Biography
Powerful centre half Tobias Figueiredo joined the Tigers in July 2022 and went straight into the heart of Shota Arveladze’s defensive three at the start of the 2022/23 season. After a string of City defeats Tobias was benched in October 2022 after a handful of costly defensive errors that yielded opposition goals. He was unable to regain his first team place and left the club in July 2023.
Tobias Pereira Figueiredo hailed from Satao, a small town in the centre of Portugal, but by the age of 12 he was playing in the capital city for Sporting Club de Portugal’s youth setup. He broke into the Sporting CP second team in August 2012, making 42 B team appearances in two and a half years and enjoying a loan spell at CF Reus Deportiu that yielded 13 senior starts and his debut senior goal in March 2014 against UE Olot.
Midway through the 2014/15 season, under the guidance of future Hull City manager Marco Silva, Tobias broke into the Sporting CP first team, making his senior debut in a December 2014 Portuguese Cup game against Vitoria de Guimaraes and his Liga Nos debut three weeks later. His first senior goal for Sporting came in February 2015 against Arouca and he ended the season with 20 senior appearances and three goals, sitting on the bench as unused substitute as Sporting lifted the 2015 Portuguese Cup. He also made his European club competition debut in February 2015, starting two Europa League ties against German side VfL Wolfsburg.
During the 2015/16 season Figueiredo made only six senior appearances for Sporting, only one of which was a Liga Nos appearance, and scored once in a Europa League tie against Albanian side KF Skenderbeu. He ended the season making five starts back in the Sporting CP B team as his relationship with new manager Jorge Jesus broke down. Tobias spent the 2016/17 season on loan at Sporting’s Liga Nos rivals CD Nacional, based at Funchal on the island of Madeira. He scored once in 23 appearances for the Alvinegros but the side ended the season in relegation to the second tier and Figueiredo returned to Lisbon. He made four senior appearances for Sporting in the first half of the 2017/18 season, including a Champions League appearance in November 2017 against Olympiacos, which took his tally for Sporting first team to 30 appearances and four goals. In January 2018 he escaped the clutches of Sporting manager Jesus and joined Nottingham Forest on a half season loan, making 12 appearances after an English debut in February 2018 against Burton Albion.
Figueiredo signed a four year permanent deal with Nottingham Forest during the 2018 close season but after 14 starts he suffered a serious knee injury in December 2018 that kept him out of the side for five months. He didn’t return to first team action for Forest until October 2019 but ended the 2019/20 season with 34 appearances and three goals – his first goal in English football coming in November 2019 against Queens Park Rangers. Tobias retained his first team place for most of the 2020/21 season, making 34 senior appearances , and added a further 28 appearances in the 2021/22 season as Forest ended the season with promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs. With his Forest contract ended, Figueiredo was a free agent when he joined Hull City in July 2022.
In July 2023 Tobias was released from his contract by Hull City and headed for the Brazilian north coast, signing for Campeonato Serie A side Fortaleza EC. His move got off to bad start when during his debut he scored an own goal that gifted a win to opponents Goias EC, but he bounced back to play a supporting role to the Fortaleza first team. In March 2024 he was loaned to another Brazilian top flight side Criciuma, he made his debut that month in a Cup tie against Barra and ended the 2024 season with two goals in 22 appearances.
Figueiredo was identified as a potential international footballer from a young age, playing twice for Portugal’s under-15 side in 2009 and 24 times for the under-17s between 2009 and 2011, scoring three goals. He added five under-18 caps at the end of the 2011/12 season and ten under-19 caps during the 2012/13 season, captaining his side in the European U-19 Championship during July 2013 that culminated in a semi-final appearance that Portugal lost to Serbia on penalties. During the 2013/14 season Figueiredo made six appearances for Portugal’s under-20s, the following season he made his under-21 debut in November 2014 against England in the wintery environs of Burnley’s Turf Moor stadium. He ended the season playing in the 2015 European U-21 Championship, starting the 5-0 semi-final victory over Germany but missing the Final three days later, which Portugal won after a penalty shoot out against Sweden. Tobias made four appearances for the Portuguese under-23 squad that competed in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. He also continued to represent the under-21s until June 2017, by which time he had won 16 caps at that level.
Details
Nationality: Portugal
Date/Place of Birth: 2 February 1994, Satao, Portugal
Hull City First Game: 30 July 2022, Bristol City H (Championship), 28 years, 178 days old
Hull City Final Game: 7 January 2023, Fulham H (FA Cup Third Round), 28 years, 339 days old
Clubs
Sporting Club de Portugal (2012-2018), CF Reus Deportiu (2014, loan), CD Nacional (2016-2017, loan), Nottingham Forest (2018, loan), Nottingham Forest (2018-2022), Hull City (2022-2023), Fortaleza EC (2023-current), Criciuma (2024, loan)
Hull City Record
Career: 24 apps, 0 goals
Tobias Figueiredo| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 18 (4) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | – | – | – | – |