José da Cunha
Personal information
Full name José Maria Pinto Sousa Ribeiro Cunha
Date of birth (2001-03-27) 27 March 2001
Place of birth Cascais, Portugal
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
2009–2011 Sporting CP
2011 FC Cascais
2012–2020 Estoril Praia
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020– CBU Capers 35 (9)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020 Estoril Praia B 8 (0)
2022 Atlético Ottawa 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 August 2022

José Maria Pinto Sousa Ribeiro Cunha (born 27 March 2001), known as José Cunha, José da Cunha, or Zé Maria, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a defender.

Early life

Cunha began playing at age three. He joined the famed Sporting CP Youth Academy, before moving on to the youth system of G.D. Estoril Praia,[1] where he captained the U17 and U19 teams.[2][3] He briefly played for Union FC in Bradford, Ontario in 2018 during their 2018 NCAA March Break Tour, where they played against NCAA college teams Akron, Maryland, and Georgetown.[4]

University career

Cunha had initially attended the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa in Portugal, while playing in the top division U19 division in Portugal,[5] but decided to send game tapes to universities in Canada and the United States.[6] He made the decision to come to North America, as he wanted to pursue education and football simultaneously, which was not really viable to do in Portugal.[7] Cape Breton University in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada became interested in him and he decided to attend there and play for their Capers soccer team beginning in the 2020-21 year.[6] However, he was unable to make his debut for the Capers due to the season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] He made his debut on 11 September 2021 against the Saint Mary's Huskies.[8] He scored his first goal on 23 October against the Mount Allison Mounties, scoring the first goal in a 10-0 victory.[9] In 2021, he was named the AUS Rookie of the Year and was named an AUS First-team All-Star,[10] was named to the national U Sports All-Rookie Team,[11] during the Capers' AUS Championship winning season, progressing to the National Championships where they won the bronze medal.[12] In 2023, he was again named an AUS First Team All-Star.[13]

Club career

In 2020, Cunha began playing for Estoril Praia's B team in the district league, fifth tier.[14]

At the 2021 CPL-U Sports Draft, he was selected ninth overall by Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League,[15] but did not ultimately sign with them for the 2021 season.[7]

At the 2022 CPL-U Sports Draft, he was selected first overall by Atlético Ottawa,[16][17] with the pick being announced by Atlético Madrid and Portugal national team player João Félix.[18] On April 1, he signed a Canadian Premier League developmental contract with Atlético Ottawa.[19][20] He made his professional debut on 24 April against Valour FC.[21] He left the club in early August to return to university, as part of his developmental contract.[22]

Honours

Atlético Ottawa

Career statistics

As of 22 May 2022[23]
Club Season League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Estoril Praia B 2020-21[14] AF Lisboa 2ª Divisão 801[lower-alpha 1]00090
Atlético Ottawa 2022 Canadian Premier League 20000020
Career total 1001000110
  1. ↑ Appearances in the AF Lisboa Taça

References

  1. ↑ Jacques, John (19 January 2021). "2021 CPL-U SPORTS Draft Roundup". Northern Tribune.
  2. ↑ Matthias, Dylan (1 February 2021). "The Pandemic Draft: CanPL teams mostly punt on 2020 USPORTS picks". The Merchant Sailor.
  3. ↑ "Capers add Portuguese Defender da Cunha". CBU Capers. 6 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "Former Player Drafted to CPL Club Forge FC". Union FC. 31 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "'Draft' da Liga canadiana leva José Maria Cunha a provar-se ao campeão Forge FC" ['Draft' of the Canadian League leads José Maria Cunha to prove himself to the champion Forge FC]. Sapo (in Portuguese). 5 February 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Fraser, Jeremy (30 January 2021). "Cape Breton Capers' Portuguese defender drafted by Forge FC in Canadian Premier League-U Sports Draft". Cape Breton Post.
  7. 1 2 O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (20 January 2022). "CPL-U SPORTS Draft: Cunha 'can't wait to get started' with Atlético Ottawa after 1st overall selection". Canadian Premier League.
  8. ↑ "Jose Maria Ribeiro de Cunha CBU Profile". CBU Capers.
  9. ↑ "Capers trounce Mounties in AUS men's soccer action". CBU Capers. 23 October 2022.
  10. ↑ Fraser, Jeremy (4 November 2021). "Cape Breton Capers' Waters, de Cunha take home top AUS awards". SaltWire Network.
  11. ↑ Fraser, Jeremy (18 November 2021). "Cape Breton Capers' Waters, Bauld, Coore, and de Cunha named to All-Canadian soccer teams". SaltWire Network.
  12. ↑ "Three of top four CPL-U Sports picks drafted out of Cape Breton University". North Atlantic Gameday. 20 January 2022.
  13. ↑ LeBlanc, Corey (28 October 2023). "CBU foursome named AUS first-team all-stars, Midfielder Jason Hartill receives second-team nod". CBU Capers.
  14. 1 2 "José Maria". Zero Zero.
  15. ↑ Urciuoli, Anthony (29 January 2021). "Forge FC Hamilton get defensive in 2021 CPL university draft". QuickBite News.
  16. ↑ "Atlético Ottawa selects Cunha, Bruce in 2022 CPL-U SPORTS Draft". Atlético Ottawa. 20 January 2022.
  17. ↑ Veth, Manuel (1 April 2022). "Atlético Ottawa have signed José Cunha - Was selected in CPL-U Sports Draft". Transfermarkt.
  18. ↑ "2022 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: View all 16 picks here". Canadian Premier League. 20 January 2022.
  19. ↑ "Atlético Ottawa signs first overall CPL-U SPORTS draft pick José Cunha". CityNews. 1 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "Atleti Inks 1st Overall Draft Pick José Cunha". Atlético Ottawa. 1 April 2022.
  21. ↑ Coffey, Richard (24 April 2022). "CPL: Atlético Ottawa fall back to earth with blowout loss to Valour FC". 49 Sports.
  22. ↑ Jacques, John (7 August 2022). "Jose Cunha Returns To Capers". Northern Tribune.
  23. ↑ José Maria Ribeiro da Cunha at Soccerway
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