Costa Nhamoinesu (born 6 January 1986) is a

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

an professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He started his senior career with Masvingo United. In 2008, he moved to Poland joining lower-league club KS Wisła Ustronianka on a half-year loan. He switched to

Zagłębie Lubin Zagłębie Lubin S.A. () is a Polish professional football club based in Lubin. Founded in 1945 as ''OMTUR Lubin'', the club competes in the Ekstraklasa. History The football team was founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin by local members of the ''Yo ...

on a two-year loan before signing permanently for Zagłębie Lubin in 2010. In 2013 he signed for Sparta Prague. After spending seven years there, he left the club in 2020 and joined

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

club

Kerala Blasters FC Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established ...

Early life

Costa was born in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

and was raised both in the city by his parents, and in the countryside with his grandparents. His parents' home did not have enough room for him to live there permanently, however, so he was forced to stay with friends and other relatives around the city. While at middle school he started playing football for a club which paid his education fees and accommodation.

Club career

Early career

While playing in the Zimbabwean first league for Masvingo United, Nhamoinesu was spotted by an agent who sent him to Poland, where he began playing for 5th division amateur side KS Wisła Ustroniaka.

Zagłębie Lubin

In July 2008, he joined

on loan, before signing permanently in 2010. While at Lubin, he became one of the most highly rated left-backs in the Polish league.

Sparta Prague

In 2013, seeking an exit from Poland, he signed a deal with Czech side AC Sparta Prague. He had also received offers from Russia, Germany and Turkey. He made his league debut for Sparta Prague on 21 July 2013 in a 4–1 away victory over

Vysočina Jihlava Vysočina, meaning "highlands" in Czech, may refer to places in the Czech Republic: *Vysočina Region, a region *Vysočina (Chrudim District), a municipality in the Pardubice Region *Bohemian-Moravian Highlands or , a range of hills and low mountai ...

. His first league goal for the club came on 31 August 2013 in a 4–1 home win over

Baník Ostrava ''Baník'' is a Slovak word meaning "miner". Since the 1950s it has been part of the name of various sports clubs in Czechoslovakia associated mostly with coal mining regions. In Poland, the same practice was conducted with the name ''górnik''. ...

. The goal, scored in the 64th minute, made up for the own goal that he had scored in the 26th. In July 2020, it was announced Nhamoinesu would leave the club after the club had decided not to renew the contract of the 34-year-old. He spent seven years with Sparta Prague. He was the first African player to captain the Czech side.

Kerala Blasters

On 10 October 2020, it was officially announced that Nhamoinesu joined the

side

on a one-year deal. By signing for the Blasters, he became the first

player to represent the club. On 18 November 2020, he was appointed as one of the captain ahead of the club's new season. He made his debut for the Blasters on 20 November 2020 in match against

ATK Mohun Bagan ATK Mohun Bagan FC () is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competes in Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club, which was formed as a merger between the football section of m ...

where the Blasters suffered a 1–0 loss. On 10 January 2021, he scored his first goal for the club against

Jamshedpur FC Jamshedpur Football Club (, ) is an Indian professional football club based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian Football. Founded in 2017, the club debuted in Indian Super League during t ...

in which Blasters won 3–2. On 11 June, Nhamoinesu's exit from the club was announced.

TS Podbeskidzie

In July 2021, Nhamoinesu joined the

Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała TS Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała () is a football club based in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. They currently compete in the I liga, the second tier of Polish football. History The club was essentially founded on 11 July 1997, although it can trace i ...

in the I liga. He left the club on 24 January 2022, citing personal reasons.

International career

Nhamoinesu represented the Zimbabwe national team, for whom he made 11 appearances. On 20 October 2012, he was among those exonerated from a lifetime ban imposed on many Zimbabwean internationals for match fixing. Nhamoinesu scored his first goal for Zimbabwe on 28 March 2016 against

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Zimbabwe's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nhamoinesu goal''.

Honours

Masvingo United *

Zimbabwean Independence Trophy The Zimbabwean Independence Trophy is a Zimbabwean association football knockout tournament. It was created as a clubs competition in 1983 played during commemorations of the country's independence. The final is usually played on 18 April, which is ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Sparta Prague * Czech First League: 2013–14 * Czech Cup: 2013–14, 2019–20 *

Czech Supercup The Czech Supercup () was an annual football match between the winners of the Czech First League and the Czech Cup, organised by the Czech Football Association. It was last sponsored by Synot Tip and was therefore officially known as the Synot Tip ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nhamoinesu, Costa 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Harare Zimbabwean footballers Men's association football defenders Zimbabwe international footballers 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players Amazulu F.C. (Zimbabwe) players Masvingo United F.C. players Zagłębie Lubin players AC Sparta Prague players Kerala Blasters FC players Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała players Czech First League players Ekstraklasa players I liga players Zimbabwean expatriate footballers Zimbabwean expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate footballers in Poland Zimbabwean expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Expatriate footballers in the Czech Republic Expatriate footballers in India