Junior Pius

Júnior Udeme Pius (born 20 December 1995) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays for Belgian club Royal Antwerp F.C. as a central defender.

Júnior Pius
Personal information
Full name Júnior Udeme Pius
Date of birth (1995-12-20) 20 December 1995
Place of birth Eman, Nigeria
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Antwerp
Number 40
Youth career
2013–2014 Porto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Porto 0 (0)
2014–2015 → Aves (loan) 7 (0)
2015–2016 Cesarense 23 (1)
2016–2017 Sanjoanense 31 (4)
2017–2018 Tondela 3 (0)
2018–2019 Paços Ferreira 29 (3)
2019– Antwerp
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 May 2019

Club career

Born in Eman, Akwa Ibom, Pius finished his development in Portugal with FC Porto.[1] On 1 September 2014, he was loaned to C.D. Aves to kickstart his senior career,[2] making his Segunda Liga debut on 5 October in a 0–0 away draw against C.D. Santa Clara where he was sent off for two late bookable offences.[3]

Released by Porto at the end of the season, Pius took his game to the Portuguese third division, representing in quick succession F.C. Cesarense and A.D. Sanjoanense. In the summer of 2017 he moved straight to the Primeira Liga, signing a three-year contract with C.D. Tondela[4] and playing his first game in the latter competition on 16 September when he came on as a 31st-minute substitute in a 0–2 away loss to Sporting CP.[5]

In 2017, Pius suffered a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee contracted in a friendly against S.C. Covilhã two months earlier, requiring him to sit out the remainder of the season.[6]

References
  1. "Júnior Pius a ser negociado" [Negotiations for Júnior Pius]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 1 June 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  2. "FC Porto empresta Júnior Pius ao Desp. Aves" [FC Porto loan Júnior Pius to Desp. Aves]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 1 September 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  3. "Santa Clara-Aves, 0–0: Reinou a ineficácia" [Santa Clara-Aves, 0–0: Inefficiency ruled] (in Portuguese). Sábado. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  4. "Tondela anuncia chegada de Junior Pius" [Tondela announce arrival of Junior Pius] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  5. "Sporting 2–0 Tondela" (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  6. "Tondela: Junior Pius com "época comprometida"" [Tondela: Junior Pius' «season in danger»] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.