Zeca (footballer, born 1988)

José Carlos Gonçalves Rodrigues (Greek: Ζοζέ Κάρλος Γκονσάλβες Ροντρίγκες; born 31 August 1988), commonly known as Zeca (Greek: Ζέκα), is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Super League Greece club Panathinaikos.

For more people with the same nickname, see Zeca.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Gonçalves and the second or paternal family name is Rodrigues.
Zeca
Zeca with Copenhagen in 2018
Personal information
Full name José Carlos Gonçalves Rodrigues[1]
Date of birth (1988-08-31) 31 August 1988[1]
Place of birth Lisbon, Portugal[1]
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Panathinaikos
Number 6
Youth career
1998–2007 Casa Pia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Casa Pia 46 (5)
2010–2011 Vitória Setúbal 26 (0)
2011–2017 Panathinaikos 165 (8)
2017–2023 Copenhagen 140 (8)
2023– Panathinaikos 1 (0)
International career
2011 Portugal U23 1 (0)
2017–2021 Greece 33 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 October 2023

He spent most of his career in Greece with Panathinaikos after starting out at Casa Pia, appearing in more than 200 competitive matches for the former club and winning the 2014 Greek Cup. In 2017, he signed with Copenhagen.

Born in Portugal, Zeca became a Greek citizen in March 2017 and started representing its national team the same year.

Club career

Vitória Setúbal

Born in Lisbon, Zeca started his career with local Casa Pia AC, joining the club's youth system at the age of 10 and promoting to the fourth division in his first season as a senior. In summer 2010 he moved straight into the Primeira Liga, signing with Vitória de Setúbal.[2]

During his first and only season with the Sado River team, Zeca made 26 league appearances, appearing in as many games as a starter or a substitute and totalling 1,611 minutes of action.[3]

Panathinaikos

Zeca signed a four-year contract with Greek side Panathinaikos F.C. on 29 July 2011 for a fee of €400,000,[4][5] as the club was coached by countryman Jesualdo Ferreira.[6] He played all 30 league games in 2012–13, but the Clover could only finish in sixth place. After a massive rebuilding for the following campaign, he was one of the few survivors.[7]

After more than 100 appearances with the club, on 26 April 2014 Zeca lifted the Greek Cup as team captain, in a final against PAOK FC at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.[8] On 21 June, he signed a three-year extension.[9][10][11]

In February 2015, Zeca expressed his desire to play for the Greece national team if he was awarded the country's citizenship.[12] He agreed to renew his contract until 2018 two months later, commenting on the deal: "It will be good to continue with Anastasiou in charge. ... The team is happy and I think we can do a lot better under him".[13]

On 6 February 2016, Andrea Stramaccioni's team ended the match with ten players as Zeca was shown a straight red card in a 0–1 home loss against Skoda Xanthi FC.[14] Eight days later, after returning from suspension, he again received his marching orders, but in an eventual 3–0 away victory over PAS Giannina FC.[15]

Zeca extended his contract on 9 August 2016, until the summer of 2019 for an undisclosed fee.[16]

Copenhagen

On 28 August 2017, Panathinaikos reached a formal agreement with F.C. Copenhagen for Zeca's transfer to the Danish club,[17] for a fee believed to be in the region of €1.5 million;[18] the player signed a four-year deal, with an annual salary of €1 million.[19] On his debut, on 9 September, he scored in a 4–3 home defeat of FC Midtjylland.[20]

On 6 November 2019, after helping the team win the Superliga for the fifth time in the decade, Zeca renewed his contract until 30 June 2023.[21] On 3 October 2021, he suffered a cruciate ligament injury in a game against Viborg FF that sidelined him for several months;[22] he still contributed relatively as they conquered the domestic league again.[23]

Zeca was again seriously injured in the knee in October 2022.[24]

Return to Panathinaikos

On 23 May 2023, aged 34, Zeca returned to Panathinaikos on a two-year contract.[25]

International career

Having completed five years of residence and professional status in Greece, Zeca became eligible for its citizenship in the beginning of 2017. He passed the relevant language and history exams in November 2016, becoming available for national side manager Michael Skibbe in the middle of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.[26][27][28] He earned his first cap on 25 March 2017, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–1 away draw against Belgium;[29] in the return match, on 3 September of that year, he scored his first goal in a 1–2 loss in Piraeus.[30]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 8 October 2023[31]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe* Other** Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Vitória Setúbal 2010–11 Primeira Liga 260310020311
Panathinaikos 2011–12 Super League Greece 272202050362
2012–13 Super League Greece 30420101–425
2013–14 Super League Greece 270800060410
2014–15 Super League Greece 292208050442
2015–16 Super League Greece 270404060410
2016–17 Super League Greece 230309040390
2017–18 Super League Greece 2000400060
Total 16582103712602499
Copenhagen 2017–18 Danish Superliga 272105000332
2018–19 Danish Superliga 3211013000461
2019–20 Danish Superliga 3522016100533
2020–21 Danish Superliga 282103000322
2021–22 Danish Superliga 111007100182
2022–23 Danish Superliga 70004000110
Total 1408504820019310
Panathinaikos 2023–24 Super League Greece 100000—00
Career total 3321629185328047420

(* Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League) (** Includes Taça da Liga and Greek Playoffs)

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[32]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Greece 201781
201850
201961
202080
202160
Total332

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zeca goal.[32]

List of international goals scored by Zeca
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 3 September 2017Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece4 Belgium1–11–22018 World Cup qualification
2 11 June 2019Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece17 Armenia1–22–3Euro 2020 qualifying

