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José Maria Pinto Sousa Ribeiro Cunha (born 27 March 2001), known as José Cunha, José da Cunha, or Zé Maria, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a defender for the Des Moines Menace in USL League Two.

Early life

Cunha began playing at age three. He joined the famed Sporting CP Youth Academy, before moving on to the youth system of G.D. Estoril Praia, where he captained the U17 and U19 teams. He briefly played for Union FC in Bradford, Ontario in 2018 during their 2018 NCAA March Break Tour, where they played against NCAA college teams Akron, Maryland, and Georgetown.

University career

Cunha had initially attended the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa in Portugal, while playing in the top division U19 division in Portugal, but decided to send game tapes to universities in Canada and the United States. He made the decision to come to North America, as he wanted to pursue education and football simultaneously, which was not really viable to do in Portugal. Cape Breton University in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada became interested in him and he decided to attend there and play for their Capers soccer team beginning in the 2020-21 year. However, he was unable to make his debut for the Capers due to the season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He made his debut on 11 September 2021 against the Saint Mary's Huskies. He scored his first goal on 23 October against the Mount Allison Mounties, scoring the first goal in a 10-0 victory. In 2021, he was named the AUS Rookie of the Year and was named an AUS First-team All-Star, was named to the national U Sports All-Rookie Team, during the Capers' AUS Championship winning season, progressing to the National Championships where they won the bronze medal. In 2023, he was again named an AUS First Team All-Star.

Club career

In 2020, Cunha began playing for Estoril Praia's B team in the district league, fifth tier.

At the 2021 CPL-U Sports Draft, he was selected ninth overall by Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League, but did not ultimately sign with them for the 2021 season.

At the 2022 CPL-U Sports Draft, he was selected first overall by Atlético Ottawa, with the pick being announced by Atlético Madrid and Portugal national team player João Félix. On April 1, he signed a Canadian Premier League developmental contract with Atlético Ottawa. He made his professional debut on 24 April against Valour FC. He left the club in early August to return to university, as part of his developmental contract.

Honours

Atlético Ottawa

• Canadian Premier League Regular season title: 2022

Career statistics

As of 8 May 2024

1. Appearances in the AF Lisboa Taça

References

1. Jacques, John (19 January 2021). "2021 CPL-U SPORTS Draft Roundup". Northern Tribune.
2. Matthias, Dylan (1 February 2021). "The Pandemic Draft: CanPL teams mostly punt on 2020 USPORTS picks". The Merchant Sailor.
3. "Capers add Portuguese Defender da Cunha". CBU Capers. 6 April 2020.
4. "Former Player Drafted to CPL Club Forge FC". Union FC. 31 January 2021.
5. "'Draft' da Liga canadiana leva José Maria Cunha a provar-se ao campeão Forge FC" ['Draft' of the Canadian League leads José Maria Cunha to prove himself to the champion Forge FC]. Sapo (in Portuguese). 5 February 2021.
6. ^ Fraser, Jeremy (30 January 2021). "Cape Breton Capers' Portuguese defender drafted by Forge FC in Canadian Premier League-U Sports Draft". Cape Breton Post.
7. ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (20 January 2022). "CPL-U SPORTS Draft: Cunha 'can't wait to get started' with Atlético Ottawa after 1st overall selection". Canadian Premier League.
8. "Jose Maria Ribeiro de Cunha CBU Profile". CBU Capers.
9. "Capers trounce Mounties in AUS men's soccer action". CBU Capers. 23 October 2022.
10. Fraser, Jeremy (4 November 2021). "Cape Breton Capers' Waters, de Cunha take home top AUS awards". SaltWire Network.
11. Fraser, Jeremy (18 November 2021). "Cape Breton Capers' Waters, Bauld, Coore, and de Cunha named to All-Canadian soccer teams". SaltWire Network.
12. "Three of top four CPL-U Sports picks drafted out of Cape Breton University". North Atlantic Gameday. 20 January 2022.
13. LeBlanc, Corey (28 October 2023). "CBU foursome named AUS first-team all-stars, Midfielder Jason Hartill receives second-team nod". CBU Capers.
14. ^ "José Maria". Zero Zero.
15. Urciuoli, Anthony (29 January 2021). "Forge FC Hamilton get defensive in 2021 CPL university draft". QuickBite News.
16. "Atlético Ottawa selects Cunha, Bruce in 2022 CPL-U SPORTS Draft". Atlético Ottawa. 20 January 2022.
17. Veth, Manuel (1 April 2022). "Atlético Ottawa have signed José Cunha - Was selected in CPL-U Sports Draft". Transfermarkt.
18. "2022 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: View all 16 picks here". Canadian Premier League. 20 January 2022.
19. "Atlético Ottawa signs first overall CPL-U SPORTS draft pick José Cunha". CityNews. 1 April 2022.
20. "Atleti Inks 1st Overall Draft Pick José Cunha". Atlético Ottawa. 1 April 2022.
21. Coffey, Richard (24 April 2022). "CPL: Atlético Ottawa fall back to earth with blowout loss to Valour FC". 49 Sports.
22. Jacques, John (7 August 2022). "Jose Cunha Returns To Capers". Northern Tribune.
23. José Maria Ribeiro da Cunha at Soccerway
24. "USL2 Statistics". USL League Two.

External links

• CBU Capers profile
• Zé Maria Stats at ZeroZero
• José Maria Ribeiro da Cunha at Soccerway
• José Maria Ribeiro da Cunha club profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)

• 2001 births
• Living people
• Footballers from Cascais
• Men's association football defenders
• Portuguese men's footballers
• Portuguese expatriate men's footballers
• Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada
• Canadian Premier League first-overall draft picks
• Canadian Premier League players
• Forge FC draft picks
• G.D. Estoril Praia players
• CBU Capers men's soccer players
• Atlético Ottawa players
• Atlético Ottawa draft picks
• USL League Two players
• Des Moines Menace players
• 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen