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Lost among the likes of Portuguese superstars Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Nuno Gomes and Sergio Conceiçao, is a quiet player of considerable skill.
Truthfully, though, forward Pedro Pauleta isn't quite so anonymous anymore. Pauleta had a breakout game in Portugal's second game of the World Cup, burning Poland for three goals and helping Portugal reassert itself in Group D with a 4-0 win over the Poles.
A key member of Portugal's attack, Pauleta shredded the Polish defence with his agility, superlative dribbling skills and deadly finishing. Of course, for astute soccer observers, Pauleta's fantastic showing against Poland comes as no surprise.
Pauleta is a lethal striker with a great first touch and the ability to shake off opposing defenders with relative ease. He scored 22 goals this past year for Bordeaux, finishing as the top goal scorer in France's Le Championnat and voted the league's best player by his fellow players and coaches.
He also came through for his country this past year, starting in all 10 of Portugal's qualifiers and scoring an impressive eight goals. In 34 games for Portugal, he has found the back of the net 13 times.
Pauleta began his career with Portuguese side Uniao Micaelense, before moving on to Estoril Praia where he scored 19 goals in 30 games. After a season there, he moved on to Spain's Second Division, joining Salamanca at the beginning of the 1996/97 season. He finished the year as Salamanca's top scorer with 19 goals in 37 games, helping the club win promotion to the first division.
In 1997, he earned his first international cap for Portugal, coming on in a game against Armenia. Pauleta was transferred to Deportivo La Coruña at the start of the 1998/99 campaign, helping the club win its first league title in 2000 and the Spanish Super Cup title.
His brilliant form in La Liga attracted the notice of a number of top European clubs that began clamouring for his signature. French club Bordeaux paid big bucks to sign the striker and Pauleta responded by scoring 20 goals in the 2000-01season.
Bordeaux struggled this past season, but Pauleta was in fine form. His importance to the club was underlined by the fact that his 22 league goals accounted for more than half of Bordeaux's tally all season.
Now one of the hottest properties in European soccer as an elite striker, another queue of top European clubs has formed to sign the 29-year-old. Should he continue on in the World Cup with the torrid pace he set for himself against the Poles, and if Portugal goes as far as he thinks, you can bet that queue will get even longer.
"There are always some teams that spring a surprise
during the tournament," he said. "I believe we'll be
one of the them."
With files from Associated Press.
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