João Palhinha

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Lobo Alves and the second or paternal family name is Palhinha Gonçalves.

João Maria Lobo Alves Palhares Costa Palhinha Gonçalves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒoˈɐ̃w̃ paˈʎiɲɐ]; born 9 July 1995) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Fulham and the Portugal national team.

João Palhinha

Palhinha with Portugal in 2023
Personal information
Full name	João Maria Lobo Alves Palhares Costa Palhinha Gonçalves^[1]
Date of birth	(1995-07-09) 9 July 1995 (age 28)^[2]
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal^[2]
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)^[2]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Fulham
Number	26
Youth career
2008–2009	Alta de Lisboa
2009–2012	Sacavenense
2012–2014	Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2017	Sporting CP B	21	(1)
2015–2016	→ Moreirense (loan)	29	(0)
2016–2022	Sporting CP	72	(4)
2016–2017	→ Belenenses (loan)	13	(1)
2018–2020	→ Braga (loan)	50	(4)
2022–	Fulham	48	(5)
International career^‡
2013	Portugal U18	2	(0)
2013−2014	Portugal U19	14	(1)
2015	Portugal U20	2	(0)
2021−	Portugal	24	(2)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Portugal UEFA European Under-19 Championship Runner-up 2014 Hungary
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 02:14, 11 December 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:39, 19 November 2023 (UTC)

He came through at Sporting CP, first appearing with the first team in 2017 and also having loans at Moreirense, Belenenses and Braga. After returning in 2020, he became a starter, notably winning the 2020–21 Primeira Liga and back-to-back Taças da Liga in 2021 and 2022. In July 2022, he signed with Fulham for £20 million.

A former Portugal youth international, finishing second at the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Palhinha made his full debut in 2021 and was part of the squads at UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Sporting CP

2012–15: Early career

Born in Lisbon, Palhinha joined local Sporting CP's youth system in 2012, aged 17.^[3] He played his first game as a professional with the B team, coming on as a late substitute for fellow youth graduate Iuri Medeiros in a 3−2 home win against Portimonense in the Segunda Liga, on 3 February 2014;^[4] it was one of only two appearances during the season. Still in the second division, Palhinha scored his first senior goal on 4 April 2015, his header contributing to a 3−1 home victory over Leixões.^[5]

2015–20: Various loans and short return

From July 2015 to January 2017 he was loaned to Primeira Liga clubs Moreirense^[6] and Belenenses, respectively,^[7] making his debut in the competition whilst with the former in a 0−2 home loss to Arouca where he played 22 minutes from the bench,^[8][9] and netting for the first time while at the service of the latter against Vitória de Guimarães (1−1 away draw, 90 minutes played).^[10]

 

Palhinha with Braga in 2019

Subsequently, returning to the Estádio José Alvalade,^[11] Palhinha made his competitive debut with the first team on 21 January 2017, starting in a 2−2 draw at Marítimo.^[12] He scored his first goals for them on 12 October of the same year, netting twice in a 4–2 away win over Oleiros in the Taça de Portugal.^[13]

Palhinha spent the following two seasons on loan to Braga.^[14] He appeared in 76 competitive matches during his spell,^[15] helping to a third-place finish in 2019–20^[16] and notably scoring the game's only goal against Benfica for the club's first win at that opposition in 65 years.^[17]

2020–22: Breakthrough and departure

Having started the 2020–21 campaign training on his own in the midst of negotiations with Al Nassr and CSKA Moscow, Palhinha was eventually reintegrated into Sporting's main squad^[18][19] and ended up contributing 32 appearances for the champions,^[20][21] with a goal in the 2–0 home defeat of Paços de Ferreira;^[22] consequently, he was named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year alongside five of his teammates.^[21]

In 2021–22, still under manager Rúben Amorim, Palhinha began facing stiff competition from newly-signed Manuel Ugarte.^[23][24] He played 95 official games during his spell, scoring seven times.^[25]

Fulham

On 4 July 2022, Palhinha signed a five-year contract with Fulham for £20 million.^[26][27] He made his Premier League debut on 6 August, playing the entire 2–2 home draw against Liverpool.^[28] He scored his first goal 14 days later, helping the hosts to beat Brentford 3–2.^[29] He was his team's Player of the Season with 68% of the votes, to runner-up Bernd Leno's 17%;^[30] he also managed to lead all players in tackles, with a total of 147.^[31]

On 26 August 2023, Palhinha scored a late equaliser in a 2–2 away draw against Arsenal.^[32] On the summer transfer deadline day, he had his medical tests in Germany ahead of a €65 million transfer to Bayern Munich, yet the deal collapsed as Fulham failed to find a replacement before the window shut.^[33] On 14 September, he agreed to a new contract until 2028, with an option to extend a further year.^[34]

International career

Palhinha represented Portugal at under-18,^[35] under-19^[36] and under-20 levels.^[37] He participated in the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, where his team finished second.^[38]

In March 2021, Palhinha was called up to the full side for the first time, for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan, Luxembourg and Serbia.^[39] He won his first cap in the match with the first adversary, replacing Rúben Neves late into the 1–0 victory in Turin.^[40] He scored his first goal in the same phase, closing the 3–1 away win over Luxembourg.^[41]

Being selected for UEFA Euro 2020,^[42] Palhinha appeared against France in the group stage (2–2)^[43] and Belgium in the round of 16 (1–0 loss).^[44] In November 2022, he was named in the final squad for the World Cup finals in Qatar,^[45] playing all three group-phase matches^[46][47][48] in an eventual quarter-final exit.^[49]

Style of play

Palhinha is known for his defensive positioning, stamina and tackling.^[50][51][52] Described as an astute ball-winning midfielder, he is especially aggressive in stopping counter-attacks early by lunging into challenges, often preferring slide tackles in order to maximise his radius. He presses aggressively overall and records a high volume of tackles due to his proximity to the player in possession. A physical and tall player, his height helps him dominate aerial duels and his strength allows him to hold off opponents when dribbling. In open play, he oscillates between positions outside of the press and between the lines; when positioned outside of the opposition's press, he plays the role of a field general, directing teammates with his voice and hand gestures, with his vocal leadership being seen as one of his strengths.^{[53][54][55][56]}

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 10 December 2023^[57][58]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup^[a]		League cup^[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sporting CP B	2013–14	Segunda Liga	2	0	—		—		—		—		2	0
	2014–15	Segunda Liga	17	1	—		—		—		—		17	1
	2016–17	LigaPro	1	0	—		—		—		—		1	0
	2017–18	LigaPro	1	0	—		—		—		—		1	0
	Total		21	1	—		—		—		—		21	1
Sporting CP	2016–17	Primeira Liga	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		11	0
	2017–18	Primeira Liga	2	0	2	2	0	0	3^[c]	0	—		7	2
	2020–21	Primeira Liga	32	1	3	1	3	0	0	0	—		38	2
	2021–22	Primeira Liga	27	3	2	0	3	0	6^[d]	0	1^[e]	0	39	3
	Total		72	4	7	3	6	0	9	0	1	0	95	7
Moreirense (loan)	2015–16	Primeira Liga	29	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		29	0
Belenenses (loan)	2016–17	Primeira Liga	13	1	1	0	4	0	—		—		18	1
Braga (loan)	2018–19	Primeira Liga	23	2	6	0	3	0	—		—		32	2
	2019–20	Primeira Liga	27	2	2	0	4	1	11^[f]	1	—		44	4
	Total		50	4	8	0	7	1	11	1	—		76	6
Fulham	2022–23	Premier League	35	3	5	1	0	0	—		—		40	4
	2023–24	Premier League	13	2	0	0	2	0	—		—		15	2
	Total		48	5	5	1	2	0	—		—		55	6
Career total			233	15	21	4	19	1	20	1	1	0	294	21

1. Includes Taça de Portugal, FA Cup
2. Includes Taça da Liga, EFL Cup
3. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
5. Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
6. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 19 November 2023^[59]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Portugal	2021	12	2
	2022	6	0
	2023	6	0
Total		24	2

As of match played 12 October 2021. Portugal score listed first, score column indicates score after each Palhinha goal.^[59]

List of international goals scored by João Palhinha

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	30 March 2021	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	3	Luxembourg	3–1	3–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	12 October 2021	Estádio Algarve, Loulé/Faro, Portugal	10	Luxembourg	4–0	5–0

Honours

Braga

• Taça da Liga: 2019–20^[60]

Sporting CP

• Primeira Liga: 2020–21^[20]
• Taça da Liga: 2020–21,^[61] 2021–22^[62]
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2021^[63]

Individual

• Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2020–21^[64]
• Fulham Player of the Season: 2022–23^[65]

