Jorge Nuno Valente is an international footballer who plays in the left-back position. He was born on September 12, 1974 in Lisbon, Portugal. He started playing for his country in 2002 and was part of the squad that finished as the runners-up at the Euro 2004. He has played at the 2006 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup and played a crucial role in Portugal’s march to the semi-finals. He also featured in the 22-member squad for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Finland in September 2006.
Jorge Nuno Valente started his career in 1993 with Portimonense, a Portuguese second division club. After two seasons in the club he progressed to the first division with Sporting Clube de Portugal (Sporting CP) and was a member of the 1995 Portuguese Cup winning team. Later he was loaned out to Club Sport Marítimo (CS Maritimo) in the 1996-97 season and has appeared in 30 matches for the club. He returned to Sporting again in 1997 and stayed there till 1999. José Mourinho, the then manager of UD Leiria, found the potential in Jorge Nuno Valente and signed him in 1999. Jorge Nuno Valente spent three seasons in the club, appearing in 87 matches and scoring 2 goals along the way.
When José Mourinho left the club and joined Futebol Clube do Porto (FC Porto) in 2002, he immediately signed Jorge Nuno Valente for his new club. His confidence in him was rewarded as Jorge Nuno Valente helped the club win the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup and the Portuguese Super Liga title in 2003. The following season was even better with the team winning the Portuguese Super Liga title, the UEFA Champions League title and also the FIFA World Club Championship.
Jorge Nuno Valente was signed by Everton at the end of August 2005 for an undisclosed transfer fee. In the 2005-06 and 06-07 seasons Jorge Nuno Valente was a first-choice player for Everton and as a result got one-year contract extension which will keep him in the team until 2008. The club offered him another one-year contract extension in May 2008 to keep him there until 2009.
