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Pedro Gonçalves

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Portuguese footballer (born 1998)

This article is about the footballer. For other people with the same name, see Pedro Gonçalves (disambiguation). In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Pereira and the second or paternal family name is Gonçalves.
Pedro Gonçalves
Gonçalves in 2024
Personal information
Full name Pedro António Pereira Gonçalves
Date of birth (1998-06-28) 28 June 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Vidago, Portugal
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team Sporting CP
Number 8
Youth career
2006–2008 Vidago
2008–2010 Chaves
2010–2015 Braga
2015–2017 Valencia
2017–2018 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 (0)
2019–2020 Famalicão 33 (5)
2020– Sporting CP 132 (61)
International career
2016 Portugal U18 2 (0)
2018 Portugal U20 2 (0)
2020–2021 Portugal U21 8 (2)
2021– Portugal 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 September 2024

Pedro António Pereira Gonçalves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾu ɣõˈsalvɨʃ]; born 28 June 1998), known as Pedro Gonçalves or Pote, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Portugal national team.

Gonçalves started his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers, before signing for newly promoted Primeira Liga side Famalicão in 2019. Following an impressive season, in which he was named Primeira Liga's Best Young Player of the Year in 2020, Gonçalves signed for fellow Primeira Liga side Sporting CP. There, Gonçalves adapted his game from a central midfielder to an attacking midfielder, netting 23 goals in 32 league games, being awarded the Bola de Prata, helping Sporting win a double of the Primeira Liga and Taça da Liga, while also being named in the Primeira Liga's Team of the Year and the Best Young Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.

Gonçalves is a former Portugal youth international, representing his country at under-18, under-20 and under-21 levels. He made his senior international debut in 2021, being chosen in Portugal's squad for the UEFA Euro 2020.

Early life

Born in the village of Vidago, a spa town in Chaves, Vila Real District, Gonçalves' father died a month after his birth. He started his career at Vidago at the age of 8, where his mother worked as the kit provider. He was integrated into the club's youth team by vice president José Sousa, after being a regular presence around the premises. Due to being chubby and short during his childhood, he earned the nickname "Potinho" and later "Pote".

Club career

Early career

Following his performances in Vidago, Gonçalves caught the attention of his hometown club G.D. Chaves, joining the club's youth system at the age of 11. Two years later, he was taken to S.C. Braga by Jorge Pires, whose father was a friend of Pedro's father, usually travelling one hour for each training session.

After passing his trial aged 13, Gonçalves moved to the city of Braga, living in the house of a lady with two other teammates. He stayed in the youth system for five years, but left the club following the departure of his manager Agostinho Oliveira, whose contract was not renewed. Upon learning of the situation, Valencia's coach Nuno Espírito Santo offered him a professional contract, integrating him into the club's youth teams, with Pedro easily adapting to his new life in Spain and becoming club captain.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In July 2017, Gonçalves signed a two-year contract with English club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He made his only competitive appearance for the first team on 28 August 2018, in a 2–0 away win against Sheffield Wednesday in the second round of the EFL Cup, coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute for Elliot Watt.

Famalicão

Gonçalves returned to Portugal on 2 July 2019, joining newly promoted Famalicão on a five-year deal, citing homesickness during his time in England, as one of the reasons for his transfer. He made his Primeira Liga debut on 10 August, playing the entire 2–0 victory at Santa Clara. His first goal was scored one month later, helping the hosts beat Paços de Ferreira in a 4–2 victory. During his spell at the Estádio Municipal 22 de Junho, Gonçalves established himself as a regular at midfield and made a significant contribution to the team's strong start to the season, becoming club captain in January 2020, scoring seven times and providing eight assists in all competitions from 40 appearances, helping the club to a record sixth-place finish in the league. Following his good performance for Famalicão, during the season, he was named the Primeira Liga's Best Young Player of the Year.

Sporting CP

2020–21: First Primeira Liga title and league top scorer

On 18 August 2020, Gonçalves signed a five-year contract with Sporting CP of the same league, for a fee of €6.5 million for half of his economic rights. On 1 October, he made his debut for the club in a 4–1 home loss against LASK in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League, as a 67th-minute substitute for Luciano Vietto. With two goals in a 4–0 win over Tondela on 1 November, he reached five goals in his first six league games, second-best in the league. On 5 December, he scored and was sent off in a 2–2 draw at his previous club; this was his tenth goal over six consecutive matches.

On 15 May 2021, Gonçalves scored two goals in a 4–3 away loss against Benfica in the Lisbon derby, marking the first and only defeat for Sporting in the league. Four days later, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 home thrashing of Marítimo, taking his tally up to 23 goals, finishing as the top scorer in the league, being awarded the Bola de Prata, while also surpassing Benfica's Haris Seferovic by one goal to win the individual accolade and becoming the first national player since Domingos Paciência in 1996 to do so. On 8 July, Gonçalves was awarded the Primeira Liga's Young Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.

2021–22: Second Taça da Liga and loss in form

On 31 July, Gonçalves scored a goal in the 2–1 defeat of Braga in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, and was named man of the match. From 6 August until 14 August, he scored three goals in two consecutive league matches in a 3–0 home victory over against newly promoted side Vizela, and in a 2–1 away victory against Braga, leading him to be named the Primeira Liga's Midfielder of the Month in August. At the end of the month, he injured his left foot, causing him to be sidelined for almost two months. On 29 October, he agreed to a contract extension, tying him to the club until 2026 and increasing his buyout clause from €60 million to €80 million.

On 3 November, he scored his first two UEFA Champions League goals in a 4–0 home group stage victory against Beşiktaş, and was named man of the match. He repeated the feat three weeks later in a 3–1 win against Borussia Dortmund, ensuring the team's qualification to the round of sixteen for the first time since the 2008–09 season. In doing so, he became the second Portuguese player after Cristiano Ronaldo to score two or more in consecutive Champions League matches.

His second season would be marked by continuous injuries resulted in Gonçalves performances declining, finishing the season appearing in 31 games, scoring 14 goals and providing 7 assists, which resulted in him being the highest contributor of his team that season.

2022–23: Regained form and Primeira Liga's top assist provider

Gonçalves started the season by scoring in a 3–3 away draw to Braga on 7 August, followed by a brace against Rio Ave a week later. He quickly regained his form from last season, scoring three goals and providing three assists in September, despite his team poor run of form, sometimes filling as a number 8, when his teammates were sidelined with an injury.

On 16 March 2023, he scored an equalizer from almost half-way pitch in a 1–1 away draw against Arsenal, with his team progressing to the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, beating by penalty shootout after a 3–3 aggregate score in London. Gonçalves' goal was later considered the Best Goal of the 2022–23 edition of the competition. He ended the season as the club's top scorer with 20 goals, and the Primeira Liga's top assist provider with 11 assists in total.

2023–24: Second league title

Ahead of the 2023–24 season, Sporting handed Gonçalves the number 8 shirt, who had previously belonged to Matheus Nunes and Bruno Fernandes. Sporting also acquired 40 of the 50% of Gonçalves' economic still held by Famalicão, for a fee of €7.7 million. On 19 December, he closed the 2–0 league victory at home to rivals Porto, netting his first goal against the opposition and as a result allowing his side to overtake rivals Benfica at the top of the Primeira Liga table. Over the following months, Gonçalves formed an attacking trio with Francisco Trincão and striker Viktor Gyökeres, that led Sporting mathematically securing their 20th Primeira Liga title, following Benfica's defeat to Famalicão on 5 May, with Gonçalves registering 12 assists, finishing as the league's top assist provider for the second consecutive season.

International career

Youth

Gonçalves began his international career with under-18 level in 2016. In March 2018, he was called up to the under-20 level to play two friendlies, against the Germany and England.

He earned his first cap for Portugal at under-21 level on 4 September 2020, in a 4–0 win in Cyprus for the 2021 UEFA European Championship qualifiers. On 13 October, in another away fixture for the same competition, he scored twice against Gibraltar in a 3–0 away victory.

On 15 March 2021, Gonçalves was selected by Rui Jorge for his 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squad.

Senior

Having already participated in the first stage of the under-21 finals, in May 2021 Gonçalves was selected by Fernando Santos for his UEFA Euro 2020 squad due to the delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He made his full debut the following 4 June, playing the second half of the 0–0 friendly draw with Spain in Madrid. Gonçalves ended up not playing for Portugal in the Euro 2020 in an eventual round-of-16 exit.

