Dyego Sousa

Dyego Wilverson Ferreira Sousa (born 14 September 1989) is a Brazilian-born Portuguese professional footballer, who plays as a forward for Benfica on loan from Chinese club Shenzhen F.C.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Ferreira and the second or paternal family name is Sousa.
Dyego Sousa
Personal information
Full name Dyego Wilverson Ferreira Sousa
Date of birth (1989-09-14) 14 September 1989
Place of birth São Luís, Brazil
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Benfica
Number 20
Youth career
Moto Club
2005–2007 Palmeiras
2007–2008 Nacional
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009 Moto Club 4 (1)
2010–2012 Andraus 0 (0)
2010 → Operário (loan) 0 (0)
2010–2011 → Leixões (loan) 14 (3)
2011–2012 → Interclube (loan) 0 (0)
2012–2013 Tondela 24 (4)
2013–2014 Portimonense 30 (7)
2014 Marítimo B 1 (1)
2014–2017 Marítimo 79 (25)
2017–2019 Braga 68 (32)
2019– Shenzhen 10 (3)
2020 → Benfica (loan) 3 (0)
National team‡
2019– Portugal 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 Dec 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2019

He spent most of his career in Portugal, making 112 appearances and scoring 42 goals in the Primeira Liga for Marítimo and Braga. In the second tier, he played 66 games and scored 13 goals for four clubs.

Born and raised in Brazil, Sousa made his international debut for Portugal in 2019 and was part of their squad that won the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League.

Club career

Early career

Born in São Luís, Maranhão, Sousa began his career at his hometown team Moto Club de São Luís' youth setup before moving to Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras in 2005, aged 15.[1] Released by the club in the following year, he subsequently joined C.D. Nacional's under-20 squad after a trial period.[2]

Sent back to Brazil in the middle of 2008 to nurse an injury, Sousa never returned to Nacional.[2] In 2009, he returned to Moto Club and made his senior debut on 19 February, starting in a 2–1 Campeonato Maranhense away loss against São José de Ribamar Esporte Clube; his first goal for the club came on 23 April, in a 2–2 draw against the same opponent.

On 13 November 2009, Sousa joined Operário Ferroviário Esporte Clube,[3] and made his debut for the club the following 17 January, by starting in a 1–0 home win against Cascavel Clube Recreativo, for the year's Campeonato Paranaense. He scored his first goal for the club on 31 March, netting his team's second in a 2–2 home draw against the same opponent, but was released in April after scoring only two goals.

Leixões

In July 2010, Sousa moved abroad for the first time, joining Leixões S.C. of the Portuguese Liga de Honra.[4] He made his professional debut on 8 August, starting in a 0–0 away draw against C.D. Trofense, for the season's Taça da Liga; his first goal abroad occurred on 10 November, in a 2–1 loss at F.C. Paços de Ferreira, also for the league cup.

Sousa contributed with three goals in 14 appearances overall, as his side finished sixth.

Interclube

In June 2011, Sousa switched continents again, signing for G.D. Interclube in the Girabola of Angola.[5] However, he failed to make a single appearance during his time at the club, as his international certificate never arrived; he subsequently terminated his contract with the club in early 2012, but still remained six months without a club.[6]

Tondela / Portimonense

Sousa returned to Portugal's second tier in 2012 with C.D. Tondela, being a regular starter during the campaign and scoring four times. The following year, he moved to fellow second division side Portimonense S.C..

At Portimonense, Sousa scored braces against Atlético Clube de Portugal (4–0 home win) and C.S. Marítimo B (2–1 home win), finishing his only year with seven goals overall.

Marítimo

On 13 July 2014, Sousa signed a three-year contract with Primeira Liga club C.S. Marítimo.[7] In his first season on the island of Madeira he scored twice, both in a 4–0 home win over Boavista F.C. on 30 November,[8] but the following campaign he recorded 12 goals and made the top ten scorers of the year.[9] He also started six matches in the club's Taça da Liga run, that ended on 20 May 2016 with a 6–2 loss to S.L. Benfica in the final at the Estádio Cidade de Coimbra.[10]

In August 2016 in a friendly against Tondela, Sousa attacked a linesman, and was given a nine-month ban by the Portuguese Football Federation in November, which was rescinded by a court the following month.[11]

Braga

Sousa and compatriot teammate Fransérgio agreed on 31 January 2017 to transfer to S.C. Braga at the end of the season by which point he would be out of contract; he signed a four-year deal and Marítimo secured a share of any subsequent transfer fee.[12]

On 12 August 2018, in the season opener, Sousa was one of three players to score two goals in a 4–2 win at home to C.D. Nacional.[13] He scored a hat-trick on 14 December in a 4–0 win over C.D. Feirense also at the Estádio Municipal de Braga.[14]

Sousa and teammate Paulinho were joint top scorers with four goals in the 2018–19 Taça da Liga with four goals each, including a third-minute strike in the defeat to eventual champions Sporting CP in the semi-final.[15] On 6 March 2019, he signed a new contract until 2022,[16] and finished the league campaign as Braga's top scorer (joint fourth overall) with 15 goals.[17]

Shenzhen

After rejecting bids of €12–15 million in January, Braga sold Sousa to Chinese Super League club Shenzhen F.C. for €5.6 million in July 2019.[18] In his third game, he scored his first two goals in a 4–0 home win over Guangzhou R&F F.C. on 14 August to escape the relegation zone.[19]

On 31 January 2020, Sousa returned to Portugal's top flight, joining S.L. Benfica on loan without the option to sign.[20] He debuted eight days later in a 3–2 loss at FC Porto in O Clássico, replacing André Almeida for the last five minutes.[21]

International career

On 15 March 2019, Sousa was called up to represent the Portugal national football team for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying campaign. He earned his first cap in a 0–0 draw against Ukraine on 22 March 2019 as a substitute replacing André Silva in the 73rd minute.[22] He was part of Fernando Santos' squad that won the 2019 UEFA Nations League on home soil, but did not feature in either match.[23][24][25]

Career statistics

Club
As of 23 May 2019[26]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Moto Club 2009 Série D 4121——14[lower-alpha 1]5197
Operário 2010 Série D 00———13[lower-alpha 2]2132
Leixões 2010–11 Liga de Honra 1021031——143
Interclube 2011 Girabola 00————00
Tondela 2012–13 Segunda Liga 2940000——294
Portimonense 2013–14 Segunda Liga 2660031——297
Marítimo B 2014–15 Segunda Liga 11————11
Marítimo 2014–15 Primeira Liga 1822111——214
2015–16 28121060——3512
2016–17 1551042——207
Subtotal 611941113——7623
Braga 2017–18 Primeira Liga 18810106[lower-alpha 3]2—2610
2018–19 331520342[lower-alpha 3]0—4019
Subtotal 5123304482—6629
Career total 182561022198227724776
  1. Five appearances and two goals in Campeonato Maranhense, five appearances and two goals in Copa União do Maranhão, four appearances and one goal in Campeonato Maranhense Série B
  2. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Paranaense
  3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International
As of 23 May 2019[27]
Portugal
YearAppsGoals
201920
Total20

Honours

International

Portugal

References
  1. "Ex-Palmeiras, Dyego Sousa conta como é defender Portugal e jogar com Cristiando Ronaldo: 'Fiquei ainda mais fã'" [Formerly of Palmeiras, Dyego Sousa tells how it is to play for Portugal and play with Cristiano Ronaldo: 'I became even more of a fan'] (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  2. "Ex-Palmeiras, Dyego Sousa tem o mesmo superagente de Cristiano Ronaldo e defende Portugal" [Formerly of Palmeiras, Dyego Sousa has the same superagent of Cristiano Ronaldo and plays for Portugal] (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  3. "Diego Souza é do Operário" [Diego Souza is from Operário] (in Portuguese). Futebol Paranaense. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  4. Gil, Amanda (26 September 2018). "Saiba quem é Dyego Sousa, brasileiro artilheiro da Liga Portuguesa" [Get to know Dyego Sousa, Brazilian top scorer of the Portuguese League] (in Portuguese). Super Esportes. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  5. "Dyego Sousa e Jussane são reforços para o ataque" [Dyego Sousa and Jussane are reinforcements for the attack] (in Portuguese). AngoNotícias. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  6. "Dyego Sousa" (in Portuguese). Relato.pt. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  7. "Dyego Sousa em entrevista à Marítimo TV: " Um avançando vive de… golos"" [Dyego Sousa in interview for Marítimo TV: "A striker lives off... goals"] (in Portuguese). 13 July 2014. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  8. "Marítimo goleia e Boavista termina com três expulsos" [Marítimo thrash and Boavista finish with three players sent off] (in Portuguese). TSF. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  9. Sankar, Aswin (7 November 2016). "Marítimo's Brazilian striker Dyego Sousa given nine-month suspension for attacking a linesman". Samba Foot. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  10. "Marítimo 2–6 Benfica" (in Portuguese). SAPO. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  11. Marques, David (15 December 2016). "Marítimo: TAD suspende castigo de nove meses a Dyego Sousa" [Marítimo: Court of Arbitration for Sport suspends Dyego Sousa's nine-month punishment] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  12. "Dyego Sousa e Fransérgio transferem-se do Marítimo para o Braga" [Dyego Sousa and Fransérgio transfer from Marítimo to Braga] (in Portuguese). Funchal Notícias. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  13. Maga, Diogo (12 August 2018). "Três "bis" na vitória do Sp. Braga sobre o Nacional" [Three "braces" in Sp. Braga's victory over Nacional]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  14. "Hat-trick de Dyego Sousa na goleada do Braga frente ao Feirense" [Dyego Sousa scores a hat-trick in Braga's thrashing of Feirense]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). 14 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  15. "Sporting vence Sp. Braga no desempate por penáltis e está na final da Taça da Liga com o FC Porto - como aconteceu" [Sporting defeat Sp. Braga on penalties and are in the Taça da Liga final with FC Porto - how it went]. Observador (in Portuguese). 23 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  16. "Dyego Sousa renova até 2022" [Dyego Sousa renews until 2022]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  17. "GOLEADORES: Seferovic é o melhor marcador da Liga" [GOALSCORERS: Seferovic is the top scorer in the Liga] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  18. "Saída de Dyego Sousa do Braga: negócio polémico ganha novos capítulos" [Dyego Sousa's exit from Braga: controversial deal earns new chapters]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 29 July 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  19. "China: Shenzhen sai da zona de descida com «bis» de Dyego Sousa" [China: Shenzhen escape relegation zone with "brace" from Dyego Sousa]. Mais Futebol (in Portuguese). 15 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  20. "Benfica fecha empréstimo de Dyego Sousa" [Benfica complete loan of Dyego Sousa] (in Portuguese). One Football. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  21. "FC Porto breathe new life into Primeira Liga title race with Clássico triumph". PortuGOAL. 8 February 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  22. "Portugal draw blank against Ukraine". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  23. "Nations League: Four Wolves players named in Portugal squad". BBC Sport. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  24. "Portugal 3–1 Switzerland". BBC Sport. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  25. "Portugal 1–0 Netherlands". BBC Sport. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  26. Dyego Sousa at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  27. "Dyego Sousa". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
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