Portuguese footballer
Tomás Romano Pereira Santos Händel (born 27 November 2000) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Primeira Liga club Vitória de Guimarães .
Club career
Born in Guimarães of Austrian descent through his grandmother, Händel was a youth player at local clubs Moreirense F.C. and Vitória de Guimarães . He signed his first professional contract with the latter on 27 March 2019, lasting until 2023 and with a buyout clause of €15 million;[ 2] [ 3] on 24 June 2021, having started his senior career with the reserve team in the third division he extended the link to 2026 and increased the clause to €50 million.[ 4] He made his competitive debut with the main squad on 26 July, in a 4–1 home win against Leixões S.C. in the first round of the Taça da Liga where he played the full 90 minutes.[ 5] His first Primeira Liga appearance took place on 22 August, the entirety of a 4–0 victory over F.C. Vizela also at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques .[ 6]
Händel suffered a left thigh injury in February 2022, ruling him out of the rest of the season and the start of the next .[ 7] After two games back in the reserves,[ 8] he made his comeback on 18 March 2023 as a substitute in a 5–1 loss at S.L. Benfica .[ 9] On 14 May he scored his first goal for the first team as the only at Rio Ave F.C. to guarantee a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League with two fixtures remaining.[ 10]
International career
Händel was called up to the Portugal under-19 team in February 2019,[ 11] but was not capped until playing three games for the under-21s in late 2021, starting in a 1–0 win over Belarus for the 2023 UEFA European Championship qualifiers in Amadora on 6 September.[ 12]
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