Where did Ze Luish play before Spartak? Ze Luis: I could have left Spartak due to my daughter’s illness. — I heard that you have a personal driver

He is preparing for the second part of the season in the company of a charming Russian woman who, for a second, stole the heart of a married football player of the Cape Verdean national team from his current family.

According to several media reports, together with his new beloved, 26-year-old Ze Luis attended the first training camp of the red and white, which took place in the UAE from January 9 to 22.

This is not known for certain, but there is no doubt about the veracity of the affair between a football player and a Russian girl -

Alesya (that’s the name of the African’s current love) generously shared with numerous subscribers during her holiday together with Ze in warmer climes short videos in Instagram stories, proving the accuracy of the press’s guesses.

It is worth noting that Ze Luis is not just married. The athlete and his wife Rafaela also have two children - son Leo and daughter Mia, who, according to the striker himself, has serious health problems.

“She has a very serious problem, she is undergoing treatment in Portugal,” the Spartak player said in November. “I saw her a couple of days ago - she’s struggling, but it’s very difficult for her.” Now the situation is not so dangerous, although at first everything was bad. I even thought about leaving Russia.”

“Unfortunately, the problem has not been completely solved, although my daughter feels better. And I continue to believe that she will finally recover.

Every month until she reaches the age of seven, she needs to undergo a special examination. This is one of the reasons why she is not with me in Russia,”

— the footballer explained in an interview.

According to some information, after the end of the first part of the season, Ze Luis immediately went to visit his daughter and son in Portugal, but he did not stay with his children for very long and subsequently flew with Alesya to Rio de Janeiro, where he spent Christmas and New Year.

At the same time, on the day of the Catholic holiday, the athlete published an extremely sad post on his Instagram with a photo of Mia and Leo, in which he expressed regret about the impossibility of being with them at this moment.

“Merry Christmas, my loves, I am so far from you now... Better days will come...”

A native of Cape Verde wrote under the photo.

In turn, Alesya, who teaches dance in her own choreographic school in Moscow, enjoyed the local beauty during the Brazilian voyage, and also admitted that she missed borscht and mashed potatoes with cutlets.

“It’s very good here, of course, but as soon as I arrive in Moscow, I’ll go to a restaurant and get some borscht, as well as mashed potatoes and cutlets,”

— they shared with subscribers.

And after the end of the vacation, the couple simultaneously posted the same photo on their accounts, finally removing all questions regarding their relationship.

It is curious that quite recently the possible imminent departure of the Spartak forward from Russia was seriously discussed in the press.

Among others, the representative of the English Football Premier League, Brighton, was interested in the impressive goalscorer, who was allegedly ready to pay a “tidy” sum for him - as much as €20 million.

However, the transfer did not take place in the end - and this happened, according to the media, precisely because of the refusal of the player himself.

One can only guess whether the football player rejected the deal purely for sporting reasons or whether he did it for the sake of his new girlfriend.

Let's add that the colors defending champions Ze Luis has been defending Russia since 2015.

Being a striker, the forward scores very few goals, compensating for this, however, with an almost exemplary game in play-by-play by Russian standards.

(as many as six assists in this national championship with only two goals), which makes the team’s attack much more varied.

It was as part of the Spartak team that Ze achieved his first more or less serious trophy in his career - last May the red-and-whites for the first time in long years became the strongest team in the RFPL, and a couple of months later they consolidated their long-awaited success with a victory in the Super Cup.

This season, things are a little more complicated for the Muscovites - after a disastrous start, the club managed to gain an excellent momentum closer to winter and even caught up with its principal competitors from, whom almost all experts had previously dubbed future champions, but still finished the first part of the championship with not the best results. a pleasant eight-point gap from the leading Lokomotiv, which obviously will not be easy for Ze Luis and company to win back.

You can find other news and materials on the chronicles, as well as in the sports department groups on social networks

There are no answers about tactics and goals scored. Here Ze Luis openly talks about the difficulties of life in Russia and his family problems.

- You are about an hour late. What's happened?- we were waiting for Ze in the football space of The Base Moscow, where after the panna tournament he took part in the presentation of the new adidas Pyro Storm boots.
- I got lost, twice. I think: “Damn, where is this place?” The navigator leads through the yards, I don’t understand anything. Thank God I found you the third time.

- I heard that you have a personal driver.
- Yes, but this time I came myself. In general, I like to drive. Although in Russia it is not easy.

- Is it about traffic jams?
- Not only. Sometimes it is difficult to find the right place, for example, a pharmacy. There are many of them in Moscow, but my GPS takes me to the wrong place every time. Right and left, and I was already lost. Moscow traffic jams really drive me crazy. I spend at least an hour on the road. The record time to Tarasovka is 2.5 hours.

- Are you late?
- Absolutely everyone there was late! Therefore, the training was postponed. It was a crazy summer day when everyone gathered out of town for a barbecue. I remember it was very hot, people went swimming en masse, and everything around turned into one big traffic jam.

- Do you like speed?
- Sometimes. Recently I set a personal record in Portugal. I drove from Porto to Braga and accelerated the Audi SQ7 to 250 km/h. This is a big, powerful machine. I wanted to experience its capabilities and my sensations. It turned out great.

- Why are you interested in Moscow?
- This is the biggest city I've ever been to. I like Moscow for one reason: every time you need something, you can easily get it. Anything at any time of the day: two o'clock in the morning is not a problem. There are also very beautiful high-rise buildings here. The university, for example, is visible from the windows of my apartment.

- Where is it?
- In Moscow City. It's convenient, many guys live there, there are enough cafes, restaurants and shops. I like my place. I spend a lot of time at home in my room. I love it when there is a place, albeit small, just for me. This makes me feel comfortable.

- Near the University there is Observation deck, from there it opens good view to Luzhniki. Were there?
- No, but once I flew over the city in a helicopter. It was scary. The helicopter turned out to be so small, I could barely fit in it. I was a little worried, but it was a good experience - I liked it. It was cool to see Moscow from a bird's eye view.

- Do you love to travel?
- No. I don't like planes. One day I was flying from Portugal to Cape Verde for the weekend. The flight takes four hours, and the whole way we were tossed from side to side, there was constant turbulence. I remember that day as it is now: people in the salon were crying, everyone was scared, and I just prayed that all this would end soon. It was very scary.

- What don’t you like about Moscow besides traffic jams?
- There is one thing - the mood of people. The feeling is that they are not too happy here. They seem to want to fight, they often shout. And I'm a happy guy - I laugh and smile.

- Where do you think this difference comes from?
- It's all because of the weather and traffic. People are stressed all the time and are late for work. They start at eight, which means you have to get up at six in the morning, sometimes at 5:30, and all because of traffic jams. Of course this annoys people. They are not evil in themselves, they are infuriated by the situation around them.

“In Russia, a bribe is normal”

- What time does your day start?
- I get up at 8 am and have breakfast. Usually this is toast, 1-2 boiled eggs, juice and coffee. My house help prepares food for me. She's Filipino and can cook whatever I want. Most of all I love chicken dishes. I usually leave the house at 8:30 because I live far from the base.

- What do you do after training?
- Lunch, recovery procedures, theory. I finish at two o'clock and am already home at three. I'm a homebody, I like to watch movies and TV series.

- Do you visit anywhere besides Moscow City?
- I go to the cinema, meet friends in the center in a cafe, sometimes I go shopping. I walked in Gorky Park three or four times and really liked it there.

- Did you go on any rides?
- No. You know, when you live in a foreign country, it’s not so easy to just go on the rides. Most people here do not speak English and communication is difficult. Sometimes it's hard to buy a ticket or ask something when you need help. That's why I play football in Russia, and after that I go home.

