João Pedro Lima Santos (born 15 August 1980), known as João Pedro, is a Portuguese

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 plays as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He played 155 matches in the Segunda Liga during seven seasons, scoring a combined eight goals for Leça,

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

and

Penafiel Penafiel ( or ) is a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the Norte Region, Portugal, northern Portugal, Portuguese Porto District, district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion ...

. He added 67 appearances in the

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 ...

, in a 17-year senior career.

Club career

Born in

Vila Nova de Famalicão Vila Nova de Famalicão (), also known as Famalicão, is a Portuguese town in the Braga District and the sub-region of Ave (intermunicipal community), Vale do Ave. The population of ''Vila Nova'' was created in 1205 with the charter given by the K ...

Braga District The district of Braga ( ) is a district in the northwest of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Braga, and it is bordered by the district of Viana do Castelo in the north, Vila Real in the east, Galicia (a Spanish autonomous commu ...

, João Pedro spent the better part of his youth career with

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

. His senior debut occurred in the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, with Leça FC. In the following years, João Pedro alternated between the second and the third levels. From

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

he achieved consecutive promotions with

G.D. Estoril Praia Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia (), commonly known as Estoril, is a Portuguese professional sports club from Estoril, Cascais, Lisbon. Founded on 17 May 1939, its Association football, football team currently plays in Primeira Liga and hold home g ...

, contributing with 69 games and three goals in the process; he played his first match in the

also with that team, in a 0–0 home draw against Rio Ave F.C. on 29 August 2004 where he featured the full 90 minutes. For 2005–06, following his team's

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

, João Pedro signed with Gil Vicente F.C. also in the top tier. He scored once from 28 appearances during the season, again dropping down a level but now due to irregularities. After one year in the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

with

Ethnikos Achna FC Ethnikos Achna Football Club (), commonly known as Ethnikos Achna, or simply Ethnikos, is a Cypriot professional football club based in the village of Dasaki Achnas. Founded in 1968, the club currently plays in the Cypriot First Division. Ethn ...

, João Pedro returned to Barcelos, again promoting to the top flight in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

but failing to play in a single league match during the campaign due to a knee injury. The 33-year-old returned to the second division on 17 June 2013, joining F.C. Penafiel on a one-year contract. Subsequently, João Pedro competed in the lower leagues with former clubs

F.C. Famalicão Futebol Clube de Famalicão, commonly known as Famalicão, is a Portuguese professional association football, football club from Vila Nova de Famalicão. Founded on 21 August 1931, its senior team currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top tie ...

and C.D. Trofense.

Honours

;Estoril * Segunda Liga: 2003–04 *

Portuguese Second Division Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

: 2002–03

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joao Pedro 1980 births Living people Footballers from Vila Nova de Famalicão Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Leça F.C. players C.D. Trofense players F.C. Famalicão players G.D. Estoril Praia players Gil Vicente F.C. players F.C. Penafiel players Cypriot First Division players Ethnikos Achna FC players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen