"It's a great feeling to be here," said the Eagles' new striker after sealing his move from Porto. "I'm delighted and am really looking forward to being part of the Eintracht family. It's a dream for me to play in the Bundesliga." The 23-year-old has already had first-hand experience of Frankfurt's fans: he was at the stadium as a Porto youth team player when SGE visited in early 2014 for their UEFA Europa League clash. "The fans were unbelievable," he recalled. "I immediately thought back to that game the first time I heard that moving to Eintracht was a possibility."
Porto academy graduate
Football runs in Paciência's blood. His father, Domingos, is a legend at Porto, where he scored 106 goals in 263 games for the Dragons, helping them win the Portuguese championship seven times and the cup on five occasions. He was once also crowned Portugal's Player of the Year and the league's top scorer.
Paciência junior joined Porto at the age of eight and rose up through the youth ranks at one of the biggest talent-producing clubs in Europe. The right-footed forward, who stands at 1.84m, then progressed into the reserves before making the step up to the first team, while also making a name for himself in Portugal's Under-21 side, where he underlined his quality with six goals in 17 outings.
Frequent loans
Paciência was first sent out on loan from Porto when he was 20 in what was to be the first of several spells away. After a stint at Academica Coimbra, he subsequently laced his boots for Olympiacos and Rio Ave before joining Vitoria Setubal until winter last season. His return of ten goals and six assists in 24 matches there persuaded Porto to recall him halfway through the campaign, and he went on to make 12 appearances for his parent club, including two in the UEFA Champions League. A full Portugal international, having earned his only cap to date in November 2017, Paciência was unable to earn himself a regular place in Porto's starting line-up, but is now hoping to do so at Eintracht.
