Carlos Miguel Pereira Fernandes (born 9 January 1991), better known as just Cuca, is a

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 ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

for

Liga Portugal 2 The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier Pri ...

club

União de Leiria União Desportiva de Leiria, commonly known as União de Leiria (), is a Portuguese football club based in Leiria, central Portugal. Founded on 6 June 1966, it currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, holding home matches at Estádio Dr. ...

. Born in Portugal, he plays for the Cape Verde national team.

Professional career

A youth product of Oeiras, Cuca began his career with the club in 2009, and had stints thereafter with 1º Dezembro,

Omonia Aradippou Omonia Aradippou () is a Cypriot professional football club based in Aradippou, a settlement on the outskirts of the city of Larnaca. The club was founded on 4 April 1929 and currently, they compete in the Cypriot Second Division. They have co ...

, and Felgueiras. On 6 July 2018, he transferred to

Mafra Mafra is a Czech media group that publishes printed and internet media, headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. It is a subsidiary of Agrofert holding conglomerate owned by trust of Andrej Babiš, the former Prime Minister of the Czech Repu ...

. Cuca made his professional debut with Mafra in a 4–1

win over

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has h ...

on 23 September 2018. On 18 June 2021, Cuca signed for Liga Portugal 2 side

Casa Pia :''This article refers to the institution. For the child abuse scandal, see Casa Pia child sexual abuse scandal.'' The Casa Pia is a Portuguese institution founded by Maria I, known as ''A Pia'' ("Mary the Pious"), and organized by Police Intendan ...

. On his first season, the club achieved promotion to the Primeira Liga for the first time in 83 years. On 11 August 2023, Cuca returned to Liga Portugal 2, signing a one-year contract with recently-promoted side

International career

Born in Portugal, Cuca is of Cape Verdean descent. He was called up to the Cape Verde national team for a pair of friendlies in June 2021. He debuted with the Cape Verde national team in a friendly 2–0 loss to

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

on 8 June 2021.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuca 1991 births Footballers from Lisbon Portuguese people of Cape Verdean descent Living people Portuguese men's footballers Cape Verdean men's footballers Cape Verde men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders AD Oeiras players S.U. 1º Dezembro players Omonia Aradippou players F.C. Felgueiras 1932 players C.D. Mafra players Casa Pia A.C. players U.D. Leiria players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Campeonato de Portugal (league) players Cypriot Second Division players Cape Verdean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players