Zaidu Sanusi (born 13 June 1997) is a Nigerian 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 ...
who plays as a
left-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 ...
for
Primeira Liga club
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
and the
Nigeria national team.
He spent his senior career in Portugal, playing in the
Primeira Liga with
Santa Clara and Porto, winning a league and
Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* ...
with the latter in 2022.
Sanusi made his senior international debut for Nigeria in 2020, and played at the
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
and
2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Club career
Early years and Santa Clara
Born in
Jega, Kebbi, 19-year-old Sanusi signed with
Gil Vicente F.C.
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 ...
of the Portuguese
Primeira Liga in 2016. In January 2017, he was loaned to
third division club
SC Mirandela
Sport Clube de Mirandela ''(Mirandela)'' is a Portuguese football club based in the city of Mirandela, in northeast Portugal (Trás-os-Montes region).
Background
Mirandela currently plays in the Segunda Divisão Zona Norte, which is the third ...
.
Sanusi reached an agreement to join
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 16 March 2019, with the deal being made effective on 1 July. He made his Portuguese top-flight debut on 15 September that year, coming on as a late
substitute in a 2–0 home win against
Moreirense FC
Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, in Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Liga Portugal 2, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joa ...
. He scored his first goal in the competition on 23 June 2020, in a 4–3 away victory over
S.L. Benfica
Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football.
Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...
which marked the
Azoreans' first-ever at the
Estádio da Luz
The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, it ...
.
Porto
On 30 August 2020, Sanusi signed a five-year contract with
FC Porto. He scored his first goal on 25 November, opening a 2–1 win at
Olympique de Marseille in
the group stage of the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
, being named in the tournament's Team of the Week. He won the first trophy of his career on 23 December, when he played the entire
2–0 defeat of Benfica in the
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...
,
and finished his
first year
A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions.
Ar ...
with 41 competitive matches, scoring in the 4–3 league win over
C.D. Tondela.
Sanusi remained first choice in the
2021–22 campaign despite the signing of
Wendell, and scored the only goal in the
93rd minute of ''
O Clássico
O Clássico ("The Classic") is the name given in football to matches between Portuguese clubs S.L. Benfica and FC Porto. Originally, the term ''O Clássico'' only referred to games played in the league, but now tends to include matches that tak ...
'' against Benfica on 7 May 2022 to seal the club's 30th league title.
Fifteen days later, he started and finished the
Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
, defeating Tondela 3–1.
In
2022–23, Sanusi fought for a starting place with the Brazilian. He suffered a muscle injury in a
Champions League group victory against
Atlético Madrid on 1 November, and did not return until February.
International career
Sanusi made his debut for the
Nigeria national team on 9 October 2020, in a 1–0
friendly defeat against
Algeria
)
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, map_caption =
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, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
in
Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...
. He earned his first official
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
the following month, in the 4–4 home draw with
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
for the
2021 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's foo ...
qualifiers. At the finals in Cameroon, the team were eliminated in the
last 16 by
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
; manager
Augustine Eguavoen
Augustine Owen Eguavoen (born 19 August 1965) is a Nigerian football manager and former player who thrice served as manager of the Nigeria national team.
Playing career
Club
During his varied career Eguavoen began his career with ACB Lagos in ...
was criticised for ordering Sanusi and right-back
Ola Aina
Temitayo Olufisayo Olaoluwa Aina (born 8 October 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a wing-back or right back for Serie A club Torino, and the Nigeria national team.
Club career Chelsea Early career
Ola Aina signed for Chelsea as ...
not to attack before they were losing with ten men.
Career statistics
Club
International
[
]
Honours
Porto
* Primeira Liga: 2021–22[
*]Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...
: 2021–22,[ 2022–23
* Taça da Liga: 2022–23
*]Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...
: 2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
,[ ]2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
Nigeria
* Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
Orders
* Member of the Order of the Niger
Nigeria became an independent country on 1 October 1960 and in 1963 became the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Repu ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanusi, Zaidu
1997 births
Living people
Nigerian men's footballers
Footballers from Lagos
Men's association football fullbacks
Primeira Liga players
Campeonato de Portugal (league) players
Gil Vicente F.C. players
SC Mirandela players
C.D. Santa Clara players
FC Porto players
Nigeria men's international footballers
2021 Africa Cup of Nations players
2023 Africa Cup of Nations players
Nigerian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Members of the Order of the Niger