Zaidu Sanusi

Zaidu Sanusipronunciationⓘ (born 13 June 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Primeira Liga club Porto and the Nigeria national team.

Zaidu Sanusi
Personal information
Full name Zaidu Sanusi[1]
Date of birth (1997-06-13) 13 June 1997
Place of birth Jega, Nigeria[1]
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Porto
Number 12
Youth career
2013–2016 Jega United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Gil Vicente 0 (0)
2017–2018 → Mirandela (loan) 39 (0)
2018–2019 Mirandela 32 (3)
2019–2020 Santa Clara 24 (1)
2020– Porto 69 (4)
International career‡
2020– Nigeria 15 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 August 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:42, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

He spent his senior career in Portugal, playing in the Primeira Liga with Santa Clara and Porto, winning a league and Taça de Portugal double with the latter in 2022.

Sanusi made his senior international debut for Nigeria in 2020, and played at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Club career

Early years and Santa Clara

Born in Jega, Kebbi, 19-year-old Sanusi signed with Gil Vicente F.C. of the Portuguese Primeira Liga in 2016. In January 2017, he was loaned to third division club SC Mirandela.[2][3]

Sanusi reached an agreement to join C.D. Santa Clara on 16 March 2019, with the deal being made effective on 1 July.[4] He made his Portuguese top-flight debut on 15 September that year, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–0 home win against Moreirense FC.[5] He scored his first goal in the competition on 23 June 2020, in a 4–3 away victory over S.L. Benfica which marked the Azoreans' first-ever at the Estádio da Luz.[6]

Porto

On 30 August 2020, Sanusi signed a five-year contract with FC Porto.[7] He scored his first goal on 25 November, opening a 2–1 win at Olympique de Marseille in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, being named in the tournament's Team of the Week.[8] He won the first trophy of his career on 23 December, when he played the entire 2–0 defeat of Benfica in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira,[9][10] and finished his first year with 41 competitive matches,[11] scoring in the 4–3 league win over C.D. Tondela.[12]

Sanusi remained first choice in the 2021–22 campaign despite the signing of Wendell,[13] and scored the only goal in the 93rd minute of O Clássico against Benfica on 7 May 2022 to seal the club's 30th league title.[14] Fifteen days later, he started and finished the Taça de Portugal final, defeating Tondela 3–1.[15]

In 2022–23, Sanusi fought for a starting place with the Brazilian. He suffered a muscle injury in a Champions League group victory against Atlético Madrid on 1 November, and did not return until February.[16][17]

International career

Sanusi made his debut for the Nigeria national team on 9 October 2020, in a 1–0 friendly defeat against Algeria in Klagenfurt.[18][19] He earned his first official cap the following month, in the 4–4 home draw with Sierra Leone for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.[20] At the finals in Cameroon, the team were eliminated in the last 16 by Tunisia; manager Augustine Eguavoen was criticised for ordering Sanusi and right-back Ola Aina not to attack before they were losing with ten men.[21]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 19 September 2023[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Mirandela (loan) 2016–17 Campeonato de Portugal 17000———170
2017–18 Campeonato de Portugal 22000———220
Mirandela 2018–19 Campeonato de Portugal 32330———353
Total 71330———743
Santa Clara 2019–20 Primeira Liga 2411020——271
Porto 2020–21 Primeira Liga 251401010[lower-alpha 3]11[lower-alpha 4]0412
2021–22 Primeira Liga 243600010[lower-alpha 5]0—403
2022–23 Primeira Liga 18030108[lower-alpha 3]11[lower-alpha 4]0311
2023–24 Primeira Liga 2 0 0 0 0 0 1[lower-alpha 3] 0 1[lower-alpha 4] 0 4 0
Total 69413020292301166
Career total 1648170402923021710
  1. Includes Taça de Portugal
  2. Includes Taça da Liga
  3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  5. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 18 June 2023[22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Nigeria 202030
202130
202260
202330
Total150

Honours

Porto

References
  1. "Z. Sanusi" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  2. Zeferino, André (30 August 2020). "Zaidu Sanusi: pérola açoriana à deriva" [Zaidu Sanusi: Azorean gem drifting] (in Portuguese). Pro Scout. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  3. "Zaidu recorda: "Fui assinar com o Gil Vicente e vesti a camisola do FC Porto"" [Zaidu remembers: "I went to sign with Gil Vicente and I was wearing FC Porto's jersey"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 1 May 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  4. "Rising Nigerian left back Zaidu confirms agreement to join Portuguese side Santa Clara". Own Goal Nigeria. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  5. Garcia, José (15 September 2019). "Santa Clara-Moreirense, 2–0 (crónica)" [Santa Clara-Moreirense, 2–0 (report)] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  6. "Santa Clara vence pela primeira vez na Luz. Veja o resumo do jogo" [Santa Clara win at the Luz for the first time. Watch match highlights] (in Portuguese). TSF. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  7. "Zaidu seals five-year deal with FC Porto". This Day. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  8. Taiwo, Taye (26 November 2020). "Porto left-back Sanusi makes Champions League Team of the Week". Goal. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  9. "FC Porto bate Benfica e conquista Supertaça pela 22ª vez" [FC Porto beat Benfica and conquer Supercup for the 22nd time]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 23 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  10. Ojewunmi, Moses (24 December 2020). "Zaidu Sanusi wins Portuguese super cup with FC Porto". Brila FM. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  11. Gouveia, Carlos (19 June 2021). "Zaidu tornou a Nigéria portista: "Digo a muita gente para ver a nossa equipa"" [Zaidu turned Nigeria into fans of Porto: "I tell many people to watch our team"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  12. "FC Porto 4–3 Tondela. Campeão acaba encostado às cordas" [FC Porto 4–3 Tondela. Champions finish against the ropes]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 5 December 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  13. Omachonu, Kelvin (7 May 2022). "Zaidu Sanusi: from rejected stone to chief cornerstone". Soccernet.ng. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  14. Ribeiro, Patrick (7 May 2022). "Zaidu winner takes Porto to the title away to bitter rivals Benfica". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  15. Farr, Jamie (22 May 2022). "Taça de Portugal Final: Porto take down Tondela to seal domestic double". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  16. Oguntimehin, Ayomide (30 January 2023). "Zaidu Sanusi: Super Eagles defender comments on injury return after Porto's Cup victory". Soccernet.ng. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  17. "Zaidu escreve mensagem nas redes sociais: "Esta fase da minha vida..."" [Zaidu writes message on social networks: "This phase of my life..."]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 6 February 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  18. "Official: Rohr calls up Ejuke, Sanusi, Tijani two other new players for CIV, Tunisia friendlies". Complete Sports. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  19. "International friendly: Algeria beat Nigeria 1–0". Daily Nigerian. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  20. Omidiora, Seye (13 November 2020). "Nigeria 4–4 Sierra Leone: Super Eagles player ratings". Goal. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  21. Emmanuel, Ifeanyi (24 January 2022). "'Everybody's trying to play safe' – Eguavoen on why Aina, Sanusi were not allowed to bomb forward". All Nigeria Soccer. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  22. Zaidu Sanusi at Soccerway
  23. Kundert, Tom (4 June 2023). "Dominant Porto dispatch Braga to lift Portuguese Cup". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  24. "Porto beat Sporting 2–0 to lift first Taça da Liga". PortuGOAL. 28 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  25. Marshall, Matthew (30 July 2022). "Porto beat Tondela 3–0 in the Portuguese Super Cup". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
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