Antonio "Kito" Correia (born 22 October 1983) is an

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

n football striker who last played for

Ajax Cape Town Cape Town Spurs F.C. (formerly known as Ajax Cape Town) is a South African professional football club based in Parow in the city of Cape Town that plays in the National First Division. Dutch Eredivisie club AFC Ajax was their parent club and ma ...

Career

Correia left

and the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

for the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and tried to make a career in

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian language, West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch professional association football, football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherla ...

. His family members had been killed in the war. He debuted in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

in April 2003, when he came in as a substitute for

Georgios Samaras Georgios Samaras (, ; born 21 February 1985) is a Greek former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. Samaras started his career at OFI Crete F.C., OFI, before moving on to Erediv ...

. Just after his debut season, he was approached by an agent who told that Benfica was keen to sign him. He was sure that the move was real and didn't show up in Heerenveen for a while. His

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

club decided to end his contract. Benfica didn't sign him and he had to go to play in a lower league for

FC Emmen FC Emmen is a Dutch professional football club based in Emmen, Drenthe. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 1925, the club ...

. He had problems also in Emmen and he decided to back to

, where the war had ended. In 2006, he played for

Primeiro de Agosto Clube Desportivo 1º de Agosto is a multisports club from Luanda, Angola. The club, founded 1 August 1977, is attached to the Angolan armed forces, which is its sponsor. Its main team competes in men's football, and its professional basketball t ...

in the Angolan league. For the season 2008, he was invited for a test period for

FC Inter Turku Football Club International Turku, commonly referred to as Inter Turku () and colloquially known as Inter, is a Finnish professional association football, football club based in Turku that competes in the Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finni ...

where his former teammate

Jos Hooiveld Jos Hooiveld (; born 22 April 1983) is a Dutch retired footballer. Hooiveld is known for his strong physical performances. Born in Zeijen, Drenthe, he started his career with Eredivisie club Heerenveen in 2003, before moving to Eerste Divisi ...

played. He got a two-year contract with the Finnish club. In his first season, he suffered an injury and could play only in 5 matches of the season. His contract expired in December 2009. On 1 September 2011 he signed a two-year contract at

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n outfit

. He was recommended by his former coach

Foppe de Haan Foppe Geert de Haan (, born 26 June 1943) is a Dutch football coach. He is known for his long association with Frisian club Heerenveen. De Haan was the manager of the Tuvalu national team during 2011 and then rejoined Heerenveen's youth prog ...

Career statistics

Honours

Primeiro de Agosto *

Girabola Girabola, or ''Campeonato Nacional de Futebol de Séniores Masculinos'', is the top division of Angolan association football, football. It is organized by the Angolan Football Federation. The term "Girabola" () is a creation of the nationalist, ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Inter Turku *

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

References

External links

Prifile on FCInter.com

Correia's stats on Veikkausliiga.com

Worst Foreign Striker – Antonio ‘Keto’ Correia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Correia, Antonio 1983 births Living people Angolan men's footballers Men's association football forwards Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Veikkausliiga players South African Premier Division players SC Heerenveen players FC Emmen players FC Inter Turku players C.D. Primeiro de Agosto players Cape Town Spurs F.C. players Be Quick '28 players Angolan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa People from Malanje Province Angolan expatriate sportspeople in Finland