In October 2022, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but did not make the final cut.

Style of play

During his time with Famalicão, Gonçalves played predominantly as a central midfielder at a deeper position. Under manager Rúben Amorim at Sporting CP, Gonçalves was deployed as an attacking midfielder or a right winger in the team's 3–4–2–1 or 3–4–3 formations, during which, he is allowed the freedom to fluidly move, coming infield to get close to the central striker or pulling off to the edge of the box. Gonçalves also has good ball control and balance, which allows him to roam around the attacking areas of the pitch. While playing as a false 9, Gonçalves contributes to the possession of his team dropping deep to pick up possession and when receiving the ball in these half-spaces, his spatial awareness allows him to reliably transfer the ball to a dangerous area of the pitch.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 10 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2017–18 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
2018–19 Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 — — 1 0
Total 0 0 0 0 1 0 — — 1 0
Famalicão 2019–20 Primeira Liga 33 5 6 2 1 0 — — 40 7
Sporting CP 2020–21 Primeira Liga 32 23 1 0 3 0 1 0 — 37 23
2021–22 Primeira Liga 27 8 4 2 4 0 5 4 1 1 41 15
2022–23 Primeira Liga 33 15 1 0 6 2 11 3 — 51 20
2023–24 Primeira Liga 32 11 5 4 3 0 9 3 — 49 18
2024–25 Primeira Liga 8 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 1 12 5
Total 132 61 11 6 16 2 29 10 2 2 190 81
Career total 165 66 17 8 18 2 29 10 2 2 231 88
  1. Includes Taça de Portugal
  2. Includes EFL Cup, Taça da Liga
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  6. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 5 September 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Portugal 2021 2 0
2024 1 0
Total 3 0

