Zeca (footballer, born 1988)


José Carlos Gonçalves Rodrigues, commonly known as Zeca, is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Danish club F.C. Copenhagen and the Greece national team.
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

Setúbal

Born in Lisbon of Cape Verdean descent, Zeca started his career with local Casa Pia AC, joining joined 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.
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.

Panathinaikos

On 29 July 2011, Zeca signed a four-year contract with Greek giants Panathinaikos F.C. for a fee of €400,000, as the club was coached by countryman Jesualdo Ferreira. 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.
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. On 21 June, he signed a three-year extension.
In February 2015, Zeca expressed his desire to play for the Greece national team if he was awarded the country's citizenship. 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".
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. 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.
On 9 August 2016, Zeca extended his contract until the summer of 2019 for an undisclosed fee.

Copenhagen

On 28 August 2017, Panathinaikos reached a formal agreement with F.C. Copenhagen for Zeca's transfer to the Danish club, for a fee believed to be in the region of €1.5 million. The player signed a four-year deal, with an annual salary of €1 million. In his debut, on 9 September, he scored in a 4–3 home defeat of FC Midtjylland.
On 6 November 2019, after helping the team win the national championship for the fifth time in the decade, Zeca renewed his contract until 30 June 2023.

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. He also became the second player of Cape Verdean heritage to become a Greek international after Daniel Batista Lima. He earned his first cap on 25 March 2017, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–1 away draw against Belgium; in the return match, on 3 September of that year, he scored his first goal in a 1–2 loss in Piraeus.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
13 September 2017Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece41–11–22018 World Cup qualification
211 June 2019Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece171–22–3Euro 2020 qualifying

Honours

Panathinaikos
Copenhagen
Individual