 Born in Figueira da Foz, Coimbra District, Almeida started playing football for hometown club Naval 1º de Maio, before being signed by Porto still as a junior.He made his Primeira Liga debut in a 2–0 home win over Benfica on 21 September 2003, playing three minutes; unable to settle at first, however, he had loan spells with União de Leiria (with which he had already played in the previous season, also on loan) and Boavista.Almeida returned to Porto for 2005–06, having a relatively important role in a side that was crowned national champions.