Afonso Gamelas de Pinho Sousa (born 3 May 2000) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Ekstraklasa club Lech Poznań as a central midfielder.

Afonso Sousa
Sousa with Lech Poznań in 2022
Personal information
Full name Afonso Gamelas de Pinho Sousa[1]
Date of birth (2000-05-03) 3 May 2000 (age 24)[1]
Place of birth Aveiro, Portugal[1]
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
Lech Poznań
Number 7
Youth career
2008–2009 Beira-Mar
2009–2010 Porto
2010–2012 Beira-Mar
2012–2013 Gafanha
2013–2019 Porto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Porto B 21 (6)
2020–2022 B-SAD 62 (3)
2022– Lech Poznań 57 (9)
2022 Lech Poznań II 1 (0)
International career
2015 Portugal U15 2 (0)
2016 Portugal U16 10 (2)
2016–2017 Portugal U17 15 (0)
2018 Portugal U18 2 (0)
2018–2019 Portugal U19 3 (0)
2019 Portugal U20 4 (0)
2021–2023 Portugal U21 13 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:45, 11 November 2024 (UTC)

Club career

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Porto

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Born in Aveiro, Sousa returned to FC Porto's youth academy at the age of 13, after a first spell in 2009.[2] He made his senior debut with the reserve team in the LigaPro on 25 August 2019, playing the entire 3–1 away win against S.C. Farense and scoring in the match.[3]

Sousa was part of the squad that won the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League, notably netting in the 3–1 victory over Chelsea in the final.[4]

B-SAD

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On 9 September 2020, Sousa signed a four-year contract with Primeira Liga club B-SAD, with Porto retaining 50% of the player's rights.[5][6] He played his first game in the competition nine days later, coming on as a 67th-minute substitute for Silvestre Varela in the 1–0 away defeat of Vitória de Guimarães.[7][8] He scored his first goal on 6 December, just before half-time in a 2–1 home win over S.C. Braga.[9]

Lech Poznań

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On 30 June 2022, Sousa moved to defending Polish Ekstraklasa champions Lech Poznań on a four-year deal, for a fee reported around €1,200,000.[10][11] He made his competitive debut on 9 July, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 Polish Super Cup loss to Raków Częstochowa.[12]

International career

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Sousa earned 42 caps for Portugal across all youth levels, starting with the under-15 team in 2015. His first appearance for the under-21s came on 7 October 2021 in an 11–0 home rout of Liechtenstein in 2023 UEFA European Championship qualification.[13] He scored his first goal the following 24 September, closing the 4–1 friendly win over Georgia.[14]

Personal life

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Both Sousa's father, Ricardo, and grandfather António, played as midfielders and later worked as managers.[15][16]

Career statistics

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As of match played 10 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Porto B 2019–20[17] LigaPro 21 6 21 6
B-SAD 2020–21[17] Primeira Liga 32 2 3 0 0 0 35 2
2021–22[17] Primeira Liga 30 1 3 2 1 0 34 3
Total 62 3 6 2 1 0 69 5
Lech Poznań 2022–23[17] Ekstraklasa 24 4 1 1 8[c] 2 1[d] 0 34 7
2023–24[17] Ekstraklasa 18 0 1 0 4[c] 0 23 0
2024–25[17] Ekstraklasa 15 5 1 0 16 5
Total 57 9 3 1 12 2 1 0 73 12
Lech Poznań II 2022–23[17] II liga 1 0 0 0 1 0
Career total 141 18 9 3 1 0 12 2 1 0 164 23
  1. ^ Includes Taça de Portugal and Polish Cup
  2. ^ Includes Taça da Liga
  3. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ Appearance in Polish Super Cup

Honours

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Porto

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Afonso Sousa" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Afonso Sousa despede-se do FC Porto: "Foram nove anos..."" [Afonso Sousa says goodbye to FC Porto: "It was nine years..."]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 8 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  3. ^ "FC Porto B alcança primeira vitória e na casa de um candidato" [FC Porto B get first win and away to a candidate]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 25 August 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b Almeida, Isaura (29 April 2019). "FC Porto é campeão Europeu Sub-19" [FC Porto are Under-19 European champions]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  5. ^ Morais, André; Gouveia Pereira, Miguel (8 September 2020). "Afonso Sousa deixa o FC Porto, que mantém 50 por cento do passe" [Afonso Sousa leaves FC Porto, who keep 50 per cent of his rights]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Oficial: Belenenses SAD anuncia Afonso Sousa" [Official: Belenenses SAD announce Afonso Sousa]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 9 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Derrota no arranque da Liga" [Loss to kickstart League] (in Portuguese). Mais Guimarães. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  8. ^ ""O Afonso sentiu que no FC Porto não seria aposta"" ["Afonso felt people would not bet on him at FC Porto"]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 20 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Belenenses SAD vence SC Braga e tira minhotos do pódio" [Belenenses SAD beat SC Braga and knock Minho team off podium] (in Portuguese). TSF. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  10. ^ Koźmiński, Piotr (29 June 2022). "Ile Lech zapłacił za Afonso Sousę? Znamy ostateczną cenę za Portugalczyka!" [How much did Lech pay for Afonso Sousa? We know the Portuguese's final price!] (in Polish). Sportowe Fakty. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Afonso Sousa piłkarzem Lecha" [Afonso Sousa a Lech player] (in Polish). Lech Poznań. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Tsitaishvili i Sousa z debiutami" [Debuts for Tsitaishvili and Sousa] (in Polish). Lech Poznań. 9 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Portugal–Liechstenstein, 11–0 Alguém vai esquecer Vizela?" [Portugal–Liechstenstein, 11–0 Is anyone going to forget Vizela?] (in Portuguese). Digital de Vizela. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Portugal goleia Geórgia por 4–1 num encontro particular" [Portugal rout Georgia 4–1 in friendly match]. Record (in Portuguese). 24 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  15. ^ Calhau, Pedro (2 October 2015). "Afonso Sousa: filho e neto que já joga em nome próprio aos 15 anos" [Afonso Sousa: son and grandson already plays for himself at 15] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  16. ^ Aleixo, Mário (30 April 2019). "António Sousa antevê futuro brilhante ao neto Afonso" [António Sousa foresees bright future for grandson Afonso] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g Afonso Sousa at Soccerway
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