Honours

Sporting CP

Individual

Notes

  1. In isolation, Gonçalves is pronounced [ɡõˈsalvɨʃ].

References

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  2. ^ Rodrigues, Vasco (4 June 2020). "Pedro Gonçalves, o "Pote" que roubou o ouro ao Porto" [Pedro Gonçalves, the "Pot" who stole Porto's gold] (in Portuguese). TSF. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  3. Vaza, Marco (4 November 2020). "Pedro Gonçalves, um craque de impacto imediato" [Pedro Gonçalves, an ace with an immediate impact]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  4. ^ da Cunha, Pedro Jorge (4 December 2020). "Pedro Gonçalves: o filho da Maria roupeira que fez sete golos ao irmão" [Pedro Gonçalves: Maria the Kit Lady's son who scored seven goals past his brother] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  5. Aresta, Luís; Soares da Silva, Eduardo (13 August 2020). "Primeiro mestre de Pedro Gonçalves aprova Sporting e recorda "os primeiros apertos"" [Pedro Gonçalves' first teacher approves of Sporting and remembers "the first difficulties"] (in Portuguese). Rádio Renascença. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  6. Spiers, Tim (18 July 2017). "Wolves snap up two Portuguese youngsters". Express & Star. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  7. "Sheffield Wednesday 0–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
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  19. ^ "Sporting é campeão de Portugal ao fim de 19 anos" [Sporting are champions of Portugal after 19 years] (in Portuguese). UEFA. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Pedro Gonçalves ultrapassa Seferovic e é o melhor marcador do campeonato" [Pedro Gonçalves surpasses Seferovic and is the league's top scorer]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
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  22. "Sporting vence Braga de virada e conquista Supertaça de Portugal" [Sporting beat Braga with comeback and win Portuguese Supercup] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  23. "Pote eleito o melhor médio do mês de agosto na Liga Bwin" [Pote voted best midfielder of the month of August in Liga Bwin]. Record (in Portuguese). 16 September 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  24. "Pedro Gonçalves está recuperado e já tem data de regresso no Sporting" [Pedro Gonçalves is recovering and already has date to return to Sporting] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  25. "Pedro Gonçalves renova contrato e fica com cláusula de 80 milhões" [Pedro Gonçalves renews contract and ends up with release clause of 80 million]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  26. "Sporting goleia Besiktas de novo e embola disputa por segunda vaga do Grupo C" [Sporting thrash Beşiktaş again and open up fight for second place in Group C] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  27. Vasa, Marco (24 November 2021). "Sporting aprendeu a ser feliz na Champions" [Sporting learned to be happy in the Champions]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  28. "Pedro Gonçalves iguala feito de Ronaldo" [Pedro Gonçalves equals Ronaldo's feat]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 24 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  29. "Pedro Gonçalves stretched the rope (Sporting)". A Bola (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  30. "Regresso de Pedro Gonçalves ao meio-campo ganha forma". Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  31. "LSporting stun Arsenal with epic performance in London". PurtuGoal. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  32. "Golo de Pedro Gonçalves ao Arsenal eleito o melhor da Liga Europa" [Pedro Gonçalves' goal against Arsenal chosen as Europa League's best]. Observador (in European Portuguese). 4 June 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  33. "Mais Assistências :: Liga Portugal bwin 2022/23 :: Zerozero.pt".
  34. "Pedro Gonçalves terá novo número na camisola em 2023/24: confira qual" [Pedro Gonçalves will have new shirt number in 2023/4: check which]. www.ojogo.pt (in European Portuguese). 10 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  35. "Sporting divulga números do mercado de transferências" [Sporting discloses transfer market numbers] (in European Portuguese). A Bola. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  36. "Sporting vence FC Porto e passa o Natal na frente. Gyokeres brilhou, Pepe foi expulso" [Sporting beats FC Porto and spends Christmas ahead. Gyokeres shined, Pepe was sent off]. SAPO Desporto (in European Portuguese). 18 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
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  43. "Portugal U21 2–0 England U21". BBC Sport. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  44. "A explicação para a chamada de Pote e o seu posicionamento: "Estão lá quatro mas nenhum igual"" [Explanation for selecting Pote and his positioning: "We have four of them but all are different"]. Record (in Portuguese). 20 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  45. Teles, Gonçalo (4 June 2021). "Preparação sem produção. Portugal e Espanha empatam a zero antes do Euro 2020" [Preparing without producing. Portugal and Spain draw all-nil before Euro 2020] (in Portuguese). TSF. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  46. Fernandes, Mariana (10 June 2021). "Euro 2020 (grupo F). Portugal, o campeão que leva mala, tabaco e qualidade como nunca para só voltar daqui a um mês" [Euro 2020 (group F). Portugal, the champions who take suitcase, cigarettes and talent like never before to return only a month later]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  47. "Belgium 1–0 Portugal: Holders dethroned by Thorgan Hazard". UEFA. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  48. Thanveer, Dakir Mohammed (25 October 2022). "Portugal reportedly name provisional 55-man squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup; Liverpool star receives surprise call up". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  49. "Os 26 convocados de Portugal: Gonçalo Ramos, António Silva, Otávio e Matheus Nunes chamados" [Portugal select 26: Gonçalo Ramos, António Silva, Otávio and Matheus Nunes called] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  50. "Pedro Goncalves: Scout Report". Pythagoras In Boots. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  51. Pedro Gonçalves at Soccerway
  52. "Pote". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  53. Ribeiro, Patrick (23 January 2021). "Sporting battle their way to League Cup glory with victory over Braga". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  54. "Sporting CP win Supertaça with victory over SC Braga". Sporting CP. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  55. "Do melhor jogador ao golo do ano. Confira os vencedores do Kick-Off da Liga". Jornal de Notícias. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  56. "Best of September/October 2020-21: Pedro Gonçalves and Gonçalo Ramos are the highlights of the month". Liga Portugal. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  57. "Do melhor jogador ao golo do ano. Confira os vencedores do Kick-Off da Liga". Jornal de Notícias. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  58. "Presenting the Liga NOS Team of the Year!". Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  59. "Jota Silva fecha o 'Onze do Ano' da Primeira Liga". Sapo Desporto (in Portuguese). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  60. UEFA.com. "The official website for European football". UEFA.com. Retrieved 26 July 2024.

External links

Sporting CP – current squad
Portugal squad – UEFA Euro 2020
Portugal
Awards
Primeira Liga top scorers
Sporting CP Player of the Year (Stromp Award)
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