Ricardo Nuno dos Santos Nunes (born 18 June 1986) is a South African former professional footballer who played as a left-back.
 Nunes playing for Žilina in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Nuno dos Santos Nunes[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 18 June 1986[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Johannesburg, South Africa[1] | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2002 | Estoril | ||
| 2002–2005 | Benfica | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2006 | Benfica B | 23 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Lamia | 30 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | AEP | 25 | (2) |
| 2008–2010 | Aris Limassol | 32 | (7) |
| 2010 | Olympiakos Nicosia | 12 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | Trofense | 7 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Portimonense | 17 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Žilina | 51 | (2) |
| 2014 | Levski Sofia | 9 | (0) |
| 2014–2020 | Pogoń Szczecin | 143 | (6) |
| Total | 349 | (19) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003 | Portugal U17 | 4 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | South Africa | 5 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career edit
The son of Portuguese parents, Nunes was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and moved to Portugal where he started practising the sport. He first appeared for G.D. Estoril Praia, joining the club at the age of 12.[2]
After emerging through S.L. Benfica's youth system – he only played for its reserves, spending the 2005–06 campaign in the third division – Nunes continued his senior career in the lower leagues of Greece and Cyprus. It was in Cyprus where he had his first taste of top-flight football, appearing in the First Division for AEP Paphos FC and Olympiakos Nicosia.
On 31 January 2012, after one and a half seasons in the Portuguese Segunda Liga,[2] Nunes signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with MŠK Žilina.[3] In February 2014 he moved teams and countries again, joining Bulgaria's PFC Levski Sofia until June 2015.[4]
Nunes signed for Pogoń Szczecin in the Polish Ekstraklasa on 16 September 2014,[5] and made 153 competitive appearances over a six-year spell.[6]
International career edit
Although Nunes was born in South Africa, he represented Portugal at under-17 level. This meant that he required permission from FIFA before he could switch allegiance to South Africa, after he had spoken with Gordon Igesund.[7]
In early October 2012, Nunes was named in the South Africa squad for friendlies against Poland and Kenya.[8] During this announcement, Igesund said that "Nunes is a very exciting player" and that he is "a specialist free kick taker".[9] He made his debut on the 12th against Poland, a 1–0 loss in Warsaw.[10]
References edit
- ^ a b c d "R. Nunes" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Antigo jogador do Benfica convocado para a África do Sul" [Former Benfica player called by South Africa]. Record (in Portuguese). 9 October 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ "Ricardo Nunez [sic] hráčom MŠK Žilina" [Ricardo Nunes a MŠK Žilina player] (in Slovak). MŠK Žilina. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ "Пореден скандал на "Герена"" [Another Gerena scandal] (in Bulgarian). Top Sport. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ Gałęzewski, Michał (20 September 2014). "Wyboista droga Ricardo Nunesa do Pogoni Szczecin. "To były dziwne sytuacje"" [Ricardo Nunes' rocky road to Pogoń Szczecin. "I experienced strange situations"] (in Polish). Sportowe Fakty. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ Bekker, Liam (20 July 2020). "Nunes' Pogon Szczecin exit confirmed". Kick Off. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "Nunes is itching to turn out in his Bafana colours". Sport Live. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
- ^ "Igesund's travelling Bafana squad". Soccer Laduma. 2 October 2012. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
- ^ "Igesund: Nunes is an exciting player". Kick Off. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
- ^ "Nunes happy with debut". SuperSport. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
External links edit
- Ricardo Nunes at ForaDeJogo (archived)
- Ricardo Nunes at 90minut.pl (in Polish)
- Ricardo Nunes national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)
- Ricardo Nunes at National-Football-Teams.com
- Levski official profile
- Ricardo Nunes at Soccerway
