Eder (Portuguese footballer)


Ederzito António Macedo Lopes ComM, commonly known as Eder, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow and the Portugal national team.
He started playing in 2008 with Académica, and signed for Braga four years later. During seven seasons, he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 143 matches and 38 goals, and also competed professionally in Wales, France and Russia.
A Portuguese international since 2012, Eder represented the country at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, winning the latter tournament and scoring the only goal in the final.

Club career

Early years

Born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Eder moved to Portugal as a child, and started playing football with Associação Desportiva e Cultural da Adémia in the Coimbra District at the age of 11. He made his senior debut with Oliveira do Hospital and Tourizense, the latter in the third division and the farm team of Académica de Coimbra.

Académica

Eder made his Primeira Liga debut for Académica on 24 August 2008, in a 0–1 away loss against Estrela da Amadora. He scored his first goal for the club at the end of the season, netting the Students equalizing goal in an eventual 3–1 victory over Associação Naval 1º de Maio.
On 2 May 2010, Eder scored what looked like a winning goal against Nacional, but the visitors eventually drew it 3–3 in the 90th minute. On 12 September of the following year, against the same opponent and also in Coimbra, he bagged a brace in a 4–0 routing, finishing the season with five goals in 16 appearances; he also helped the club win its first Portuguese Cup since 1939 by defeating Sporting Clube de Portugal in the final, but he only featured in the earlier rounds, as he was suspended by his employers for not reporting to training for several weeks, as interest in acquiring his services arose.

Braga

In summer 2012, Eder signed with Braga for four years. He made his official debut for his new team on 2 September in a 0–2 loss at Paços de Ferreira but scored twice late into that month as the Minho Province side defeated Rio Ave 4–1 at home, contributing with one in a 4–4 home draw with Olhanense.
On 30 November 2012, in the fifth round of the Taça de Portugal, Eder netted the winning goal as Braga defeated Porto 2–1, booking a place in the quarter-finals. On 6 January 2013, in a league match against Moreirense, he scored the game's only goal shortly after the restart; on 23 February he netted in each half of the local derby against Vitória de Guimarães, in a 3–2 win at the Estádio Municipal de Braga, but missed the rest of the campaign after suffering a ligament tear in early March.
In the domestic cup final on 31 May 2015, Eder opened the scoring against Sporting with a penalty after Cédric Soares had been sent off for fouling Djavan, but missed in the penalty shootout as Braga eventually lost following a 2–2 draw.

Swansea City / Lille

On 28 June 2015, Premier League club Swansea City agreed a fee of around £5 million to sign Eder on a three-year deal. He made his debut on 8 August, playing the final 11 minutes of a 2–2 draw at title holders Chelsea in place of Bafétimbi Gomis.
Having not scored in 15 competitive games for the Swans – only four starts – Eder joined French side Lille on loan for the remainder of the season. He made his debut on 3 February 2016 as a half-time replacement for Yassine Benzia in a 1–0 home win against Stade Malherbe Caen, and scored his first goal four days later to open a 1–1 draw against Stade Rennais also at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
On 23 April 2016, Eder played the full 90 minutes in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue, which ended in a 1–2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain. On 24 May, after helping his team finish fifth and qualify to the UEFA Europa League, he signed a permanent four-year contract.
On 2 March 2017, Eder scored the final goal in a 2–1 away win over Championnat de France Amateur club Bergerac Périgord in the Round of 16.

Lokomotiv Moscow

On 23 August 2017, Eder joined Russian Premier League club Lokomotiv Moscow in a season-long loan with a buyout option. On 5 May 2018, he scored the winning goal in the 87th minute from Vladislav Ignatyev's cross against Zenit Saint Petersburg in a 1–0 triumph, which helped to grant his team their first league title since 2004.
On 16 July 2018, Eder moved to the RZD Arena on a permanent basis.

International career

Eder chose to represent Portugal internationally. After impressive club performances for Braga, he was first called up by the national team in August 2012 for a match against Luxembourg for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, but remained an unused substitute in the 2–1 away win on 7 September. He made his debut four days later in the same competition, replacing Hélder Postiga in the dying minutes of a 3–0 home win over Azerbaijan.
On 19 May 2014, Eder was named in the final 23-man squad for the tournament in Brazil. He made his debut in the competition on 16 June, replacing injured Hugo Almeida in the first half of a 0–4 group stage loss to Germany. In the second game, a 2–2 draw against the United States, he replaced another injured striker early on, this time Postiga.
Eder's first international goal came on his 18th cap, the only goal in a friendly victory over Italy at the Stade de Genève on 16 June 2015. He was selected by Fernando Santos for his UEFA Euro 2016 squad, appearing in three games as a substitute and scoring the only goal in the final to help defeat hosts France after extra time.
Eder was not picked for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup squad, being replaced by Porto's André Silva. He was included in a preliminary 35-man list for the 2018 World Cup, but did not make the final cut.

Style of play

Eder is a strong, hard-working and well-rounded striker, with a solid first touch. Usually deployed as a centre forward, he excels in the air due to his height and powerful physique, although he is also capable of playing in other offensive positions due to his ability to hold up the ball with his back to goal and play-off his teammates.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

№DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
116 June 2015Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland181–01–0Friendly
229 May 2016Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal243–03–0Friendly
38 June 2016Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal267–07–0Friendly
410 July 2016Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France291–01–0 UEFA Euro 2016 Final
514 October 2018Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland342–03–1Friendly

Honours

Club

Académica
Braga
Lokomotiv Moscow
Portugal