Career
Born in the capital Lisbon, Nené spent most of his professional career in Portugal. After starting out with three modest clubs, he signed in early 2002 with top level side South Carolina (U.S.) Braga from Gondomar South Carolina, 31 of his 38 league games with the Minho team coming in the 2002-2003 season, with his team finishing in 14th position. After definitively leaving Braga (which also loaned him twice during his spell), Nené signed with U.D. Leiria, which in turn loaned him to Communicative Disorders Aves, with the latter team promoting to the first division at the end of the 2005-2006 campaign.
The move was subsequently made permanent, and the player was relatively used in the following season – 1,138 minutes, one goal in a 1–2 away loss against Boavista Football Club, a club he had represented as a youth – which ended in immediate relegation back.
In the following years Nené rarely settled in one club or country, playing in Kuwait, Cyprus, Spain and Romania. In 2010-2011, aged 31, he returned to his birth nation and joined F.C. Arouca, promoted for the first time ever to the second level
The national team finished second last in its group, failing to qualify for both the competition in Germany and the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.