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

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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

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

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. 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

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; 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 *

: 2021–22, 2022–23 * Taça da Liga: 2022–23 *

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 *

Order_of_the_Niger_civil_division_ribbon

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