A-League’s Victory sign star Portuguese defender

The Melbourne Victory Men have signed Roderick Miranda to a two-year contract.

The Melbourne Victory A-League men have bolstered their squad with the signing of Roderick Miranda. The former U-20 Portuguese defender joins the Victory after long history of play in European multiple leagues.

Miranda started his career in 2010 with Portuguese side Benfica, making his debut in the Primeira Liga against Porto. His time with Benfica saw him go on loans to Swiss top flight side Servette where he spent the 2011-12 season as well as a short loan in 2012 to La Liga side Deportivo La Coruña.

The Portuguese born player then moved to Portuguese Primera Liga side Rio Ave in 2013 and would stay with the club until his departure for Championship side Wolverhampton in 2017. He made 19 appearances for Wolves, helping them win the Championship in 2018 and promotion to the Premier League.

Miranda would go on further loans with Greek side Olympiakos and Portuguese side Famalicão. His most recent club was Turkish Super League side Gaziantep with whom he played 17 games last season. In total Miranda has more than 200 European appearances under his belt.

The 192 cm defender has played the majority of his career as a centre back. Speaking of the addition of Miranda to his squad, Victory Head Coach Tony Popovic said:

“Roderick comes to Melbourne Victory with a great pedigree and qualities that have seen him play at the highest levels in Europe.

“He possesses the physical and technical attributes that will complement our playing style this season.”

Roderick spoke of his excitement at making this Australian move:

“I'm very happy and excited to join this great Club and can’t wait to meet the fans when I get to Melbourne.

“I’ve seen that Victory has a strong history in the league and I can’t wait to experience what Australia and the A-League has to offer.”

The contract is for the duration of two years and will keep Miranda in Melbourne until the end of the 2022-23 season.

Miranda's addition is the eleventh new signing for the Melbourne club ahead of the 2021-22 season with Jason Geria, Jason Davidson, Rai Marchan, Matt Spiranovic, Chris Ikonomidis, Josh Brillante, Stefan Nigro, Brendan Hamill, Ivan Kelava and Nick D’Agostino also joining the Victory.