Mika (footballer, born 1991)

Michael Simões Domingues CvIH^[2] (born 8 March 1991), known as Mika, is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Primeira Liga club Moreirense.

Mika

Mika with Benfica in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Michael Simões Domingues[1]
Date of birth	(1991-03-08) 8 March 1991 (age 33)[1]
Place of birth	Yverdon, Switzerland[1]
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Moreirense
Number	12
Youth career
2002–2006	Sporting Pombal
2006–2010	União Leiria
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2011	União Leiria	4	(0)
2011–2013	Benfica	0	(0)
2012–2014	Benfica B	31	(0)
2014	Atlético	16	(0)
2014–2016	Boavista	58	(0)
2016–2018	Sunderland	0	(0)
2018	União Leiria	2	(0)
2018–2019	B-SAD	2	(0)
2019–2022	Académica	75	(0)
2023	Vitória Setúbal	13	(0)
2024–	Moreirense	1	(0)
International career
2011	Portugal U20	17	(0)
2011–2012	Portugal U21	6	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Portugal FIFA U-20 World Cup Runner-up 2011 Colombia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:32, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Born in Switzerland, he represented Portugal at youth level.

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, coming on as a substitute for 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.^[3] The following campaign he was still a backup, but two of his three appearances were against Sporting CP^[4] and S.L. Benfica.^[5]

On 7 July 2011, whilst on international duty with the Portugal under-20s, Mika signed a five-year contract with Benfica for €500,000.^[6] He played no official matches during 2011–12, playing understudy to experienced Artur and Eduardo, and went on to spend the following two seasons with the B team in the Segunda Liga.^[7]

On 27 January 2014, Mika cut ties with the Lisbon club.^[8] He signed for two years with second division side Atlético Clube de Portugal the same day,^[9] being first choice during his short tenure but not being able to help prevent relegation.

Mika returned to the top flight in summer 2014, penning a three-year deal with Boavista FC.^[10] During the 2016 off-season, he gained interest from Premier League clubs Leicester City^[11] and Sunderland: initial reports stated he agreed a move to the latter on transfer deadline day, but the deal was not finalised 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.^[12]

Mika played no competitive games in his first season, serving as backup to Jordan Pickford and Vito Mannone.^[13] On 12 January 2018, player and the club mutually agreed to terminate his contract.^[14]

Mika returned to União de Leiria on 8 March 2018, with the team now competing in the third tier.^[15] He moved back to his country's top flight in the ensuing June, signing a one-year deal with B-SAD.^[16]

On 2 September 2019, the free agent Mika agreed to a one-year contract at Académica de Coimbra in division two.^[17] He extended his link in July 2020^[18] and June 2021,^[19] leaving at the end of the 2021–22 campaign.^[20]

Following a brief spell in the Liga 3 with Vitória de Setúbal,^[21] Mika returned to the top tier in January 2024 on a short-term contract at Moreirense FC,^[22] completing the squad in that department with Brazilians Kewin and Caio Secco.^[23]

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 3–2 in the decisive match.^[24][25] In the quarter-finals against Argentina he saved three penalties in the shootout^[26] 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;^[27] eventually, he was voted as best goalkeeper in the tournament.^[28]

Subsequently, Mika was chosen by under-21 manager Rui Jorge for the 2013 UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign.^[29] He played half of the games, with Portugal missing out on the play-off round.

Career statistics

As of match played 18 May 2024^[30]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
União Leiria	2009–10	Primeira Liga	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2010–11	Primeira Liga	3	0	1	0	0	0	—		4	0
	Total		4	0	1	0	0	0	—		5	0
Benfica	2011–12	Primeira Liga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Benfica B	2012–13	Segunda Liga	30	0	—		—		—		30	0
	2013–14	Segunda Liga	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	Total		31	0	—		—		—		31	0
Atlético	2013–14	Segunda Liga	15	0	0	0	0	0	—		15	0
Boavista	2014–15	Primeira Liga	29	0	1	0	1	0	—		31	0
	2015–16	Primeira Liga	26	0	3	0	1	0	—		30	0
	2016–17	Primeira Liga	3	0	0	0	0	0	—		3	0
	Total		58	0	4	0	2	0	—		64	0
Sunderland	2016–17	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2017–18	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Sunderland U21	2016–17	—			—		—		1[lower-alpha 1]	0	1	0
	2017–18	—			—		—		1[lower-alpha 1]	0	1	0
	Total		—		—		—		2	0	2	0
União Leiria	2017–18	Campeonato Portugal	2	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
B-SAD	2018–19	Primeira Liga	2	0	2	0	3	0	—		7	0
	2019–20	Primeira Liga	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	Total		2	0	2	0	4	0	—		8	0
Académica	2019–20	LigaPro	18	0	3	0	0	0	—		21	0
	2020–21	Liga Portugal 2	34	0	2	0	—		—		36	0
	2021–22	Liga Portugal 2	23	0	1	0	1	0	—		25	0
	Total		75	0	6	0	1	0	—		82	0
Vitória Setúbal	2022–23	Liga 3	13	0	0	0	—		—		13	0
Moreirense	2023–24	Primeira Liga	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
Career Total			201	0	13	0	7	0	2	0	223	0

1. Appearance in EFL Trophy

Honours

Portugal U20

• FIFA U-20 World Cup runner-up: 2011^[24]

Individual

• FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Glove: 2011^[28]

Orders

• Knight of the Order of Prince Henry^[31]

References

1. "Mika" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
2. "Presidente Cavaco Silva condecorou selecção nacional de futebol sub-20" [President Cavaco Silva decorated national under-20 football team] (in Portuguese). Arquivo Presidência. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
3. "Vitória vence em Leiria e sobe provisoriamente ao 4º lugar" [Vitória win in Leiria and climb to 4th place provisionally] (in Portuguese). Guimarães TV. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
4. "Sporting 0–0 U. Leiria" (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
5. "Benfica empata com o União de Leiria (3–3)" [Benfica draw with União de Leiria (3–3)] (in Portuguese). SIC Notícias. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
6. Nogueira, Carlos; Lopes, Gonçalo (7 July 2011). "Benfica: guarda-redes Mika garantido por 500 mil euros" [Benfica: goalkeeper Mika confirmed for 500.000 euros]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
7. "Jorge Jesus chama vários jogadores da equipa B jogo com Olhanense" [Jorge Jesus calls several B-team players for match with Olhanense]. Público (in Portuguese). 19 December 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
8. "Mika rescindiu contrato" [Mika has terminated contract]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 27 January 2014. Archived from the original on 29 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
9. "Mika reforça alcantarenses" [Mika bolsters alcantarenses]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 27 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
10. Figueiredo, Inês André (28 June 2014). "Boavista de cara lavada" [Fresh-face Boavista] (in Portuguese). Vavel. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
11. "Leicester City plot £1million move for Portuguese goalkeeper Mika". Talksport. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
12. "Sunderland sign Mika". Sunderland A.F.C. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
13. Rayner, Stuart (22 May 2017). "Did Sunderland get anything right this season? Here are five positives for a desperate season". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
14. Rayner, Stuart (12 January 2018). "Sunderland release goalkeeper after 18 months without a first-team appearance". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
15. "Mika assina pela União de Leiria" [Mika signs for União de Leiria]. Record (in Portuguese). 8 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
16. Gouveia Pereira, Miguel (20 June 2018). "Belenenses garante Mika por um ano" [Belenenses confirm Mika for one year]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 August 2018.
17. "Mika chega para a baliza" [Mika arrives for the goal]. Record (in Portuguese). 2 September 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
18. Chambel, Ricardo (22 July 2020). "Mika renova com a Académica" [Mika renews with Académica]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 January 2024.
19. "Mika renova com a Académica por mais uma época" [Mika renews with Académica for another season]. Record (in Portuguese). 18 June 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
20. Novo, David (1 June 2022). "Mika anuncia saída da Académica" [Mika announces departure from Académica]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 January 2024.
21. "Vitória FC anuncia contratação de antigo guarda-redes do SL Benfica" [Vitória FC announce signing of former SL Benfica goalkeeper] (in Portuguese). Bola Na Rede. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
22. "Mika reforça baliza do Moreirense" [Mika reinforces Moreirense's goal] (in Portuguese). Moreirense F.C. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
23. "Mika junta-se a Kewin Silva e Caio Secco na baliza do Moreirense" [Mika joins Kewin Silva and Caio Secco in goal of Moreirense]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 5 January 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
24. "Oscar treble wins thrilling final for Brazil". FIFA. 20 August 2011. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
25. Da Cunha, Pedro Jorge (14 January 2021). "Caetano desistiu aos 29 anos. E os outros heróis do Mundial2011 sub20?" [Caetano called it quits at the age of 29. What about the other under20 World Cup2011 heroes?] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
26. "Portugal vence Argentina nos pênaltis e vai à semifinal do Mundial sub-20" [Portugal beat Argentina on penalties and go to under-20 World Cup semi-final]. O Globo (in Portuguese). 14 August 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
27. "Golden fingertips seal Brazil-Portugal final". FIFA. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
28. "Brazil pip Portugal to U-20 World Cup title". UEFA. 21 August 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
29. "Mão cheia de estreias" [Handful of debuts] (in Portuguese). UEFA. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
30. Mika at Soccerway
31. "Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas" [Portuguese Honorary Orders] (in Portuguese). President of Portugal. Retrieved 16 March 2021.

External links

• Mika at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Mika national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)