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João Gamboa
João Pedro da Costa Gamboa (born 31 August 1996) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ekstraklasa club Pogoń Szczecin. Club careerBorn in Póvoa de Varzim, Gamboa was on the books of local clubs Rio Ave F.C. and Varzim S.C. as a youth, also having a year with S.L. Benfica. In 2014 he made his senior debut with Varzim's reserve team in the Porto Football Association's first division, and a sole first-team appearance in the third tier on 23 March in a 0–1 home loss against F.C. Tirsense.[2] Later in 2014, Gamboa signed for S.C. Braga, still as a junior. He made his professional debut for the reserves in the Segunda Liga on 19 April 2015 as an 80th-minute substitute for Nuno Valente, in a 1–0 away victory over S.C. Olhanense.[3] On 23 May, in the last Primeira Liga round of the season, he played his first competitive match for the main squad as they won 5–0 at home to Vitória de Setúbal; he featured the last 15 minutes in place of Eder.[4] Gamboa was a regular for Braga's reserves the following campaign, scoring his first goal on 17 February 2016 to win 2–1 at home to S.C. Farense.[5] On 29 June that year, he signed a five-year contract at fellow top-flight club C.S. Marítimo with teammate Rodrigo Pinho also making the move; several other players had already transferred in the opposite direction.[6] On 21 October 2017, Gamboa scored his first goal in the top tier to give Marítimo the lead at Setúbal, who came back to win 3–1.[7] He was also sent off twice that season in away fixtures against Big Three teams: a second yellow card in the 39th minute of a 3–1 defeat at Porto,[8] and a straight red card the following 3 March in a 5–0 loss to Benfica.[9] Gamboa spent 2019–20 on loan at G.D. Chaves in division two.[10] At its conclusion, he signed for two years at G.D. Estoril Praia in the same competition.[11] He scored six goals from 32 games in his first season for the champions, with the subsequent promotion.[12][13] Gamboa moved abroad for the first time aged 25, joining Oud-Heverlee Leuven of the Belgian Pro League on a three-year contract.[14] In the 2023 January transfer window, he returned to his previous club on loan.[15] International careerGamboa represented Portugal at under-20 level, appearing in the 2016 Toulon Tournament.[16][17][18] He won his only cap for the under-21 team on 10 October 2017, in a 3–1 away loss against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2019 UEFA European Championship qualifiers.[19] Personal lifeGamboa's father Jorge was also a professional footballer who played as a winger. He too represented Braga.[20][4] HonoursEstoril References
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