| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José António dos Santos Silva | ||
| Date of birth | March 14, 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Torres Vedras, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1988–1994 | Torreense | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1994–1998 | Torreense | 96 | (13) |
| 1998–2000 | Porto | 0 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | → Leça (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | → Alverca (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2000 | Porto B | ||
| 2000–2002 | Alverca | 50 | (2) |
| 2002–2003 | Varzim | 15 | (5) |
| 2003–2005 | Académica | 67 | (2) |
| 2005–2008 | Borussia M'gladbach | 64 | (3) |
| 2008 | → Manisaspor (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | Racing Santander | 0 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | União Leiria | 43 | (1) |
| National team | |||
| 1999–2000 | Portugal U21 | 15 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 September 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
José António dos Santos Silva (born 14 March 1977 in Torres Vedras), known as Zé António, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a central defender.
Zé António began playing football for hometown S.C.U. Torreense, being snapped in 1998 by top division giants Futebol Clube do Porto. However, he never represented other than its B-team, during the first half of 2000–01, and went on to play on loan for Leça F.C. and F.C. Alverca, after which he was definitively sold to the latter in January 2001.
After another top level season, with Varzim SC (which ended in relegation), António joined Académica de Coimbra and played there from 2003–05, forming an interesting defensive partnership with Tonel (later of Sporting Clube de Portugal) in his first season.
Avoiding relegation with Académica at the end of the 2004–05 season, António took advantage of his outrunning deal to join Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga,[1] on a deal lasting for two initial seasons. An undisputed starter throughout 2005–06, António opened his goalscoring account in just his fourth league appearance with the German side, on 10 September, heading the winner in a 2–1 home success over MSV Duisburg.
The left-footed was surprisingly included in the preliminary squad of Portugal for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but in the end failed to make it into the final 23 of Luiz Felipe Scolari for the tournament. He would amass 64 games and three goals in two seasons, with Borussia suffering relegation at the end of his second season.
After having made no appearances in 2007–08's (second division), in January 2008, Zé António moved on loan to Turkey's Vestel Manisaspor for six months. At the end of June, he moved to Spain and signed a two-year contract with La Liga side Racing de Santander.[2][3]
In early December 2009, after having appeared only in one Copa del Rey match for the Cantabrians, against Real Murcia, his spell at the club also including a demotion to the B team, António rescinded his contract. In early January 2010, he returned to his country, joining União de Leiria.
Zé António only missed one league game in 2010–11 as Leiria once again managed to retain its top division status. In June 2011, the 34-year old left the club.