João Nunes (footballer, born 1995)

João Nunes
	Nunes in 2018
Personal information
Full name	João Aniceto Grandela Nunes
Date of birth	19 November 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth	Setúbal, Portugal
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Újpest
Number	30
Youth career
2003–2005	GDR 1º Maio
2005–2014	Benfica
Senior career*
Years	Team
2013–2016	Benfica B
2016–2019	Lechia Gdańsk
2019–2020	Panathinaikos
2020–2022	Puskás Akadémia
2022–2024	Casa Pia
2024–	Újpest
International career
2011	Portugal U16
2012	Portugal U17
2013	Portugal U18
2013–2014	Portugal U19
2014–2015	Portugal U20
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Portugal
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:30, 12 August 2024 (UTC)

João Aniceto Grandela Nunes (born 19 November 1995) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Újpest FC.

Club career

Benfica

Born in Setúbal, Nunes began his career with S.L. Benfica, joining the club's youth academy at the age of 9. On 6 January 2013, while still a junior,^[2] he played his first Segunda Liga match with the reserves, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–1 away draw against C.D. Santa Clara.^[3]

On 27 March 2014, Nunes renewed his contract until 2019.^[2] He scored his first goal in the second division on 20 September 2015, in a 1–0 home victory over Gil Vicente FC.^[4]

Lechia Gdańsk

On 29 August 2016, Nunes signed a three-year deal with Lechia Gdańsk of the Polish Ekstraklasa.^[5]^[6] He made his league debut on 9 September, playing the entire 1–0 win at KS Cracovia alongside his compatriots Flávio Paixão and Marco Paixão.^[7]

On 2 May 2019, Nunes also started in the Polish Cup final, as the club won the tournament for the second time in its history after beating Jagiellonia Białystok.^[8]

Panathinaikos

On 23 July 2019, free agent Nunes joined Panathinaikos F.C. of the Super League Greece on a three-year contract.^[9] During his only season, he made 15 competitive appearances.

Puskás Akadémia

Nunes moved to Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I side Puskás Akadémia FC on 1 July 2020.^[10]

International career

Nunes represented Portugal at the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.^[11] In 2015, he appeared in all the games as vice-captain^[12] as the under-20 team were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup by eventual finalists Brazil.^[13]

Career statistics

As of 9 May 2021^[14]^[15]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lechia Gdańsk	2016–17	Ekstraklasa	23	0	0	0	—		—		23	0
	2017–18		30	0	1	0	—		—		31	0
	2018–19		23	0	5	0	—		—		28	0
	Total		76	0	6	0	—		—		82	0
Panathinaikos	2019–20	Super League	11	0	2	0	—		—		13	0
Puskás Akadémia	2020–21	Nemzeti Bajnokság I	22	2	1	1	—		—		23	3
Puskás Akadémia	Total		22	2	1	1	—		—		23	3
Career total			109	2	9	1	0	0	0	0	118	3

Honours

Benfica Youth

UEFA Youth League runner-up: 2013–14^[16]

Lechia Gdańsk

Polish Cup: 2018–19^[17]

Individual

UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2014^[18]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "João Nunes" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^ ^a ^b Pereira, Sérgio (27 March 2014). "Benfica renovou por cinco anos com capitão dos juniores" [Benfica renewed with junior captain for five years] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
^ "Santa Clara-Benfica B, 1–1: Águias empatam com 9 em campo" [Santa Clara-Benfica B, 1–1: Eagles draw with 9 on the pitch]. Record (in Portuguese). 6 January 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
^ "Benfica B-Gil Vicente, 1–0: Golo de João Nunes garante os três pontos" [Benfica B-Gil Vicente, 1–0: João Nunes goal confirms three points]. Record (in Portuguese). 20 September 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
^ "João Nunes troca Benfica pelo campeonato polaco" [João Nunes swaps Benfica for Polish championship]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 29 August 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
^ "Joao Nunes nowym piłkarzem Lechii Gdańsk" [Joao Nunes new Lechia Gdańsk player] (in Polish). Lechia Gdańsk. 29 August 2016. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
^ Żukowski, Jacek (9 September 2016). "Cracovia – Lechia. Pierwsza porażka "Pasów" na swoim stadionie [ZDJĘCIA]" [Cracovia – Lechia. First home loss for "The Stripes" [PHOTOS]]. Gazeta Krakowska (in Polish). Retrieved 5 August 2019.
^ Czaplewski, Jacek (2 May 2019). "Puchar Polski. Sobiech trafił tuż przed końcem. Lechia Gdańsk z pucharem po 36 latach!" [Polish Cup. Sobiech struck just before the end. Lechia Gdańsk with the cup after 36 years!] (in Polish). Gol 24. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
^ Papamakarios, Petros (23 July 2019). "Παναθηναϊκός: Συμφώνησε με Νούνες για τρία χρόνια" [Panathinaikos: Nunes confirmed for three years] (in Greek). Sport 24. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
^ "NB I: portugál védő a Puskás Akadémia első nyári érkezője" [NB I: Portuguese defender is the first summer arrival at Puskás Akadémia]. Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 1 July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
^ "Sub-19: Eleitos para o Europeu" [Under-19: Chosen for the Euro] (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. 23 June 2014. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
^ "Hélio Sousa alerta para crescimento do Qatar" [Hélio Sousa warns of Qatar growth] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
^ "Mundial sub20: Portugal "parado" de novo pelo Brasil na Nova Zelândia" [Under20 World Cup: Portugal again "halted" by Brazil in New Zealand] (in Portuguese). Euronews. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
^ João Nunes at Soccerway
^ João Nunes – UEFA competition record (archive)
^ "'Proud' Benfica hold heads high after final defeat". UEFA. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
^ Laranjeira, Francisco (3 May 2019). "Taça da Polónia fala português" [Polish Cup speaks Portuguese]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 5 August 2019.
^ "Team of the Tournament". UEFA. Retrieved 5 August 2019.