- The moment when they didn’t help you?
- At first I was often wrong. Let's say I come to the supermarket to buy sugar. I see something similar. I return home, open it, try it - salt. People in stores don't speak English, it's difficult to explain what you need.

I once had a bad experience with a doctor at a city hospital. I come and ask: “I don’t speak Russian - could you speak English?” The woman answers something like this: “No, I’m in Russia, and we speak Russian here.” She said it in her native language, but I understood everything. After that she spoke to me in English. I laughed, but frankly, it hurt. It's hard to understand where this attitude comes from.

-Have you ever met with the local police?
- They stop me all the time. Every day, sometimes twice. First one policeman, 200 meters later another. They take my passport and put me in a police car. I sit there and do nothing for about 30 minutes while they search my car. It is useless to explain that you are a football player and do not use drugs. They don’t care, they don’t hear anything and stupidly want to waste your time.

- Did you try to give a bribe?
- Yes. This, as I understand it, is in the order of things here. The police won't let you go until you pay. One day I left my car on Presnya, next to the shopping center. OK, it was in the wrong place, but I literally ran out for five minutes to pick up my shoes. I ran back, there were police and a tow truck next to the car. I said: “Wait, I walked away for just a minute.” They said: “No, that’s it - We're taking you away." I had to give 10 thousand rubles. They took it and said: “Get out quickly and take your car away.”

- Is there something similar in Portugal?
- What, if you offer a bribe there, you’ll go straight to prison. But in Russia this is normal.

“Every day they write to me in direct message: “Hello, Boniface!”

- Have you seen the cartoon about the lion Boniface?
- Every day they write to me in direct message: “Hello, Boniface.” It's funny. I understand that this comparison is because of the hairstyle, I respect it. It doesn't offend me.

- Have there been any funny situations with this nickname?
- Fans call me that all the time and send me pictures. I'm not trying to understand absolutely every point. And in general, I’m not a fan of constantly checking the Internet. Believe me, I don't hang out on my phone. I come home, put my mobile phone aside and forget about it. They often write to me: “Why don’t you answer?” I don’t know what to tell people - I don’t look at social networks for a long time. I take the computer and watch movies and TV series. I'm a bit of a loser when it comes to my phone: I often forget where it is and don't worry about it.

- Did you have pets?
- No, but I like dogs and don’t really like cats. The cat doesn't know how to make friends - it's here for two minutes and suddenly disappears. She walks on her own, she doesn’t care about you. Dogs are a different story; they are true and loyal friends.

- What do you miss most about Russia?
- According to the sun. The most difficult thing in my Moscow life is to survive the rain, snow and, most importantly, the cold. I experienced one of the worst moments in my career in Tomsk, when we played at minus 15. -15, can you imagine!? I wanted to wear a bandage to protect my ears, but they told me: “You can’t!” He asked: “Are you crazy? Without this, you can’t play football in such cold weather.” They calmly explained to me once again that I couldn’t wear a bandage. It was a shock.

It was incredibly cold in my first season, when we played against Krylya Sovetov at home in December. I was dying on the field, and when I returned to the locker room after the first half, I cried like a child. My fingers and toes ached like hell, so I told Alenichev: “Coach, I don’t want and can’t play anymore.”

It was an incredibly difficult moment, but I still came out for the second half. Thank God, I was replaced in the 60th minute. Frankly, it’s impossible to play in such cold weather. You cannot feel your arms or legs, as if you are flying and are unable to fully control your limbs.

You haven't played for a long time due to an unusual injury. Abdominal muscle strain is more common among goalkeepers. Fans are wondering: “How did this happen?”
- I asked myself the same question every day and could not find an answer. I have toned abs, I work on them every day. This is a very strange and serious injury, I received it during training. At first I experienced pain at the slightest movement. No matter what I did, it resulted in a wild pain in my stomach. Fortunately, I'm completely fine now.

"My brother is an alcoholic..."

