Mika (footballer, born 1991)

Mika

Mika with Benfica in 2012.
Personal information
Full name	Michael Simões Domingues
Date of birth	(1991-03-08) 8 March 1991
Place of birth	Yverdon, Switzerland
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Sunderland
Number	12
Youth career
2002–2006	Sporting Pombal
2006–2010	União Leiria
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2011	União Leiria	4	(0)
2011–2014	Benfica	0	(0)
2012–2014	Benfica B	31	(0)
2014	Atlético	16	(0)
2014–2016	Boavista	58	(0)
2016–	Sunderland	0	(0)
National team
2011	Portugal U20	17	(0)
2011–2012	Portugal U21	6	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 September 2016.

Michael Simões Domingues (born 8 March 1991), known as Mika, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for English club Sunderland as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Born in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland to Portuguese parents, Mika joined U.D. Leiria's youth ranks in 2006, aged 15. He was promoted to the main squad for the 2009–10 season, as third-choice. On 26 February 2010, in a home match against Vitória de Guimarães, he made his Primeira Liga debut, replacing Carlão after Hélder Godinho received a red card for committing a foul inside the box – he was not able to prevent Andrezinho from scoring the game's only goal, in the subsequent penalty kick; the following campaign he was still a backup, but two of his three appearances were against Sporting Clube de Portugal (0–0 away draw) and S.L. Benfica (3–3, also away).

On 7 July 2011, whilst on international duty with the Portuguese under-20s, Mika signed a five-year contract with Benfica for €500,000.^[1] He played no official games during 2011–12, playing understudy to experienced Artur and Eduardo, going on to spend the following two seasons with the B-team in the second division.

On 27 January 2014, Mika cut ties with the Lisbon club.^[2] He signed for two years with second level side Atlético Clube de Portugal the same day,^[3] being first-choice during his short tenure but not being able to help prevent relegation.

Mika returned to the top flight in the 2014 summer, penning a three-year deal with Boavista FC.^[4] During the 2016 summer, he gained interest from Premier League clubs Leicester City^[5] and Sunderland: initial reports stated he agreed a move to the latter on transfer deadline day, but the deal was not finalized as the transfer window had already closed. The reason for the delayed transfer was a technical fault at the Portuguese end, but after an appeal to FIFA he was granted permission to join and signed a two-year contract.^[6]

International career

Mika was Portugal's starter at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia: he helped the national team reach the final without conceding a single goal, before losing to Brazil 2–3 in the decisive match. In the quarter-finals against Argentina he saved three penalties in the shootout and, in the following game, against France, he broke the record for number of minutes without conceding a goal in U-20 World Cup history, in a 2–0 win,^[7] and was eventually voted as best goalkeeper in the tournament.

Subsequently, Mika was chosen by under-21 manager Rui Jorge for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying campaign. He played in half of the games, with Portugal just missing out on the play-off round.

Club statistics

As of 1 September 2016^[8]

Honours

Club

Benfica

• Taça da Liga: 2011–12

Country

Portugal

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: Runner-up 2011

Individual

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: Golden Glove 2011

References

External links

• Mika at thefinalball.com
  
• Mika profile at ForaDeJogo