José Luís Mendes Lopes (born 23 September 1992), known as Zezinho, is a Bissau-Guinean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cypriot club Omonia Aradippou and the Guinea-Bissau national team.

Club career

Born in Bissau, Zezinho finished his development with Sporting CP after joining its youth system at the age of 16.[2] He made his debut as a senior in the 2011–12 season, being loaned to Atlético Clube de Portugal[3] and helping them to the ninth position in the Segunda Liga.

Subsequently, returned to the Estádio José Alvalade, Zezinho appeared almost exclusively with the B team during his tenure. His maiden Primeira Liga appearance occurred on 13 January 2013, as he came on as a 75th-minute substitute for Zakaria Labyad in a 2–0 away win against S.C. Olhanense.[4]

Zezinho served a further two loans before being released in June 2016, at Veria F.C. from the Super League Greece[5] and Cypriot First Division club AEL Limassol.[6]

International career

Zezinho earned his first cap for Guinea-Bissau on 4 September 2010 – 19 days before his 18th birthday – in a 1–0 home victory over Kenya for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Selected to the 2017 edition of the tournament by manager Baciro Candé,[7] he featured in three games[8] in an eventual group stage exit.

Zezinho was also included in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations squad.[9]

International goals

As of 4 June 2016 (Guinea-Bissau score listed first, score column indicates score after each Zezinho goal)[10]
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 5 September 2015 24 de Setembro, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau  Congo 1–3 2–4 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2. 4 June 2016 24 de Setembro, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau  Zambia 1–0 3–2 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Zezinho" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  2. ^ Silva Pires, Tiago (21 November 2010). "Zezinho desperta o interesse de grandes clubes da Europa" [Zezinho awakes interest of European clubs]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Reforço Zezinho "fecha" plantel comandado por João de Deus" [Addition Zezinho "closes" João de Deus-led squad] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Sporting vence e afasta-se dos lugares "perigosos" (vídeo)" [Sporting win and steer away from "dangerous" places (video)] (in Portuguese). TSF. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Rubio no Pandurii e Zezinho no Veria" [Rubio to Pandurii and Zezinho to Veria]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 2 September 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  6. ^ Pereira, Sérgio (21 January 2015). "Sporting: Zezinho regressa para a equipa B" [Sporting: Zezinho returns to the B team] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Um treinador, 18 'portugueses' e alguns velhos conhecidos" [One coach, 18 'Portuguese' and some old acquaintances]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 12 January 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Gabon 1–1 Guinea-Bissau". BBC Sport. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  9. ^ Soliman, Seif (12 June 2019). "Ittihad's Toni Silva named in Guinea Bissau's AFCON squad". KingFut. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Zezinho – Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
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