[1] A late bloomer, his career spanned 13 seasons, being best known for his performances at Benfica, also playing for Portugal national team on more than 100 occasions.
Born in Porto, Lima started in football, arriving at Gondomar S.C. as an under-17, competing all the way until the first team, which he would represent in the Regional league, but also in the Terceira Divisão.
Lima spent the first season in the reserve team, on the second division, bagging more than sixty goals.
[2] On 7 July 2008, Lima replaced Beto Aranha as head coach, making his debut as manager.
[9] He continued his coaching career in China, briefly directing their national team, and helping to develop futsal there, which included opening youth schools in the Guangdong province.