João Ricardo da Silva Afonso (born 28 May 1990) is a Portuguese 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 for

S.C.U. Torreense Sport Clube União Torreense is a Portuguese sports club, best known for its association football section, founded in Torres Vedras in 1917, as Sport União Torreense. History It participated six times in the Portuguese Liga (last in 1991–92 ...

as a central defender.

Club career

Vitória Guimarães

Born in Castelo Branco, Afonso started playing with local

Sport Benfica e Castelo Branco Sport Benfica e Castelo Branco, commonly referred to as Benfica e Castelo Branco is a semi-professional football club based in Castelo Branco. Founded on 24 March 1924, the club has traditionally worn a red and white home kit since inception. ...

, after joining its youth system in 2007. He went on to spend several seasons with the club in the lower leagues, also being awarded team captaincy. On 20 June 2014, after being linked with

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Liga. ...

and

Gil Vicente FC Gil Vicente Futebol Clube (), commonly known as Gil Vicente, founded in 1924, is a Portuguese football club that plays in Barcelos. It competes in the Primeira Liga, the top division of football in the country, and it is named after the Portugues ...

, Afonso signed with fellow

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

side Vitória de Guimarães. He made his debut as a professional on 22 August of that year, replacing the injured Moreno midway through the first half of an eventual 3–0 home win against

F.C. Penafiel Futebol Clube de Penafiel ( or ) is a Portuguese Association football, football club founded on 8 February 1951 and based in the city of Penafiel, Portugal, Penafiel. Brief history Penafiel first reached the Portuguese Liga, first division in Po ...

. Afonso joined

G.D. Estoril Praia Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia (), commonly known as Estoril, is a Portuguese sports club from Estoril, Cascais, Lisbon. Founded on 17 May 1939, its football team currently plays in Primeira Liga and hold home games at the Estádio António Coimb ...

also from the top division on 31 August 2016, in a season-long loan deal. The following 9 July, still owned by Vitória, he moved abroad after agreeing to a one-year loan with

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), (from the 2020–21 season onwards competing under the umbrella of Unión Futbolística Cordobesa, S.A.D.) is a Spanish football club based in Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1951 as ...

in the Spanish

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

Santa Clara

In late June 2019, Afonso left the

Estádio D. Afonso Henriques The Estádio D. Afonso Henriques (English: ''D. Afonso Henriques Stadium'') is a football stadium in the city of Guimarães, Portugal. The stadium is home of Guimarães's most successful team, Vitória de Guimarães, presently competing in the to ...

and joined

C.D. Santa Clara Clube Desportivo Santa Clara is a Portuguese football club from Ponta Delgada, Azores. They play in the 13,277-seat Estádio de São Miguel. They are the most successful football team from the Azores Islands as the only team from the archipelag ...

on a three-year contract.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Afonso, Joao 1990 births Living people People from Castelo Branco, Portugal Sportspeople from Castelo Branco District Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Sport Benfica e Castelo Branco players Vitória S.C. players Vitória S.C. B players G.D. Estoril Praia players C.D. Santa Clara players S.C.U. Torreense players Segunda División players Córdoba CF players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain