Geovany Tcherno Quenda (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒiuˈvɐ̃ˈkẽdɐ]; born 30 April 2007) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as forward for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Geovany Tcherno Quenda | ||
| Date of birth | 30 April 2007 | ||
| Place of birth | Bissau, Guinea-Bissau | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sporting CP | ||
| Number | 57 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2016–2017 | Damaiense | ||
| 2017–2019 | Benfica | ||
| 2021–2024 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023–2024 | Sporting CP B | 9 | (2) |
| 2023– | Sporting CP | 11 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023–2024 | Portugal U17 | 18 | (6) |
| 2024– | Portugal U21 | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:18, 10 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:42, 2 September 2024 (UTC) | |||
Coming through Sporting CP's youth system, Quenda was promoted to the first-team in 2024 and subsequently established himself as an integral player for them. Born in Guinea-Bissau, he represented Portugal at youth level, being part of the under-17 team that finished as runners-up in the 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.
Club Career
editEarly career
editGeovany Quenda was born in Guinea-Bissau on 30 April 2007.[1] He moved to Portugal as a child and began his footballing career in Amadora, at the Damaiense's under-10s in the 2016–17 season. He attracted the interest of Benfica who took him to the Benfica Campus in Seixal. After two full seasons with Benfica's youth ranks (2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons),[2] Quenda, who was 13 at the time, decided to leave the club for Sporting CP after Benfica failed to provide a room for him at the Benfica Campus as promised.[3]
Sporting CP
edit2022–24: Youth career
editIn the 2021–22 season, already fully integrated as a youth player in Sporting CP's Cristiano Ronaldo Academy, he played for Sporting CP's under-15s team, winning the national championship, and the under-17s, scoring 20 goals in that season. In August 2023, he signed a professional contract with Sporting CP.[4]
In the 2023–24 season, Quenda was part of Sporting CP's under-23 team in the Liga Revelação (U-23 league), despite being only 16 years old at the time.[5][6][7] He also began to be called up by manager Rúben Amorim for the first team on several occasions, although as an unused substitute.[8][9] On 17 February 2024, Quenda became the youngest ever player to play for Sporting's reserve team, when he started a Liga 3 game against Amora at the age of 16.[10][11]
2024–25: Rise to the first team and breakthrough
editThe following season, Quenda was fully integrated to the first team, where he was adapted to play as a right wing-back, despite being naturally a right winger. He made his first team debut on 3 August, and he became the youngest player aged (17 years and 95 days) to score for the club, netting the third goal in a 4–3 loss to rivals Porto in the 2024 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.[12]
After impressing both offensively and defensively, especially for his young age, according to Rúben Amorim, he earned a place as a starter, with Quenda making his league debut for the club on 9 August in a 3–1 home win over against Rio Ave.[13] On 12 September, he agreed to a contract extension to 2027, increasing his buyout clause from €45 million to €100 million.[14] Five days later, he made his UEFA Champions League debut, starting in the 2–0 victory over Lille during the inaugural matchday of the newly formatted Champions League league phase.[15] On 26 October, he scored his first league goal for the club in a 3–0 win over Famalicão; at 17 years, five months and 27 days, he became the youngest player to score a league goal for Sporting surpassing Sporting CP Youth Academy's graduates Simão Sabrosa (17 years, six months and 16 days, in 1997) and Cristiano Ronaldo (17 years, eight months and 3 days, in 2002).[16][17]
International career
editQuenda chose to represent Portugal internationally. With the under-17 side, Quenda participated in the 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Cyprus. Portugal finished as runners-up, after losing in the final 3–0 to Italy. For his performances throughout the competition, he was named in the "Team of the Tournament".[18][5][19]
He was called up to the senior side for the first time, on 30 August 2024, ahead of the opening UEFA Nations League matches against Croatia and Scotland the following month.[20]
On 11 October, Quenda made his under-21 debut, playing the entire 3–1 win in Faroe Islands in a qualifying match for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[21]
Style of play
editIn 2024, he was praised by Portugal's national coach Roberto Martinez in an interview with A Bola, who called him "a creative player" and praised his "one-on-one quality".[22]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 10 November 2024[23]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting CP B | 2023–24 | Liga 3 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 2 | ||||
| Sporting CP | 2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 1 | 17 | 2 |
| Career Total | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 26 | 4 | ||
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
Honours
editPortugal U17
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship runner-up: 2024[24]
Individual
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2024[25]
References
edit- ^ "Geovany Tcherno Quenda". www.sporting.pt (in European Portuguese). 26 August 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Geovany Quenda :: Sporting :: Perfil do Jogador :: zerozero.pt". www.zerozero.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Geovany Quenda e o quarto que o colocou no rival: "O Benfica voltou com a palavra atrás"". OneFootball (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Geovany Quenda assina contrato profissional e aponta à equipa principal". www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Geovany Quenda". FPF (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ Abola.pt (1 November 2023). "Geovany Quenda: o 'Maradona' de Alcochete que já é opção de Rúben Amorim | Abola.pt". Abola.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Geovany Quenda assina contrato de formação com o Sporting". www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Quenda tem nova oportunidade para estrear-se pelo Sporting e pode bater recorde europeu do clube". www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Rúben Amorim sobre Geovany Quenda: "Tem-se comportado muito bem..."". www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Geovany Quenda é o mais jovem de sempre a jogar no Sporting B". O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ Nóbrega, Diogo (20 February 2024). "HISTÓRICO! GEOVANY QUENDA ATINGE FEITO INACREDITÁVEL EM PLENO SEIXAL; PRODÍGIO DO SPORTING EM GRANDE". Leonino – Onde o Sporting é notícia (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Porto pull off stunning comeback to beat Sporting in seven-goal Super Taça thriller". PortuGOAL. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "Rúben Amorim assume que objetivo do Sporting é "chegar à fase seguinte"". Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ "Sporting blinda Quenda com cláusula de 100 milhões de euros" [Sporting secures Quenda with a release clause of 100 million euros]. Record (in Portuguese). 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
- ^ "Gyökeres mostrou-se à Europa e Debast fez as pazes com as bancadas". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 17 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ "Quenda fez o segundo em Famalicão e tornou-se o mais jovem de sempre a marcar pelo Sporting na Liga". Record (in Portuguese). 26 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ "Quenda é o leão mais jovem de sempre a marcar na Liga Portuguesa". www.zerozero.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ "Rodrigo Mora e Geovany Quenda no onze ideal do Europeu sub-17". Record. 8 June 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ "Um golaço num momento de inspiração de Geovany Quenda". Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Nations League: Trincão, Quenda e Pedro Gonçalves called up to the national team". Público. 30 August 2024.
- ^ "Apuramento para o Europeu 2025 garantido!" (in European Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ Abola.pt (30 January 2024). "Sporting: Geovany Quenda foi desviado do Benfica e já está na mira de Roberto Martínez | Abola.pt". Abola.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ Geovany Quenda at Soccerway
- ^ "UEFA Under-17 EURO final report: Italy 3-0 Portugal". UEFA.com. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament". UEFA.com. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
External links
edit- Geovany Quenda at Soccerway
