In spite of a short height, his first sport was basketball, but Óscar Marques, a scout from Leixões SC, discovered him and took him to the club.

[1] He made his debut in the first-team – and the Primeira Liga, a competition in which he would spend 15 of his 17 years as a professional – at the age of 18, contributing ten games as the Matosinhos side barely avoided relegation.

In his first season he played all 30 matches as the team coached by José Maria Pedroto won the national championship,[4][1] scoring a career-best six goals the following campaign, with the league being narrowly lost to Sporting CP[5] as the Taça de Portugal to Benfica.

He still appeared in seven games in Porto's victorious campaign in the European Cup, including 25 minutes of the final against FC Bayern Munich (2–1), eventually leaving in June 1989 at the age of 34.

He was one of the most influential players in the Euro 1984 campaign, taking part in all the matches as they reached the semi-finals[7][1] and assisting Nené for the only goal against Romania in the group stage.