Ukra
Introduction '''André Filipe Alves Monteiro''' (born 16 March 1988), known as '''Ukra''', is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Primeira Liga club Rio Ave.Formed at Porto, where he made eight senior appearances, he played over 200 Primeira Liga games for five clubs, mainly in two spells at Rio Ave and also Olhanense, Braga and Santa Clara.Ukra earned 46 caps for Portugal at youth level, and played one senior match in 2015.
Club career ===Porto===Born in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Braga District, Ukra began playing football for F.C. Famalicão, moving at age 13 to FC Porto to complete his formation. In 2007–08 he got his first taste of first-team football, spending one season on loan to another northern club, Varzim S.C. in the Segunda Liga.In the following two years, Ukra continued on loan, now in the south of the country with S.C. Olhanense. He scored six goals in 30 matches in his debut campaign, helping the Algarve team to return to the Primeira Liga after 34 years. In November 2009, it was reported that the player was being scouted by Newcastle United of the Football League Championship after an under-21 match against England at Wembley in which he played the full 90 minutes.In January 2011, Ukra was loaned to S.C. Braga, contributing solidly as the Minho side finished fourth and qualified for the UEFA Europa League by netting twice, notably in a 3–1 home win against Vitória S.C. in a local derby. He did not participate in the club's Europa League runner-up campaign, being cup-tied after having appeared in the competition for eventual champions Porto; he made his debut for them on 19 August 2010 by starting in the 3–0 win at K.R.C. Genk in the first leg of the playoff, and came off the bench in a 3–1 win at SK Rapid Wien in the group stage.Ukra was again loaned to Braga for 2011–12, spending however the better part of the season on the sidelines due to injury a left knee tendon injury picked up in a friendly against C.D. Aves in July. He returned on 4 February 2012 in a Taça da Liga group game against Portimonense SC, and 23 days later again as a late replacement, he scored to conclude a 4–0 home win over Vitória de Guimarães. On 22 March, he was one of two ''Arsenalistas'' to miss in the penalty shootout defeat to Gil Vicente F.C. in the league cup semi-finals.===Rio Ave===Ukra spent four years with fellow top-division team Rio Ave FC, the first on loan in 2012–13.He scored his first goal for the club on 2 February 2013 to help the hosts defeat Sporting CP 2–1, and also netted twice during the team's runner-up run in the 2013–14 edition of the Taça de Portugal.===Abroad===On 18 July 2016, free agent Ukra signed with Al Fateh SC from the Saudi Pro League. In February 2018, in the same capacity, he joined Bulgaria's PFC CSKA Sofia. He made his first (and only) official appearance for the latter on 31 March, in the 4–1 home victory over Botev Plovdiv in a league match, coming on as a substitute during the second half; in June, he was released.===Return to Portugal===Ukra returned to Portugal's top flight on 8 August 2018, signing with newly promoted C.D. Santa Clara. After making 23 appearances in his first season in the Azores, he was given a two-year contract extension. He missed only seven games in his final season as the team came a best-ever sixth and qualified for the UEFA Europa Conference League; his one goal that campaign was a penalty in the sixth minute of added time to conclude a 5–1 rout of C.D. Nacional at the Estádio de São Miguel on 11 April 2021.On 12 July 2021, the 33-year-old Ukra returned to Rio Ave on a one-year deal. After helping to promotion as champions, he was retained in the top flight by manager Luís Freire for the next two seasons.
International career In mid-2009, courtesy of his solid Olhanense displays, Ukra was summoned for the Portugal under-21s. He represented the nation at the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, and also took part in the unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the 2007 European Under-21 Championship.Ukra made his debut for the full side on 31 March 2015, coming on as a 46th-minute substitute for João Mário in a 0–2 friendly defeat against Cape Verde in Estoril.
Personal life Ukra's nickname derives from his youth, when his thin-blond hair led to him being called "Ukrainian" ("Ucraniano" in Portuguese), which was then shortened to "Ukra".
Career statistics +'''Appearances and goals by club, season and competition'''ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsPorto2007–08Primeira Liga0000000000002008–09Primeira Liga0000000000002009–10Primeira Liga0000000000002010–11Primeira Liga203010200080Total203010200080Varzim (loan)2007–08Liga de Honra2111021——242Olhanense (loan)2008–09Liga de Honra3062160——3872009–10Primeira Liga2810010——291Total5872170——678Braga (loan)2010–11Primeira Liga122001000—1322011–12Primeira Liga72002000—92Total194003000—224Rio Ave (loan)2012–13Primeira Liga2611050——321Rio Ave2013–14Primeira Liga2546252——3682014–15Primeira Liga3346220100105262015–16Primeira Liga2615010——321Total110101841321001015216Al Fateh2016–17Saudi Pro League195101031—246CSKA Sofia2017–18Bulgarian First League1000———10Santa Clara2018–19Primeira Liga2301000——2402019–20Primeira Liga1511040——2012020–21Primeira Liga27142———313Total6526240——754Rio Ave2021–22Liga Portugal 22103040——2802022–23Primeira Liga1501020——1802023–24Primeira Liga100010——20Total3704070——480 Career total 332 29 35 7 38 3 1511 0 42140
Honours '''Porto'''*Primeira Liga: 2010–11*Taça de Portugal: 2010–11*Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2010*UEFA Europa League: 2010–11'''Olhanense'''*Segunda Liga: 2008–09'''Rio Ave'''*Liga Portugal 2: 2021–22
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