João Nuno Silva Cardoso Lucas (25 October 1979 – 26 May 2015) was a Portuguese 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 lea ...

who played as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He played in his country for Académica and Boavista, amassing

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

totals of 129 matches and three goals over five seasons. He moved in 2007 to

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

, being forced to retire shortly after at the age of 28 due to heart problems.

Club career

Born in

Caldas da Rainha Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portugal, Portuguese city in the Oeste Subregion, Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura Province (1936–1976), Estremadura, and in the Leiria District, district of Leiria. The city serves a ...

Leiria District The District of Leiria ( ) is a district located between the Oeste e Vale do Tejo and Centro regions of Portugal, and divided between the traditional provinces of Beira Litoral and Estremadura. It borders on the north with district of Coimbra, ...

, Lucas began his career at Académica de Coimbra, making his professional debut during the 1999–2000 season (two matches in the Segunda Liga) and also being loaned twice to amateur clubs, after which he returned to become an important first-team member. In 2004–05, Lucas signed with

Boavista FC Boavista Futebol Clube (), commonly known as Boavista, is a Portuguese professional sports club from the of Porto that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football, at the Estádio do Bessa. It is one of the oldest clubs ...

, where he consistently performed during three

seasons. On 3 February 2006, he scored his only official goal for the northerners, in a 3–0 league home win against

Associação Naval 1º de Maio Associação Naval 1º de Maio or Associação Naval 1893, commonly known as Naval, was a Portuguese Association football, football club based in Figueira da Foz, Coimbra District. Founded on 1 May 1893, it last played in the Division of Honour i ...

. In the 2007 summer

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Lucas joined

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n giants

. However, on 17 March 2008, he announced his decision to stop playing football, as the 28-year-old had heart problems and the doctors told him he would risk his life if he continued playing. "This is the most difficult moment of my life but I have to thank everyone at Red Star who stood by me in the past two months", he told in a news conference.

Death

Lucas died on 26 May 2015 at the age of 35 in his home in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

. He suffered a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Joao 1979 births 2015 deaths People from Caldas da Rainha 20th-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Leiria District Men's association football midfielders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Académica de Coimbra (football) players S.C. Pombal players Anadia F.C. players Boavista F.C. players Serbian SuperLiga players Red Star Belgrade footballers Portugal men's B international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Serbia