- You have a big family?
- There are two brothers. One got married and moved to the States, the other sits at home in Cape Verde. He likes to drink, that's the only thing he does. My brother is an alcoholic. I tried many times to help, but he doesn't care. He only wants money for drinks. But I don't want to give. Essentially, this is how I help him kill himself.

- When did he start drinking?
- At the age of 16-17, now he is 33. He started with beer. It’s very hot in my homeland, and it’s always cool to sip a cold beer and cool off. Gradually, my brother began to drink stronger drinks. For example, cachaça - he drinks it every day.

- How does the family react to this?
- Mom can’t help it, he’s already 33. He lives with her and gets drunk every day. This is a very difficult moment for our family.

- Did you try to get him into a clinic?
- Cape Verbe is not Russia, you can’t force a person. I have plans on this topic, I’m thinking about how to help him. Let's see if it works. It also depends on him.

- You have two children: a son and a daughter. Is it true that your daughter is seriously ill?
- Yes, she has a very serious problem, she is undergoing treatment in Portugal. I saw her a couple of days ago - she was fighting, but it was very difficult for her. Now the situation is not so dangerous, although at first everything was bad. I even thought about leaving Russia.

- When did it start?
- Two years ago. It's only been a couple of months since I moved to new club, and was already seriously thinking about leaving Spartak. It’s hard to understand that your daughter is in the hospital and you can’t be there.

This continued for five months, then improvement began. She is now at home, taking medication and must stay in Portugal until the end of her treatment. Every month until she reaches the age of seven, she needs to undergo a special examination. This is one of the reasons why she is not with me in Russia.

A year and a half ago, I felt terrible, but I found the strength to continue living and communicating with people. Unfortunately, the problem has not been completely solved, although my daughter feels better. And I continue to believe that she will finally recover.

There are no answers about tactics and goals scored. Here Spartak forward Ze Luis openly talks about the difficulties of life in Russia and his family problems.

— You are about an hour late. What's happened?— we were waiting for Ze in the football space of The Base Moscow, where after the panna tournament he took part in the presentation of the new adidas Pyro Storm boots.

- I got lost, twice. I think: “Damn, where is this place?” The navigator leads through the yards, I don’t understand anything. Thank God I found you the third time.

— I heard that you have a personal driver.

- Yes, but this time I came myself. In general, I like to drive. Although in Russia it is not easy.

— Is it about traffic jams?

- Not only. Sometimes it is difficult to find the right place, for example, a pharmacy. There are many of them in Moscow, but my GPS takes me to the wrong place every time. Right and left, and I was already lost. Moscow traffic jams really drive me crazy. I spend at least an hour on the road. The record time to Tarasovka is 2.5 hours.

- Are you late?

- Absolutely everyone there was late! Therefore, the training was postponed. It was a crazy summer day when everyone gathered out of town for a barbecue. I remember it was very hot, people went swimming en masse, and everything around turned into one big traffic jam.

- Do you like speed?

- Sometimes. Recently I set a personal record in Portugal. I drove from Porto to Braga and accelerated the Audi SQ7 to 250 km/h. This is a big, powerful machine. I wanted to experience its capabilities and my sensations. It turned out great.

— Why are you interested in Moscow?

— This is the largest city I’ve ever been to. I like Moscow for one reason: every time you need something, you can easily get it. Anything at any time of the day: two o’clock in the morning is not a problem. There are also very beautiful high-rise buildings here. The university, for example, is visible from the windows of my apartment.

- Where is it?

- In Moscow City. It's convenient, many guys live there, there are enough cafes, restaurants and shops. I like my place. I spend a lot of time at home in my room. I love it when there is a place, albeit small, just for me. This makes me feel comfortable.

— There is an observation deck near the University, from there you can see a good view of Luzhniki. Were there?

— No, but I once flew over the city in a helicopter. It was scary. The helicopter turned out to be so small, I could barely fit in it. I was a little worried, but it was a good experience - I liked it. It was cool to see Moscow from a bird's eye view.

