PLAYER PROFILE

Luis Boa Morte

Position: Forward

Height: 5'11

Weight: 12st 6lbs

Date of Birth: 1977-08-04 Lisbon, Portugal

Luis Boa Morte

The energetic forward started his career in England at Arsenal and made a big impact at Craven Cottage since arriving on loan from Southampton. Fulham completed the signing of Boa Morte from The Saints for £1.7 million after he played a major part in their promotion to the Premiership. The Former Arsenal player grabbed 18 goals as Fulham won the First Division title, and then signed a four-year deal with the West London outfit. He had set up a formidable strike partnership with Louis Saha.

2001/02 was a topsy-turvy season for Boa Morte, as he was twice involved in controversy. He was sent off in Fulham's 1-1 draw at home to Ipswich, having already missed a penalty. He received another red card against Everton, when he was accused of biting David Weir. The incident led to a pitch-brawl involving all of the players, except Boa Morte who was still on the floor.

The red card was overturned on appeal after video evidence showed that Boa Morte was guilty of nothing worse than a late tackle. However, his lack of goals was more troubling, as he scored only three goals all season, and found himself pushed out of the team by Steve Marlet.

In 2002/03 he played in over 40 games but only managed a handful of goals. But Morte's electrifying pace and quick thinking continues to terrorize defenders and he seems to have established himself as more of a left sided attacker than an out and out central striker.

The following season saw Luis score 10 goals in all competitions, and he featured in nearly every single one of Fulham's games Premiership and otherwise. Chris Coleman is definitely a fan of the Portuguese international, who was unlucky not to earn a place in the national side for the European Championships in June.

Coleman raised concerned about Boa Morte's disciplinary record, after he collected nine yellow and one red, a record which seems to get worse season by season. Fulham were almost on course for a place in Europe via UEFA's Fair Play league, although the Welshman joked that it would never happen as long as he had Luis in his side.

His 2004/05 season saw him cement his place as a vital asset in the Fulham team. He made 39 appearances and scored 9 times. He also collected 7 yellow cards.

After speculation linking Boa Morte with a move to Newcastle, he signed a contract extension with Fulham in January 2005. Another good season with the Cottagers in 2005/06 saw him linked with moves to Newcastle or Benfica, but the Fulham skipper insisted that he wanted to stay at Craven Cottage.

However, in January 2007, he left the club to sign for Alan Curbishley at West Ham for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £5m.

His first half-season with the club proved successful as he made a handful of appearances. He will hope to continue such form in 2007/08.