A-League powerhouse Melbourne Victory are set to bolster their defensive stocks with the signing of Portuguese centre-back Roderick Miranda. Kick360 understands alongside initial reports from Record Portugal that the club has been in intense negotiations with the former Wolverhampton Wanderers, Benfica and Olympiacos defender and he will look to quarantine in Melbourne in the coming weeks.
Roderick is set to occupy a role alongside fellow new signing Matthew Spiranović at the heart of Victory’s defence as he joins Marco Rojas, Ivan Kelava and Rai Marchan as the club’s foreign signings for the 2021/22 season. It remains to be seen whether the 193cm tall defender will be classed as a ‘designated player’ under the A-League’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement which was signed last week.
The 30-year-old most recently played for Gaziantep in Turkey’s top division and is valued at €1.50m by well-respected football price valuation site Transfermarkt, a number which places him alongside the most valuable players in Australia’s top division.
Who is Roderick Miranda?
Roderick Miranda began his career for Portuguese powerhouses Benfica where he won the Portuguese League Cup on two occasions. During this period at his childhood club, Roderick was also loaned out to Servette in the Swiss Super League where he made 27 appearances before returning to Benfica.
A promising player in Portugal’s youth outfits, Roderick formed a solid partnership with current Melbourne City defender Nuno Reis at the heart of Portugal U20’s defence during the 2011 U20 World Cup – a competition where his country finished runners up behind Brazil. Roderick was a key part of this side alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s Danilo and FC Porto’s Sergio Oliveira.
After struggling for minutes with Benfica, the Portuguese defender was then loaned out to La Liga outfit Deportivo La Coruña where he made 4 appearances.
Roderick made his first real imprint on the Portuguese division when he signed a 5-year-deal with Rio Ave and established himself as a first-team regular. This move gave him the opportunity to receive regular match minutes as a young player which proved crucial in his development.
A breakout season in 2016/17 saw the then 26-year-old make 37 appearances across all competitions with Rio Ave as he earned himself a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee.
The imposing defender played a key role in Wolves’ promotion to the Premier League as he started 16 matches on the left-side of Nuno Espirito Santo’s back 3 before becoming out of favour at the West Midlands based club.
After two consecutive loan spells away from Wolves for both Famalicao in his homeland and Olympiacos in Greece, Roderick was signed buy Gaziantep in Turkey’s top division for a free transfer.
Roderick has been described as a tough and imperious defender with the ability to outmuscle opponents in the air.
However, perhaps the most pleasing aspect of his play is his ability on the ball. Roderick has proven comfortable at playing vertical passes between the lines from the left-side of a back three which could prove useful for Popović’s side should he indeed sign for Melbourne Victory.
Ultimately, Roderick would represent a shrewd acquisition for Melbourne Victory as they seek to solidify their defence en route to a potential push for the league title in 2021/22.
Update:
Roderick Miranda is expected to arrive in Australia to complete his quarantine period by the end of this week and an announcement from the club is due in the near future.
His agent, Pedro Santos confirmed on Instagram yesterday seemingly that the deal is completed for the former Wolverhampton defender.