- Do you love to travel?

- No. I don't like planes. One day I was flying from Portugal to Cape Verde for the weekend. The flight takes four hours, and the whole way we were tossed from side to side, there was constant turbulence. I remember that day as it is now: people in the salon were crying, everyone was scared, and I just prayed that all this would end soon. It was very scary.

— What don’t you like about Moscow besides traffic jams?

- There is one thing - the mood of people. The feeling is that they are not too happy here. They seem to want to fight, they often shout. And I’m a happy guy - I laugh and smile.

- Why do you think there is such a difference?

- It's all because of the weather and traffic. People are stressed all the time and are late for work. They start at eight, which means you have to get up at six in the morning, sometimes at 5:30, and all because of traffic jams. Of course this annoys people. They are not evil in themselves, they are infuriated by the situation around them.

“In Russia, a bribe is normal”

— What time does your day start?

— I get up at 8 a.m. and have breakfast. Usually this is toast, 1-2 boiled eggs, juice and coffee. My house help prepares food for me. She's Filipino and can cook whatever I want. Most of all I love chicken dishes. I usually leave the house at 8:30 because I live far from the base.

— What do you do after training?

— Lunch, recovery procedures, theory. I finish at two o'clock and am already home at three. I'm a homebody, I like to watch movies and TV series.

— Do you visit anywhere besides Moscow City?

— I go to the cinema, meet friends in the center in a cafe, sometimes go shopping. I walked in Gorky Park three or four times and really liked it there.

— Did you go on any rides?

- No. You know, when you live in a foreign country, it’s not so easy to just go on the rides. Most people here do not speak English and communication is difficult. Sometimes it's hard to buy a ticket or ask something when you need help. That's why I play football in Russia, and after that I go home.

— The moment when they didn’t help you?

“At first I was often wrong. Let's say I come to the supermarket to buy sugar. I see something similar. I return home, open it, taste it - salt. People in stores don't speak English, it's difficult to explain what you need.

— Have you ever met with the local police?

“They stop me all the time.” Every day, sometimes twice. First one policeman, 200 meters later another. They take my passport and put me in a police car. I sit there and do nothing for about 30 minutes while they search my car. It is useless to explain that you are a football player and do not use drugs. They don’t care, they don’t hear anything and stupidly want to waste your time.

— Have you tried to bribe?

- Yes. This, as I understand it, is in the order of things here. The police won't let you go until you pay. One day I left my car on Presnya, next to the shopping center. OK, it was in the wrong place, but I literally ran out for five minutes to pick up my shoes. I ran back, there were police and a tow truck next to the car. I said: “Wait, I walked away for just a minute.” They said: “No, that’s it - We're taking you away." I had to give 10 thousand rubles. They took it and said: “Get out quickly and take your car away.”

— Is there something similar in Portugal?

“What, if you offer a bribe there, you’ll go straight to prison.” But in Russia this is normal.

“Every day they write to me in direct message: “Hello, Boniface!”

— Have you seen the cartoon about the lion Boniface?

— Every day they write to me in direct message: “Hello, Boniface.” It's funny. I understand that this comparison is because of the hairstyle, I respect it. It doesn't offend me.

— Have there been any funny situations with this nickname?

— Fans call me that all the time and send me pictures. I'm not trying to understand absolutely every point. And in general, I’m not a fan of constantly checking the Internet. Believe me, I don't hang out on my phone. I come home, put my mobile phone aside and forget about it. They often write to me: “Why don’t you answer?” I don’t know what to tell people - I don’t look at social networks for a long time. I take the computer and watch movies and TV series. I'm a bit of a loser when it comes to my phone: I often forget where it is and don't worry about it.

— Did you have pets?

