PLAYER PROFILE

Ricardo Carvalho

Position: Defence

Height: 6'0

Weight: 12st 8lbs

Date of Birth: 1978-05-18 Amarante, Portugal

Ricardo Carvalho

After beginning his career at FC Leca with loan spells at Vitoria Setubal and FC Alverca, Ricardo Carvalho moved to FC Porto in 1997, where he stayed until he moved, with manager Jose Mourinho, to Chelsea in the summer of 2004 for the fee of £19.85million.

After a successful Euro 2004 in which he won an undisputed place in UEFA's all-star squad of the tournament, he proved an integral part of Chelsea's impressive squad in the 2004/05 season.

Making 39 appearances, the 27 year-old defender's progress for his new team was hampered only by a broken toe which put him out of the game for two winter months.

Despite an apparent falling-out with Mourinho in the summer of 2005, he stayed at Stamford Bridge and again became an important part of the team in 2005/06, capping it off with an excellent performance and goal against Man United on the day Chelsea were crowned champions again.

He had an eventful time in the 2006 World Cup with Portugal playing in all of their games up to and including their semi-final exit. Sadly though, he had his private parts trodden on by Wayne Rooney during the quarter-final against England...

Such troubles didn't stop him from enjoying his most successful season yet for Chelsea in 06/07. He played over 50 games for the Blues, scoring four goals along the way.

Another fantastic campaign followed in 07/08, but he played only sporadically in 2008/09. He remains, however, a useful utility man.