Miguel Ângelo Leonardo Vítor.

Or just simply put, Miguel Vitor.

The Portuguese-Israeli central defender has been plying his trade on the pitches across the Holy Land since he joined Hapoel Beer Sheva way back at the start of the 2016/17 season and not only has Vitor been one of the top footballers in the land, he has also been the captain of the southern reds since the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign.

Vitor has won it all since he arrived in Israel, three league championships to go along with three Israel State Cups as well as a quartet of Super Cups and one Toto Cup for the 36 year-old who also captured the country’s top honor in 2017 when he was named Footballer of the Year.

There are very, very few players who can boast a resume like that of Vitor’s as he now looks to add yet another piece of hardware to his overstuffed trophy cabinet when Hapoel Beer Sheva plays Maccabi Tel Aviv for the 2026 State Cup on Tuesday night (20:30) at Teddy Stadium.

What stands out most about Vitor is how modest, calm, cool and collected the Torres Vedras native is. Sure, just as any competitor, he has an edge and that edge says he is still the best of the best at his position despite the fact that his 37th birthday is approaching on June 30th. The last time it was checked, father time was still undefeated.

While it’s never easy to accept, Vitor’s playing career at the top level of the sport is coming to an end. However, the former Benfica product has the opportunity to do something that very few in his sport have done which is to win the two most prestigious titles in one single season.

Born in 1989, Vitor grew up in his local youth department before joining that of Benfica’s in the year 2000 where he began to climb the ladder of success as he made his first team debut in August 2007 as he had the opportunity to play in Portugal’s First Division, the Primeira Liga as well as in Champions League qualifiers as the regular central defenders and stars of the team, Luisao and David Luiz were both out injured.

After playing very sparingly for the Lisbon giants, Vitor was loaned out to Aves and Leicester City before moving to PAOK where he was a regular in the Greek Super League. Following three seasons in Greece it was on to Israel and Hapoel Beer Sheva where he quickly became a fan favorite and helped the club win their second of three titles in a row between 2016-2018.

However, due to a knee injury, Vitor underwent surgery and missed a large chunk of the next two seasons before returning to action at full strength for the 2019/20 campaign. Since then, other than some minor injuries, Vitor has been able to make an impact on the team on a regular basis as they went toe-to-toe last season with Maccabi Tel Aviv for the league title but just came up short in that arena although they did win the State Cup over Beitar Jerusalem their title rivals this past year.

Vitor played a limited schedule this season as there were many matches that he did not feature at all and in fact wasn’t in the squad. But in the ten game Championship Playoff sprint to the title, after not having been a part of the squad in the first three matches, he started twice and came off of the bench four times as the season headed towards its end.

There’s no question that a revitalized Vitor was crucial for Beer Sheva as the fended off Beitar for the league championship.

“I think you can see it as well in Miguel’s recent matches,” Head Coach Ran Kozuk said. “This is truly a player who, to put it mildly, is a legend at the club and still is. He brought so many championships here as a player and he was truly one of the best players in the club’s history and one of the greatest players ever at the club.”

For Vitor, coming off of the bench was no simple matter but he was able to do just that in time to help his club reach the pinnacle of the league table, “It was a change of mindset. It’s not very common for a center back to come off the bench. But I was happy to help the team in any way I could and in the minutes I got, so I was glad I could contribute in this way.”

Kozuk knew how tough it was going to be for Vitor to make that switch but nonetheless he was able to do just that when the team needed him most as Beer Sheva and Beitar kept swapping the top spot in the standings.

“It’s not easy to go through what he has gone through, injuries, coming back, playing fewer minutes than he was used to,” Kozuk continued. “Miguel and I had quite a few conversations and they were difficult conversations. Difficult conversations with a player who is also the captain, difficult conversations for me as a coach. But I think Miguel’s recent performances showed exactly the kind of character I was talking about, and the kind of character he can bring to the team.”

In those games, Vitor’s impact was evident as he played his heart out every single second that he could and was especially a consistent threat in the four matches that he came on in the second half as he helped Beer Sheva wrap up the championship. It was a sight to behold as he even scored a goal against Maccabi Tel Aviv to put the punctuation mark on the title.

“I think that in the minutes he’s on the pitch, he makes a huge difference for us,” Kozuk explained. “I’m sure that when I spoke with him, it wasn’t easy for him to accept it, and that’s understandable, because he’s truly an incredible athlete, an amazing personality and a sensitive person. I think what he has done and what he still does for the club is absolutely admirable.”

Vitor has the chance to make history by not only being part of a “Double Team” and ending the season on the highest of notes, but it will also most probably mark the end of the captain’s playing career at Hapoel Beer Sheva.

“Hapoel Beer Sheva has had many great teams and many great players over the years,” Kozuk remarked. “But none of them managed to win the double and I think Miguel has an incredible opportunity to do that. I hope, with God’s help, for him and for us, that we’ll be able to achieve it on Tuesday.”

“A sweet moment will be lifting the trophy, that’s the most important thing. We have an opportunity to make history and that’s what matters most,” exclaimed Vitor.