References

1. "Palhinha" (in Portuguese). Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
2. "João Palhinha" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
3. "Júnior Palhinha assina contrato com o Sporting" [Junior Palhinha signs contract with Sporting]. Record (in Portuguese). 27 November 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
4. [Sporting B-Portimonense, 3−2: Lions return to winning ways]. Record (in Portuguese). 3 February 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
5. [Sporting B-Leixões, 3−1: Fourth win in a row for the lions]. Record (in Portuguese). 4 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
6. "Sporting empresta Palhinha ao Moreirense" [Sporting loan Palhinha to Moreirense]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 12 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
7. Gomes de Andrade, Maria (9 August 2016). "Sporting: João Palhinha emprestado ao Belenenses" [Sporting: João Palhinha loaned to Belenenses] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
8. "Arouca estreia-se na I Liga triunfo em casa do Moreirense" [Arouca make I League debut with win at Moreirense]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 16 August 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
9. "João Palhinha direto à estreia" [João Palhinha headed straight for debut]. Record (in Portuguese). 17 August 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
10. "Vitória de Guimarães e Belenenses dividem pontos" [Vitória de Guimarães and Belenenses share points] (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
11. Miroto Simões, Luís (4 January 2017). "Palhinha: "Regresso agora a casa"" [Palhinha: "I return home now"]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 August 2017.
12. Calaveiras, Carlos (21 January 2017). "Leão agrava crise" [Lion worsens crisis] (in Portuguese). Rádio Renascença. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
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16. Ferreira, Bruno José (25 July 2020). "Sp. Braga-FC Porto, 2–1 (crónica)" [Sp. Braga-FC Porto, 2–1 (match report)] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
17. "Golo de João Palhinha quebra jejum de 65 anos frente ao Benfica" [João Palhinha goal breaks 65-year fast against Benfica]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
18. "João Palhinha reintegrado no plantel do Sporting: conheça os motivos" [João Palhinha reinstated in Sporting's squad: know the reasons]. Record (in Portuguese). 2 September 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
19. Soares Ribeiro, João; Almeida Gonçalves, Vítor (24 September 2020). "CSKA Moscovo prepara novo ataque a Palhinha" [CSKA Moscovo with new offensive for Palhinha]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 13 October 2021.
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21. "João Palhinha, do Sporting, no melhor onze da última edição da I Liga" [João Palhinha, of Sporting, in the All-Star XI of I League's last edition] (in Portuguese). TSF. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
22. Pereira, António Pedro (15 February 2021). "Até na monotonia este Sporting brilha" [This Sporting can even shine in dullness]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 19 October 2021.
23. Monteiro, Bernardo (17 December 2021). "Ruben Amorim: "Palhinha estava confortável e já não está"" [Ruben Amorim: "Palhinha was comfortable but not anymore"]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 4 July 2022.
24. Balreira, Filipe (3 June 2022). "Ugarte imprescindível no Sporting: Amorim 'agarra' uruguaio" [Sporting cannot do without Ugarte: Amorim 'gets hold' of Uruguayan]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 4 July 2022.
25. "Palhinha confirma adeus ao Sporting: "Vou para a melhor Liga do mundo"" [Palhinha confirms Sporting goodbye: "I'm going to the best League in the world"] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
26. Pruce, Geoff (4 July 2022). "Fulham sign Palhinha". Fulham F.C. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
27. "Joao Palhinha: Fulham confirm £20m signing of midfielder from Sporting Lisbon on five-year contract". Sky Sports. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
28. Johnston, Neil (6 August 2022). "Fulham 2–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
29. Mann, Mantej (20 August 2022). "Fulham 3–2 Brentford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
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36. Frias, Rui (2 June 2014). "Seleção sub-19 garante apuramento para o Europeu" [Under-19 national team confirm qualification for European Championships]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 March 2021.
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38. "Germany secure second title in Hungary". UEFA. 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
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52. "The 25 best defensive midfielders in world football − ranked". 90 Min. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
53. Griffin, Luke (20 March 2020). "Player Report — Joao Palhinha". Medium. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
54. Mwamuka, Lebohang (4 August 2022). "What João Palhinha can provide to Marco Silva's Fulham". Breaking the Line. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
55. Wright, Nick (20 March 2023). "Joao Palhinha: Why the Fulham midfielder's tackling is an offensive weapon for Marco Silva's side". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
56. Scott, Martin (11 June 2023). "João Palhinha 2021/22: The Sporting CP enforcer that could be key to Wolves' midfield rebuild – scout report". Total Football Anaysis. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
57. João Palhinha at WorldFootball.net
58. João Palhinha at Soccerway
59. "João Palhinha". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
60. Cole, Richard (25 January 2020). "Late Ricardo Horta strike wins the Taça da Liga for Braga". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
61. Ribeiro, Patrick (23 January 2021). "Sporting battle their way to League Cup glory with victory over Braga". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
62. Ribeiro, Patrick (29 January 2022). "Sporting defend their Taça da Liga title in second-half turnaround versus Benfica". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
63. "Sporting CP win Supertaça with victory over SC Braga". Sporting CP. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
64. "Presenting the Liga NOS Team of the Year!". Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
65. Pruce, Geoff (23 June 2023). "João wins Player of the Season!". Fulham F.C. Retrieved 30 August 2023.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to João Palhinha.

• at ForaDeJogo (archived)  
• João Palhinha national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)
• João Palhinha at National-Football-Teams.com