Born: Lisbon, Portugal, 4 August 1977
Position: Left winger/forward
International caps: 28
International goals: 1
Signed: 30 July 2000 from Southampton (loan); 14 June 2001 from Southampton (£1.7m)
Appearances: 203
Goals: 33
Honours: Division One champions (2000-01), InterToto Cup (2002).
Sold: 5 January 2007, to West Ham United (£5m).
A thorn in the sides of hundreds of full backs, Luis Boa Morte was one of those footballers guaranteed to get you out of your sit. A winger full of pace, power and a will to win, the Portuguese forward arrived at Craven Cottage with a point to prove having been starved of game time at Southampton. A season on loan in SW6 was all he needed: scoring 21 goals in 46 games as part of a fabulous forward line alongside Louis Saha and Barry Hayles.
Boa Morte’s permanent transfer for just £1.7m still seems a snip. He struggled to capture the consistency necessary to flourish in the top flight in Fulham’s first two seasons back in the big time, but he thrived once Chris Coleman switched to a 4-3-3 system that saw him operate on the left wing with Steed Malbranque on the other flank and Saha in a lone striker’s role. He scored ten goals in 39 appearances as Fulham finished ninth and continued to deliver outstanding displays. He was voted the club’s player of the season in 2004-05, famously scoring the winner against Chelsea and was named club captain in 2006 after turning down a move to Newcastle.
Boa Morte was briefly tried in central midfield by Coleman but struggled to influence matches and was sold to West Ham in January 2007 for £5m. He played for AEL, Limassol, Orlando Pirates and Chesterfield before hanging up his boots and returning to Fulham’s academy to start his coaching career. He worked with Marco Silva at Sporting and became his compatriot’s assistant and joined Silva at Craven Cottage after their appointment in July 2021. It seemed very fitting that the side coached by Boa Morte won the Championship in a similar style to the one that he played in under Tigana in 2001.
