Hayden Foxe. A ham-string problem saw Frazer Richardson take his place in the next game at Wolverhampton Wanderers but he was back on the bench as Leeds visited Birmingham City, coming on after fifty-seven minutes in place of Robbie Blake. He had a recurrence of the ham-string problem and missed the 3-2 home loss to near-neighbours Sheffield Wednesday, returning to the bench in the 1-0 home win over Luton Town, which saw him replace Sebastien Carole with twelve minutes to go. He played the entire game at left-back in the 1-1 draw at Leicester City. After missing several games he was a ninetieth minute substitute for David Healy in the 1-0 home win over Burnley and he replaced the same player in the sixty-fifth minute as Leeds went down 1-0 at Southampton, in his final action for Leeds. He joined Iranian club Foolad FC, who competed in Iran's 2nd Division known as the Azadegan League, at the start of the 2007-08 season. He was signed by the then newly installed Portuguese coach Augusto Inacio, who was, by co-incidence, Sa's father-in-law. After sixteen appearances for them and after helping them achieve promotion he joined Sepahan in the Iran Pro League at the start of the 2008-09 season and scored once in twenty-three appearances. He remained with them for the 2009-10 season and played twice for of which one was as a substitute. He has been capped twenty-one times by Mozambique, but holds a Portuguese passport.