Eliseu Cassamá
Personal information
Full name Eliseu Mendja Nadjack Soares Cassamá[1]
Date of birth (1994-02-06) 6 February 1994[1]
Place of birth Bissau, Guinea-Bissau[1]
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Right-back
Youth career
2010–2011 Ribeirão
2011–2013 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Joane 25 (2)
2014–2016 Reus 50 (0)
2016–2020 Rio Ave 41 (0)
2020–2023 Grasshoppers 10 (0)
2021–2022 Grasshoppers B 15 (0)
International career
2014 Portugal U20 1 (0)
2018–2019 Guinea-Bissau 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 June 2023

Eliseu Mendja Nadjack Soares Cassamá (born 6 February 1994) is a Bissau-Guinean professional footballer who plays as a right-back.

Club career

Early career

Born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Cassamá started playing organised football in Portugal, his first youth team being G.D. Ribeirão. His senior debut was made in the third division, with G.D. Joane.

In summer 2014, Cassamá signed with Spanish club CF Reus Deportiu, quickly becoming first choice as well as a fan favourite.[2] He contributed 17 games in his second season – play-offs included – helping the side reach Segunda División for the first time in their 107-year history.[3]

Rio Ave

Cassamá returned to Portugal for the 2016–17 campaign, joining Rio Ave F.C. of the Primeira Liga on a five-year contract.[4] He made his debut as a professional on 28 July 2016, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 away draw against SK Slavia Prague in the last qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.[5] He also started in the second leg, being sent off for two yellow cards late into the first half as the match ended 1–1.[6]

Cassamá missed the entire 2019–20, after suffering an injury to his right knee in training.[7][8]

Grasshoppers

On 29 August 2020, Cassamá agreed to a one-year deal at Swiss Challenge League's Grasshopper Club Zürich.[9] He played his first match on 18 September, providing one assist in a 3–2 win over FC Winterthur; he missed most of his debut season, however, due to a patellar tendon rupture ailment.[10]

Cassamá started the following campaign with the reserve team in the 1. Liga in order to regain match fitness, returning to the main squad ahead of 2022–23.[11] He made his Super League debut on 13 August, in a 2–2 draw at FC Sion.[12]

Cassamá injured his patella again in October 2022, this time in training.[13] The following 25 May, Grasshoppers announced that his contract would not be extended.[14]

International career

Cassamá earned one cap for the Portugal under-20 team, during a 2–0 friendly win over the Slovakia under-21s in February 2014.[15] He made his debut for his native Guinea-Bissau on 22 March 2018, starting the 2–0 defeat to Burkina Faso in another exhibition game.[16][17]

Manager Baciro Candé named Cassamá in the 23-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.[18] He played the opening 2–0 loss against Cameroon on 25 June,[19] and was replaced by Nanu for the rest of the group-stage elimination.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Eliseu Nadjack" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "CF Reus: 'Eliseu Cassamá, una aparición impactante'" [CF Reus: 'Eliseu Cassamá, stunning revelation']. Diari de Tarragona (in Spanish). 2 September 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  3. ↑ Libiano Pijoan, Marc (27 March 2017). "CF Reus: La visita especial del tío 'Cassa'" [CF Reus: The special visit of uncle 'Cassa']. Diari de Tarragona (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "Nadjack assina por 5 anos" [Nadjack signs for 5 years] (in Portuguese). Rio Ave F.C. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Vilacondenses saem vivos da República Checa" [Vilacondenses leave the Czech Republic alive] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "Rio Ave diz adeus ao sonho europeu" [Rio Ave bid farewell to European dream]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). 4 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Rio Ave: Nadjack operado ao joelho direito" [Rio Ave: Right knee surgery for Nadjack] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "Nadjack acelera para o regresso" [Nadjack speeding towards return]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 17 February 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  9. ↑ "GC verpflichtet Nadjack" [GC acquire Nadjack] (in German). Grasshopper Club. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "Saisonende: Nadjack mit schwerer Verletzung" [Season ended: Nadjack with serious injury] (in German). Grasshopper Club. 4 October 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "Start of training for the Hoppers". Grasshopper Club. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  12. ↑ Ruckstuhl, Pascal; Kunz, Alain; Curty, Ugo (13 August 2022). "GC vergeigt Sieg in Überzahl" [GC throw away win with one more]. Blick (in German). Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  13. ↑ "Nadjack will be out injured until the end of the year". Grasshopper Club. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  14. ↑ "End of season squad update". Grasshopper Club. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  15. ↑ Carvalho, Eduardo (5 February 2014). "Portugal derrota Eslováquia por 2–0" [Portugal defeat Slovakia 2–0]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  16. ↑ Martins, Marco (22 March 2018). "Burkina Faso, vitória moralizadora frente aos Djurtus" [Burkina Faso, moralising win against the Djurtus] (in Portuguese). Radio France Internationale. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  17. ↑ Martins, Marco (26 March 2018). "Guiné-Bissau: Um estágio e duas derrotas em Paris" [Guinea-Bissau: One training camp and two losses in Paris]. Luso Jornal (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  18. ↑ "2019 Africa Cup of Nations: Guinea Bissau name final 23-man squad for AFCON". Ghana Soccer Net. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  19. ↑ "Cameroon 2–0 Guinea-Bissau". BBC Sport. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
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