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Ricardo Nunes
	Nunes playing for Žilina in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Ricardo Nuno dos Santos Nunes
Date of birth	18 June 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Johannesburg, South Africa
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Left-back
Youth career
1998–2002	Estoril
2002–2005	Benfica
Senior career*
Years	Team
2005–2006	Benfica B
2006–2007	Lamia
2007–2008	AEP
2008–2010	Aris Limassol
2010	Olympiakos Nicosia
2010–2011	Trofense
2011–2012	Portimonense
2012–2013	Žilina
2014	Levski Sofia
2014–2020	Pogoń Szczecin
2015	Pogoń Szczecin II
Total
International career
2003	Portugal U17
2012–2013	South Africa
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ricardo Nuno dos Santos Nunes (born 18 June 1986) is a South African former professional footballer who played as a left-back.

Club career

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.^[3]

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.^[4] In February 2014 he moved teams and countries again, joining Bulgaria's PFC Levski Sofia until June 2015.^[5]

Nunes signed for Pogoń Szczecin in the Polish Ekstraklasa on 16 September 2014,^[6] and made 153 competitive appearances over a six-year spell.^[7]

International career

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.^[8]

In early October 2012, Nunes was named in the South Africa squad for friendlies against Poland and Kenya.^[9] During this announcement, Igesund said that "Nunes is a very exciting player" and that he is "a specialist free kick taker".^[10] He made his debut on the 12th against Poland, a 1–0 loss in Warsaw.^[11]

Honours

Žilina

References

^ ^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.
^ Simões de Abreu, Alexandra (10 September 2023). ""Emprestei o meu carro e no dia seguinte acordo e vejo na 1.ª página do jornal: 'Em véspera de jogo Ricardo Nunes rebenta com o carro'"" ["I lent my car and the next day I wake up and read in the paper's front page: 'Ricardo Nunes totals car the day before game'"]. Expresso (in Portuguese). Retrieved 4 December 2024.
^ "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.
^ ^a ^b "Mais de 50 portugueses conquistaram troféus no futebol europeu" [Over 50 Portuguese won trophies in European football]. Público (in Portuguese). 31 May 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2024.