A consistent marksman at international level, Hélder Postiga returned from a two-year exile to help Portugal qualify for UEFA EURO 2012, scoring freely and re-establishing himself as the team's first-choice central striker. He joined Real Zaragoza last summer, making Spain the fifth country in which he has plied his trade.

• Quick out of the blocks in his first season at FC Porto, 2001/02, registering nine league goals, he raised that tally to 13 in 2002/03 while also scoring six times in the club's UEFA Cup triumph but missing the final against Celtic FC in Seville through suspension.

• Two goals on his first international start − against Bolivia − helped persuade Tottenham Hotspur FC to sign him; however, he scored just one Premier League goal and was sold back to Porto in 2004, despite coming on to score a late equaliser and a penalty in the subsequent shoot-out against England at UEFA EURO 2004.

• Unable to recapture club form of old, either at Porto or on loan at AS Saint-Étienne, but was included in the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad and scored another penalty against England as Portugal reached the semi-finals.

• Spent the second half of the 2007/08 campaign on loan at Panathinaikos FC, where he did enough to earn a place in Portugal's UEFA EURO 2008 squad; scored against Germany in quarter-finals.

• Back in his homeland for a three-year spell at Sporting Clube de Portugal, he found form in 2010/11 and returned to the national team under Paulo Bento, scoring twice in a shock 4-0 friendly win against Spain and further cementing his place in the side with five UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying goals, including two in the second leg of the play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

UEFA honours
UEFA European Championship: runner-up 2004
UEFA Cup: winner 2003