Maniche (pron. IPA: /ma.'ni.ʃɨ/ or less usually /ma.'ni.k(ɨ)/; real name: Nuno Ricardo Oliveira Ribeiro, born on 11 November 1977 in Lisbon, Portugal) is a midfielder who plays for Chelsea, on loan from Dynamo Moscow, and the Portuguese national team. He was nicknamed for 80's Benfica Danish midfielder Michael Manniche.
Maniche began his career in the junior team of Benfica. His intermediate stops where Alverca and the A-team of Benfica. He played for his country in their second-place finish at Euro 2004. After playing very successful seasons for FC Porto from 2002 to 2005, Maniche was sold to Dynamo Moscow for 16 million Euros. In January 2006 he joined the Premier League club Chelsea on a six-month loan deal, where he would once again link up with former coach and close friend José Mourinho. Chelsea have the option of making the transfer permanent, which would cost the club £5m.
He is known by his superb long range shot and also for his teeth, as the Portuguese female fans call him "The Castor".
