Marco Caneira was born on the 9th February 1979 in Sintra, Portugal. He came through the youth scheme at Sporting and went on to make his debut in the Portuguese first division, at the young age of 18. Caneira established himself in the youth teams of his countey, before a big move to Inter at the age of 21. He went on to enjoy loan spells with Italian side Reggina. He was chosen in the Portuguese World Cup squad for the 2002 tournament, but only played in the 2006 tournament in Germany, featuring in the Portugal - Mexico 2-1 match. He has turned out for big sides during his career such as Sporting, Benfica, Bordeaux and Valencia. He made a total of 128 first division appearances in Portugal, as well as 65 in the French first division, and a further 22 in the Italian top division. He also went on to make 46 starts in the Spanish top flight. Caneira is mainly a central defender, but he feels equally comfortable anywhere along the back line.