Costinha

Joao Jose Pereira da Costa (born 25 August 1992), known as Costinha, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for C.D. Santa Clara as an attacking midfielder.

Club Career

Born in Coimbra, Costinha finished his youth career at local club Academica de Coimbra. His first season as a senior was split between amateurs Sertanense F.C. and Uniao Desportiva da Tocha.

In January 2014, after one and a half seasons in the Danish 1st Division with FC Fredericia, Costinha returned to his country's lower leagues after signing with Lusitano FCV. He moved straight to the Primeira Liga in summer 2015 after agreeing to a contract at Vitoria de Setubal, making his debut in the latter competition on 16 August in a 2–2 home draw against Boavista F.C. where he played the full 90 minutes and scoring his first goal the following weekend in the 4–0 away victory over Academica.

Costinha played 32 matches in both the 2016–17 and 2017–18 campaigns, scoring once and twice respectively as his team managed to consecutively avoid relegation. On 15 January 2019, he joined fellow league side G.D. Chaves on a two-and-a-half-year deal worth €170,000, as his link at the Estadio do Bonfim was about to expire.