Zezinho
Personal information
Full name José Luís Mendes Lopes[1]
Date of birth (1992-09-23) 23 September 1992[1]
Place of birth Bissau, Guinea-Bissau[1]
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Omonia Aradippou
Number 77
Youth career
Sporting Bissau
2008–2011 Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008 Sporting Bissau 6 (0)
2011–2014 Sporting CP 5 (0)
2011–2012 → Atlético (loan) 22 (0)
2012–2016 Sporting CP B 61 (2)
2013–2014 → Veria (loan) 25 (1)
2014 → AEL Limassol (loan) 2 (0)
2016–2017 Levadiakos 17 (0)
2018–2019 Senica 39 (0)
2019 Damac 11 (0)
2021 Marsaxlokk 4 (0)
2021– Omonia Aradippou 27 (0)
International career‡
2010– Guinea-Bissau 31 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:10, 1 November 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 June 2019

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]
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.5 September 201524 de Setembro, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau Congo1–32–42017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.4 June 201624 de Setembro, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau Zambia1–03–22017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "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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