[2] In that first year, in which Nacional qualified for the UEFA Europa League, Micael, almost never an undisputed starter, featured heavily, scoring notably in a 3–1 home win against S.L.

[7] His first league game for his new club came on 30 January, where he started in the place of the suspended Raul Meireles in a 4–0 away defeat of his former team, Nacional.

Nonetheless, he still appeared in 36 official matches and totalled 871 minutes of action (four goals, three in the Europa League campaign) as the team won the treble.

[13] Micael was loaned to S.C. Braga for 2012–13,[14] starting the year in impressive fashion: in two games separated by only three days in late August, he scored three goals, starting with a brace in a 3–1 home victory against S.C. Beira-Mar[15] then netting the 1–1 equaliser at Udinese Calcio in the UEFA Champions League last qualifying round.

In the latter match, he rounded up his performance by converting the decisive penalty in the shootout to help his team reach the group stage for the second time in their history.

[16] Micael continued his strong displays in the Champions League group phase, scoring the first goal in an eventual 2–0 away win over Galatasaray SK in the second round.

[18] He made his Chinese Super League debut on 4 July, as a substitute in a goalless home draw against Changchun Yatai FC.

[26] On 29 March 2011, Micael made his debut for Portugal, starting and scoring twice in a 2–0 friendly victory over Finland in Aveiro.