Esmaël Gonçalves facts for kids
Gonçalves with Esteghlal in 2019
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Esmaël Ruti Tavares Cruz da Silva Gonçalves |
||
| Date of birth | 25 June 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Bissau, Guinea-Bissau | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker, winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2008 | Boavista | ||
| 2008–2011 | Nice | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2012 | Nice | 18 | (2) |
| 2012–2015 | Rio Ave | 18 | (1) |
| 2013 | → St Mirren (loan) | 12 | (3) |
| 2013–2014 | → APOEL (loan) | 10 | (3) |
| 2014 | → Veria (loan) | 15 | (2) |
| 2015 | → Anorthosis Famagusta (loan) | 15 | (9) |
| 2015 | Al-Ettifaq | 0 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Anorthosis Famagusta | 33 | (9) |
| 2017–2018 | Heart of Midlothian | 35 | (13) |
| 2018 | Pakhtakor Tashkent | 21 | (16) |
| 2019 | Esteghlal | 13 | (3) |
| 2019–2020 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 9 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Chennaiyin | 16 | (4) |
| 2021–2022 | Sheikh Russel | 8 | (2) |
| 2022–2023 | Livingston | 8 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Raith Rovers (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2007–2008 | Portugal U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2018– | Guinea-Bissau | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 April 2023 | |||
Esmaël Ruti Tavares Cruz da Silva Gonçalves (born on June 25, 1991), also known as Isma, is a professional footballer. He was born in Guinea-Bissau and plays as a striker or winger. He recently left the Scottish club Livingston in September 2023. Isma also plays for the Guinea-Bissau national team.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting in France: Nice
Ismaël Gonçalves was born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. When he was three years old, his family moved to Portugal. He started his football journey at Boavista. After three years there, he moved to France to join Nice. He even had interest from the English club Liverpool before signing with Nice.
Ismaël spent two years in Nice's youth academy. Then, he moved up to the club's reserve team for the 2010–11 season. In January 2011, he was called up to the main senior team. He made his first professional appearance as a substitute in a game against Bordeaux.
On June 30, 2011, Ismaël signed his first professional contract with Nice. He was officially part of the senior team for the 2011–12 season. That season, he scored two goals. One of his most exciting goals was the winning goal in a 4–3 victory against Lyon on May 20, 2012.
Returning to Portugal: Rio Ave
On August 3, 2012, Nice announced that Ismaël would return to Portugal. He joined Rio Ave, a first-division club. Ismaël wanted to be closer to his family, which was why he chose to join this club.
Loan to St Mirren
On January 22, 2013, Ismaël joined the Scottish Premier League club St Mirren on a loan deal. This loan lasted until the end of the 2012–13 season. He famously told a local newspaper that he could be "the next Drogba," referring to the famous striker Didier Drogba.
Ismaël scored his first goal for St Mirren in his very first game. It was in the Scottish League Cup semi-final against Celtic, helping his team win 3–2. A few days later, he played his first Scottish Premier League game. He scored in a 2–1 win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. He also scored two goals in his first Scottish Cup game, leading to a 2–0 victory over St Johnstone.
On March 17, 2013, Ismaël played in the Scottish League Cup final against Hearts. He scored the goal that tied the game and helped his team win 3–2. This was St Mirren's first major trophy since 1987. After scoring, he lifted his jersey to show a message: "Forca Fábio Faria," dedicating the goal to a player whose career ended due to a heart condition. He received a two-match ban from the SFA after a review of a play during a match. Ismaël later said he would be happy to return to St Mirren in the future.
Loan to APOEL
On July 3, 2013, Ismaël moved to the Cypriot team APOEL on a season-long loan. He scored in his first game for APOEL against NK Maribor on July 31. This was during a qualifying round for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League. On October 24, he scored a goal against Bordeaux in a UEFA Europa League group stage match. He scored his first league goals for APOEL on December 2, getting a hat-trick in a 5–0 win against AEK Kouklia. His contract with APOEL ended by mutual agreement on December 31.
Loan to Veria
On January 14, 2014, Veria signed Ismaël on a one-year loan deal. He scored his first goal in the Superleague while playing for Veria.
