Zeferino Paulo Borges

Zeferino Paulo Borges Soares (born 27 August 1978), known simply as Zeferino, is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a striker.

Club career Zeferino was born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. He started his career from F.C. Porto's youth academy, considered one of the best Portuguese talents of his generation. Aged 17, he was bought by Spanish giants Real Madrid, but never played for the first team, going on to appear three seasons for the reserve side Real Madrid Castilla while also serving two second division loans in Spain.

In January 2001 Zeferino was released and joined F.C. Alverca, going on to experience his most steady period, with three consecutive top level seasons. Prior to the 2005–06 kick-off he had a trial with Major League Soccer's D.C. United, but nothing came of it, and he went on to represent Umm-Salal Sports Club (twice), CD Logroñés, Çetinkaya Türk S.K. and Hibernians FC.

International career Zeferino was also eligible to play for the Guinea-Bissau national football team, but he chose Portugal. He played for Portugal U21 9 times scoring 5 times. He was never called up for the senior national team.