Rui Fernando da Gracia Gomes (born 28 May 1985), simply known as Rui, 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 le ...

who plays as a centre back. Born and raised in Spain to Cape Verdean parents, he has been naturalized by Equatorial Guinea, whose national team he has represented internationally.

Early life

Rui was born in

Bembibre Bembibre () is a municipality and a city located in the region of El Bierzo, province of León, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2014 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 9,631 inhabitants. The second largest urban settleme ...

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...

to Cape Verdean parents from São Nicolau, who had emigrated to Portugal in the mid-1970s and then to Spain.

Club career

Rui is a product of

CA Bembibre Club Atlético Bembibre is a Spanish football team based in Bembibre, León province, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 1922, it plays in , holding home games at '' Estadio La Devesa'', with a capacity of 2,750 seats. ...

. He has developed most of his club career in his homecountry Spain, also playing in Cyprus and Malta, where he was a two-time Maltese Premier League champion with Hibernians FC.

International career

Rui represented Cape Verde in the 2003 and 2009 editions of ''Mundialito'', a Spanish-based tournament where the participant teams are entirely composed by amateur footballers from the different foreign diasporas in Spain and do not use to be linked to their respective official national teams. He was never contacted by the

Cape Verdean Football Federation The Cape Verdean Football Federation ( pt, Federação Caboverdiana de Futebol, FCF) is the governing body of football in Cape Verde. It was founded in 1982, affiliated to FIFA in 1986 and to CAF in 2000. It organizes the national football leagu ...

to play for the official Cape Verde national team. He also played for the Spanish autonomous team of

. While playing for Spanish club

CF Palencia Club de Fútbol Palencia was a Spanish football team based in Palencia, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 1975 and dissolved in 2012, it held home games at ''Estadio La Nueva Balastera'', with an 8,100-seat capacity. H ...

, Rui was invited by Equatorial Guinean international midfielder

Benjamín Zarandona Benjamín Zarandona Esono (born 2 March 1976), known simply as Benjamín, is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Spain, he represented Equatorial Guinea at international level. He spent most of his professional ...

, who was then his teammate, to become a naturalised citizen of Equatorial Guinea in order to play for its national team. In July 2010, Rui received his first call for the Equatoguinean senior team and to play a friendly match against

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

on 11 August 2010. However, he didn't attend due to injury. Rui's first incursion with

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

on 12 October 2010, when he participated in a friendly lost against

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

by 0–2 in

Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly Santa Isabel) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea and the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko, ( bvb, Etulá, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a p ...

. Rui was part of the squad for the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football ( ...

and the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

, being a first-choice defender for the ''Nzalang Nacional''.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Equatorial Guinea's goal tally first.''

References

External links

* * * 1985 births Living people People from El Bierzo Sportspeople from the Province of León Spanish people of Cape Verdean descent Spanish sportspeople of African descent Spanish footballers Footballers from Castile and León Cape Verdean footballers Naturalized citizens of Equatorial Guinea Equatoguinean footballers Equatorial Guinea international footballers 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Association football central defenders Divisiones Regionales de Fútbol players Tercera División players Segunda División B players Cypriot First Division players Maltese Premier League players Elche CF Ilicitano footballers CF Palencia footballers UD Logroñés players Enosis Neon Paralimni FC players Hibernians F.C. players Spanish expatriate footballers Cape Verdean expatriate footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Malta Expatriate footballers in Malta {{EquatorialGuinea-footy-bio-stub