Irene Maria Duarte Gonçalves (born 11 December 1984) is an Angolan retired
[ ]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 lea ...
who played as a forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
*Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Smal ...
. Nicknamed ''Diva Demolidora'' (''Destroyer Diva'') or simply ''Demolidora'' (''Destroyer''),[ she is the historical top goalscorer of the Angola women's national team, which she has also captained.
]
Club career
Gonçalves has captained the women's team of Progresso Associação do Sambizanga
Progresso Associação do Sambizanga is an Angolan football club based in Luanda. The club was founded in 1975, as a result of a merger of three clubs: Juventude Unida do Bairro Alfredo (JUBA), Juventista and Vaza.
Progresso do Sambizanga is not ...
.[ which many people consider a world record in women's football,][ but it is not internationally recognized.][
]
International career
Gonçalves capped for Angola at senior level during the 2002 African Women's Championship
The 2002 African Women's Championship was the 5th edition of the biennial African women's association football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football. It took place in Nigeria between 7 and 20 December 2002.
This edition ...
and the 2010 African Women's Championship qualification (preliminary round
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
).[
]
International goals
''Scores and results list Angola's goal tally first''
Retirement
In March 2012, Gonçalves announced her retirement from football.[
]
Personal life
Gonçalves is a Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.[
]
References
1984 births
Living people
Footballers from Luanda
Angolan women's footballers
21st-century Angolan sportswomen
Women's association football forwards
Progresso Associação do Sambizanga players
Angola women's international footballers
Angolan Roman Catholics
{{Angola-women-footy-bio-stub