Joining Heart of Midlothian
After playing in Cyprus for Anorthosis, Ismaël signed with the Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian in January 2017. Hearts paid about £170,000 to sign him. He made his debut on February 1 in a 4–1 win against Rangers. Ismaël scored 15 goals in 42 games for Hearts. In January 2018, he was sold to Pakhtakor Tashkent for £350,000.
Playing in Asia
Ismaël Gonçalves joined the Uzbek club Pakhtakor Tashkent in January 2018.
On January 26, 2019, Ismaël moved to Esteghlal in Iran, signing an 18-month contract. He was given the number 20 shirt. He made his debut for the club on February 7 in a 4–0 win against Paykan. He came on as a substitute in the 81st minute and scored his first goal for Esteghlal just two minutes later. On June 1, Esteghlal announced that Ismaël's contract was ended by mutual agreement.
In September 2019, Ismaël signed with the Japanese club Matsumoto Yamaga. He made his debut for the Japanese team on November 23 as a substitute.
On October 11, 2020, Ismaël joined the Indian Super League club Chennaiyin FC on a one-year contract. He made his debut for Chennaiyin FC on November 24, 2020, in the very first match of the season. He scored a key penalty goal in the 26th minute, helping Chennaiyin win 2–1 against Jamshedpur.
Ismaël then spent a season with Bangladesh Premier League side Sheikh Russel KC.
Return to Scotland: Livingston
On May 31, 2022, Ismaël Gonçalves returned to Scotland. He signed a two-year deal with the Scottish Premiership team Livingston. On February 11, 2023, he was loaned to the Championship club Raith Rovers. Later that same day, he scored in a Scottish Cup game against Motherwell.
On September 1, 2023, Ismaël was released by Livingston. Both sides agreed to end his contract early. He did not score any goals for the club during his time there.
International Career
Even though Ismaël was born in Guinea-Bissau, he is also a citizen of Portugal. He has played for Portugal's under-17 team. In 2010, he was called up to the Portugal under-20 team for training. This was to prepare for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
He earned one cap, or appearance, for the Guinea-Bissau national team on March 22, 2018. He started in a friendly match against Burkina Faso, which Guinea-Bissau lost 2–0.
Career Statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nice | 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 18 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 3 | ||||
| Rio Ave | 2012–13 | Primeira Liga | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 21 | 4 | |||
| Total | 18 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 29 | 4 | |||
| St Mirren (loan) | 2012–13 | Scottish Premier League | 12 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 16 | 8 | ||
| APOEL (loan) | 2013–14 | Cypriot First Division | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 5 | |
| Veria (loan) | 2013–14 | Super League Greece | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 2 | |||
| Anorthosis Famagusta (loan) | 2014–15 | Cypriot First Division | 15 | 9 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 18 | 11 | |||
| Al-Ettifaq (loan) | 2015–16 | Saudi Pro League | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 | ||
| Anorthosis Famagusta | 2015–16 | Cypriot First Division | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 21 | 10 | |||||
| Total | 33 | 9 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 36 | 11 | |||||
| Heart of Midlothian | 2016–17 | Scottish Premiership | 15 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 8 | ||
| 2017–18 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 25 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 35 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 42 | 15 | ||||
| Pakhtakor Tashkent | 2018 | Uzbekistan Super League | 21 | 12 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 10 | 4 | 35 | 18 | ||
| Esteghlal | 2018–19 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 18 | 3 | ||
| Matsumoto Yamaga | 2019 | J1 League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | J2 League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Total | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Chennaiyin | 2020–21 | Indian Super League | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 4 | |||
| Sheikh Russel | 2021–22 | Bangladesh Premier League | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 2 | |||
| Livingston | 2022–23 | Scottish Premiership | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Raith Rovers (loan) | 2022–23 | Scottish Championship | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 236 | 64 | 24 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 301 | 85 | ||
Honours and Awards
Team Trophies
- St Mirren
- Scottish League Cup: 2012–13
- APOEL
- Cypriot Super Cup: 2013
Individual Awards
- Uzbekistan Super League top goalscorer: 2018
See also
In Spanish: Esmael Gonçalves para niños
