Nuno Moreira (Photo by Casa Pia AC)
December 29, Estádio Municipal de Braga. It’s the 70th minute, the score is 1-1, and Casa Pia are breaking on the counter-attack. André Geraldes races down the right flank and tees up an unmarked Nuno Moreira at the edge of the box, who takes a touch before launching a rocket into the top left corner and celebrating with an expertly timed knee slide. It was the finish of a man who is brimming with confidence, and who, for the first time in his life, is finding the back of the net for fun.
“I think this is undoubtedly the best moment of my career,” said Moreira to RG. “It has everything to do with the confidence I’m feeling at the moment and the team’s importance, the way that the ball reaches me, but mainly, what changed was me and the confidence I have in myself that perhaps I didn’t have in other seasons.”
Born in Espinho, Portugal, Moreira was spotted by Sporting’s scouts at a young age and joined their club in 2007. During the week, he’d balance his academic studies with his burgeoning footballing career, training with smaller clubs like Feirense and Arcozelo, and during the weekend, he’d drive south to the capital and play for Sporting’s youth teams. This changed in 2013, with Moreira moving to Lisbon and residing at the Alcochete residency. Renowned as one of the finest youth development centers in the world, Moreira plied his trade in the same Sporting academy that produced Portugal legends like Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. He trained alongside various prodigious talents, but none stood out more than Milan winger Rafael Leão.
“I played many years with Leão, and even at that time, he was far superior to the other players. He did different things.I had no doubts that he was going to reach the level he’s at now, and I think he can become even better than he is now.”
Achieving His Dream
Moreira spent 11 years climbing the youth ranks and dreaming of making his Primeira Liga debut at Sporting’s stadium. His wish would come true, but not the way he expected. Despite impressing for the U-23s and the reserves, Moreira’s pathway to the first team was blocked by big-name attackers like Pedro Gonçalves and Paulinho. At 22, he was too old to play for the youth team anymore – the writing was on the wall for him at his boyhood club. On June 19, 2021, Moreira joined newly promoted Vizela on a three-year deal, with Sporting retaining 50% of his economic rights. On August 6, 2021, he made his Primeira debut at Sporting’s Estádio José Alvalade, coming off the bench in a 3-0 defeat at the newly crowned Portuguese champions.
Vizela were playing in Portugal’s top-flight for just the second season in their entire history and the first time in 36 years. Having won just one of their first 12 league matches, many expected the Vizelenses to go down without a fight – instead, they started hitting their stride under Álvaro Pacheco and adapting to life in the Primeira.
It took him a while to transition from Portugal’s third tier to the first division, but on December 23, 2021, he scored his first goal for Vizela: a long-range scorcher in a 1-0 victory against Braga in the Taça de Portugal. However, the following match would see him sent off before halftime in a 2-0 loss at Marítimo. Still, whilst his immaturity and lack of end product initially worked against him, Moreira gradually grew into his role, grabbing assists in back-to-back matches vs. Vitória and Boavista and scoring his first league goal on April 20, 2022, against Porto – who would go on to win the domestic double and achieve a league-record 91 points.
Although Moreira grew up idolizing Lionel Messi and Neymar, he also studies Bernardo Silva and Cole Palmer and looks to take inspiration from them to improve as a winger.
“I feel most comfortable as an inverted left winger. I’m a good 1v1 player who can receive between the lines and who understands the game well, I can provide assists to my teammates and have good vision.”
Despite having the second-worst defensive record in the league and one of the smallest budgets in Portugal, Vizela were able to stave off the drop and secure safety on the penultimate matchday of the season. They did so thanks in large part to Vizela fans who turned out in droves: on one occasion, hordes of Vizelenses made a 12-hour round-trip to the Algarve to watch their team play Portimonense on Sunday night.
Moreira kicked off the 2022/23 season by scoring in their league opener, a 1-0 win at Rio Ave, and continued to impress as a right winger and a left winger, proving a menace in 1v1 situations and whipping in dangerous deliveries. Vizela finished 11th in the table and racked up seven points more than the previous season, when they finished 14th. Moreira cites Portugal legend Pepe and Benfica defender Alexander Bah as the toughest defenders he’s gone up against, as well as Tottenham’s Pedro Porro (then at Sporting).
“He’s a very good player who’s strong and fast, who excels both on and off the ball, so it was tough trying to attack him.”
A Move to Casa Pia
Just like he did in 2021/22, Moreira began the 2023/24 season with a match at the Alvalade. Viktor Gyökeres scored an early brace, only for Vizela to score twice in quick succession in the second half thanks to a goal and assist by Moreira, but Paulinho’s last-second goal would see Sporting escape with a win. Moreira continued to build his reputation as a versatile, dynamic attacker, but he soon found himself at a crossroads in his career. With his contract set to expire in the summer, Moreira swapped one relegation-threatened Primeira team for another, joining Casa Pia on January 30 and penning a 2.5-year deal.
“Casa Pia was the team that registered the most interest in signing me and that believed in my potential and style of play, so I thought that this was the team where I could go further in my development and take the next step. I wanted to improve as a player and be able to go to the next level. I felt I was going to be important for them and that I’d improve more at Casa Pia than at Vizela.”
Leaving northern Portugal for Lisbon proved to be an intelligent decision: whilst Casa Pia comfortably avoided relegation, Vizela were not so lucky. However, Casa Pia would begin the 2024/25 season with three consecutive defeats, whilst the fourth match would see manager João Pereira drop him from the matchday squad.
“I was upset at being left out, but I spoke with the coach and realized his perspective. This match where I wasn’t called up helped me understand that I had to give a bit more and do more things for the team.”
He was back for the fifth match, coming on for the injured André Pereira in the 17th minute and scoring in the 81st minute to seal a comeback 3-1 victory vs. Moreirense. Since then, Casa Pia have lost just two matches – Porto and Sporting – and it’s thanks in large part to Moreira’s excellent form. On October 19, Moreira scored the first hat-trick of his career in a 5-0 victory against fourth-tier Amora in the Taça de Portugal, following that up with an assist vs. Nacional, a goal and assist at Rio Ave, and an assist vs. Farense.
He was on the score sheet once again on November 23, leading them to a 3-0 win vs. second-tier Chaves and setting the stage for a Round of 16 match-up vs. Rio Ave in the Taça de Portugal, which will take place on January 16. Moreira leads Casa Pia in various categories in the Primeira Liga from assists, big chances created and goal contributions, and he has formed a promising synergy on the left flank with Leonardo Lelo.
At 25 years of age, Nuno Moreira is finally taking the step up from a promising talent to a consistent difference-maker in the final third. He’s learning from captain José Fonte, who won the Euros with Portugal and the Ligue 1 title with Lille, and understanding that it isn’t just enough to work hard in training – you’ve got to be focused 24/7 by undergoing recovery sessions and physical therapy and practicing a healthy diet. All of this has materialized into the best form of his life: having scored 7 goals and 10 assists across 101 appearances in the first three seasons of his senior career, Moreira has already racked up 7 goals and 5 assists in 17 appearances this season.
He closed out 2024 in stellar fashion, grabbing two assists vs. Arouca before following that up with a late goal at Braga – after losing four of their last five matches vs. the Arsenalistas, Casa Pia prevailed with their first win against Braga since June 2022.
Nuno Moreira is emerging as an attacking protagonist for a Casa Pia side that has won three straight Primeira Liga matches for the first time in 27 months, and that currently finds itself in seventh place. And with his current deal set to expire in June 2026, it may only be a matter of time before he leaves the Estádio Pina Manique for greener pastures.
Zach Lowy is a freelance football journalist who has written for leading outlets like FotMob, BetUS, Apuestas Deportivas, and who has appeared as a radio and television guest for BBC, SiriusXMFC, and various other platforms. After pursuing a global sports journalism degree at George Washington University, Zach has been able to tap into his multilingual background and interview major footballing figures in Spanish and Portuguese as well as operate the weekly podcast 'Zach Lowy's European Football Show' on BET Central.
