Nuno Moreira Reaching Career-Best Form at Casa Pia
It has been a stellar few months for Casa Pia. The ‘Gansos’ have won four of their last five league matches; they’ve avoided defeat in their last six league matches, and they occupy sixth place in the Liga Portugal table. One player who has proven vital in their impressive recent run of results is Nuno Moreira.
Who Is Nune Moreira?
Born in Espinho, Portugal, Moreira joined Sporting CP in 2007. Every week, he’d balance his academic studies with playing for smaller sides in northern Portugal like Arcozelo and Feirense, before heading down to Lisbon for the weekend to play for Sporting. This changed in 2013, when Moreira moved to the Portuguese capital and began his residence at Sporting’s world-renowned Alcochete academy. But while he impressed for Sporting’s youth teams, he wasn’t able to convince then manager Rúben Amorim of his merits in the first team.
Desperate for opportunities at the top level of the game, Moreira joined Vizela in 2021 and moved back to the north. Expectations were low for Vizela, who were playing top-flight football for just the second time in their history and the first time in 36 years, but they nevertheless managed to beat the odds and survive the drop. It was a somewhat bumpy transition for Moreira from Portugal’s third tier to the first division, but he still became a regular performer for the Vizelenses and helped them to stay up in 2021/22 and 2022/23.
Moreira kicked off the 2023/24 season by scoring a brace against Sporting and continued to build a reputation for himself as one of the most promising wingers in the Primeira. However, by the time the January transfer window came around, he found himself at a crossroads.
The Move to Casa Pia
With his contract set to expire, Moreira elected to leave one relegation-threatened team for another and join Casa Pia. While Casa Pia managed to avoid the drop, Vizela was not so lucky.
The 2024/25 season, on the other hand, did not exactly start in the most auspicious manner. Casa Pia lost their first three matches, while the fourth would see Moreira dropped from the matchday squad. However, Moreira returned for the fifth game vs. Moreirense, coming off the bench early on and scoring the third and final goal to secure a 3-1 comeback win. This match has ended up being a turning point for Moreira, who is delivering the best form of his career.
“I think this is undoubtedly the best moment of my career,” said Moreira in an RG interview. “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.”
Operating on the left side of attack in Casa Pia’s 3-4-3 formation, Moreira is a right-footed winger whose ability to invert into central areas, maneuver past fullbacks in 1v1 situations and reading of the game enable him to make a difference. He’s constantly looking to receive in between the lines and whip in a dangerous cross, and he’s also more than capable of testing the goalkeeper from distance, as seen in their recent 2-1 win vs. Braga.
Nuno Moreira This Season
Having scored 7 goals and 10 assists across 101 appearances in the first three seasons of his senior career, Moreira has already registered 7 goals and 6 assists in 19 appearances this season in Lisbon. He’s formed a superb chemistry with Leonardo Lelo on the left flank and emerged as one of the first names on João Pereira’s team sheet, and he sits second in Casa Pia’s squad for goals (3), shots per game (1.7), key passes per game (1.2) and expected goals (2.5) in Liga Portugal.
He also ranks atop the entire squad for assists (5), goal contributions (8), big chances created (5) and Expected Assists (2.62), and he shares the top spot with Cassiano for shots on target per game (0.8) as well as the top spot with Svensson (1.1) for successful dribbles per game.
Casa Pia’s Taça de Portugal journey came to a bitter end on January 12, with Rio Ave prevailing 3-1 to seal their spot in the quarterfinals. However, as long as Moreira continues to deliver the goods, Gansos fans will continue dreaming of their first-ever qualification to European football.
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