Honours

Panathinaikos

Copenhagen

Individual

References
  1. "Zeca" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  2. Η αναζήτηση για τον αντί-Λάζαρο [The seek for anti-Lazaros] (in Greek). Kitzbühel: In.gr. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  3. "Επίσημη πρόταση ΠΑΟ για Ζεκά", γράφουν οι Πορτογάλοι ["Official offer of PAO for Zeca", the Portuguese say] (in Greek). Athens: In.gr. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  4. Ο Ζεκά υπέγραψε για 4 χρόνια [Zeca signed for 4 years] (in Greek). Athens: In.gr. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  5. Με συγκρατημένη αισιοδοξία ο Παναθηναϊκός "πάτησε" Δανία [Optimistic Panathinaikos "stepped" on Denmark] (in Greek). Athens: In.gr. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  6. "Panathinaikos sign Zeca, Jesualdo Ferreira swoops for Vitoria de Setubal midfielder". PortuGOAL. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  7. Giannoulis, Christos (29 January 2014). Παναθηναϊκός: Η 100άρα του Ζέκα [Panathinaikos: Zeca's 100] (in Greek). Onsports. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  8. Wood, Graham (26 April 2014). "Berg treble helps Panathinaikos win Greek Cup". Reuters. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  9. Ανανέωσε ο Ζέκα (in Greek). Contra. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  10. Giannoulis, Christos (21 June 2014). Παναθηναϊκός: Ανανέωσε ο Ζέκα! [Panathinaikos: Zeca renews!] (in Greek). Onsports. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  11. Giannoulis, Christos (21 July 2014). Παναθηναϊκός: Ζέκα σημαίνει… αρχηγός (videos+photos) [Panathinaikos: Zeca means ... leader (videos+photos)] (in Greek). Onsports. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  12. "Zeca open for Greece call up". SDNA. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  13. "Zeca hails Anastasiou". SDNA. 4 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  14. "SKODA Xanthi stun Panathinaikos (vid)". SDNA. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  15. "10-man Panathinaikos leave Giannina victorious (vids)". SDNA. 14 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  16. Papamakarios, Petros (9 August 2016). "Στον Παναθηναϊκό μέχρι το 2019 ο Ζέκα" [Zeca with Panathinaikos until 2019] (in Greek). Sport 24. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  17. "Επίσημο: Πωλήθηκε ο Ζέκα" [Official: Zeca sold] (in Greek). Contra. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  18. Gronemann, Steffen; Wikkelso Davidsen, Michel (28 August 2017). "FCK henter landsholdsspiller fra storklub – her er prisen" [FCK acquire national team player from big club – here is the price]. BT (in Danish). Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  19. Mpairaktari, Giannis (28 August 2017). "Με το πιο βαρύ νούμερο στη φανέλα της Κοπεγχάγης ο Ζέκα" [With the heaviest number in a Copenhagen shirt Zeka] (in Greek). Contra. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  20. "Zeca & Vavro: Hele vejen rundt om deres debut" [Zeca & Vavro: All the way around their debut] (in Danish). F.C. Copenhagen. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  21. Stamatopoulos, Vangelis (6 November 2019). "Κοπεγχάγη: Ανακοίνωσε την παραμονή του Ζέκα μέχρι το 2023" [Copenhagen: Zeca confirmed until 2023] (in Greek). Sport 24. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  22. Tzouvaras, Thomas (4 October 2021). "Ζέκα: Ρήξη χιαστού και τέλος η σεζόν για τον διεθνή αμυντικό μέσο" [Zeca: cruciate rupture, season ended for international defensive midfielder] (in Greek). Sport 24. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  23. Santos, Tiago (27 May 2022). "Zeca e o papel de um capitão de equipa lesionado durante um ano mas campeão na Dinamarca" [Zeca and the role of a team captain injured for one year but champion in Denmark] (in Portuguese). TSF. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  24. "Zeca out for the rest of the season". F.C. Copenhagen. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  25. "Zeca de regresso ao Panathinaikos após seis anos na Dinamarca" [Zeca returns to Panathinaikos after six years in Denmark]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 23 May 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  26. "Έλληνας ο Ζέκα!" [Zeca the Greek!] (in Greek). Panathinaikos F.C. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  27. "Panathinaikos' captain Zeca to gain Greek citizenship in 2017". SDNA. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  28. "Έτοιμος για την Εθνική Ελλάδας δηλώνει ο Ζέκα" [Ready for the Greek national team says Zeca] (in Greek). Contra. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  29. Georgakopoulos, George (26 March 2017). "Brave 10-man Greece snatches vital point in Brussels". Kathimerini. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  30. "Belgium defeat Greece 2–1, qualify for World Cup, France suffer setback". Daily Sabah. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  31. "Zeca". Soccerway. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  32. "Zeca". European Football. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  33. Papantonopoulou, Vassiliki (26 April 2014). "Berg inspires Panathiakos [sic] to Greek Cup triumph". UEFA. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  34. "FC Copenhagen are Danish champions". The Copenhagen Post. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  35. "FC Copenhagen win 14th Danish league title". Daily Times. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  36. "Danish champions 2022/23". F.C. Copenhagen. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  37. "Βραβεία ΠΣΑΠ: "Τσόρι", Καλτσάς και Πετράκης οι κορυφαίοι" [PSAP Awards: "Chori", Kaltsas and Petrakis are the best]. Ta Nea (in Greek). 1 February 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  38. "Η βράβευση των κορυφαίων από τον ΠΣΑΠ" [Top guns get their PSAP award] (in Greek). PSAPP. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  39. "Zeca wins 3F Superliga Player of the Year 2019". F.C. Copenhagen. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  40. "Årets spiller" [Player of the Year] (in Danish). F.C. Copenhagen Fan Club. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
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