- No, but I like dogs and don’t really like cats. The cat doesn’t know how to make friends - it’s here for two minutes and suddenly disappears. She walks on her own, she doesn’t care about you. Dogs are a different story; they are true and loyal friends.

— What do you miss most about Russia?

- According to the sun. The most difficult thing in my Moscow life is to survive the rain, snow and, most importantly, the cold. I experienced one of the worst moments in my career in Tomsk, when we played at minus 15. -15, can you imagine!? I wanted to wear a bandage to protect my ears, but they told me: “You can’t!” He asked: “Are you crazy? Without this, you can’t play football in such cold weather.” They calmly explained to me once again that I couldn’t wear a bandage. It was a shock.

— You haven’t played for a long time due to an unusual injury. Abdominal muscle strain is more common among goalkeepers. Fans are wondering: “How did this happen?”

“I asked myself the same question every day and couldn’t find an answer.” I have toned abs, I work on them every day. This is a very strange and serious injury, I received it during training. At first I experienced pain at the slightest movement. No matter what I did, it resulted in a wild pain in my stomach. Fortunately, I'm completely fine now.

“My brother is an alcoholic...”

- You have a big family?

- There are two brothers. One got married and moved to the States, the other sits at home in Cape Verde. He likes to drink, that's the only thing he does. My brother is an alcoholic. I tried many times to help, but he doesn't care. He only wants money for drinks. But I don't want to give. Essentially, this is how I help him kill himself.

— When did he start drinking?

- At the age of 16-17, now he is 33. He started with beer. It’s very hot in my homeland, and it’s always cool to sip a cold beer and cool off. Gradually, my brother began to drink stronger drinks. For example, cachaça - he drinks it every day.

— How does the family react to this?

- Mom can’t help it, he’s already 33. He lives with her and gets drunk every day. This is a very difficult moment for our family.

— Did you try to get him into a clinic?

— Cape Verbe is not Russia, you can’t force a person. I have plans on this topic, I’m thinking about how to help him. Let's see if it works. It also depends on him.

— You have two children: a son and a daughter. Is it true that your daughter is seriously ill?

— Yes, she has a very serious problem, she is undergoing treatment in Portugal. I saw her a couple of days ago - she was fighting, but it was very difficult for her. Now the situation is not so dangerous, although at first everything was bad. I even thought about leaving Russia.

- When did it start?

- Two years ago. Just a couple of months had passed since I moved to a new club, and I was already seriously thinking about leaving Spartak. It’s hard to understand that your daughter is in the hospital and you can’t be there.

Zé Luis is a Cape Verdian footballer who plays as a forward for Spartak and the Cape Verdean national team. At the age of 17 he left Cape Verde, joining the Portuguese team Gil Vicente. Soon after his debut in the main team, he moved to Braga, with whom he won the 2012/13 Portuguese League Cup. In the summer of 2015, Ze Luis turned down Porto and Benfica in order to move to Spartak Moscow. In the debut season of the Russian Premier League, he scored 8 goals in 24 matches and helped his team qualify for the Eurocups. Ze Luis is regularly called up to the Cape Verdean national team; in 2009 he won the Lusofin Games held in Lisbon. The player plays in the position of a nominal striker, but can also play in tandem with other forwards or as a backcourt. Among the strengths of Ze Luis are good starting speed, plasticity, jumping ability and physique; he is able to hold the ball, cover it with his body and accelerate the attack.

Full name: José Luís Mendes Andrade
Date and place of birth: March 21, 1991, Fogo (Cape Verde)
Role: forward

Ze Luis's club career

Born in Cape Verde, he played at the youth level in the local Batik. In 2009 he took part in the Luso-Finnish Games held in Lisbon. His team took gold medals, and Ze Luis himself scored three goals and came to the attention of local clubs. At the age of 18 he started his professional career at the Gil Vicente club, making his debut in the Segunda match against Chaves. In the first season he played only five matches, scoring a goal in the confrontation with Beira Mas. But already in the 2010/11 season he became the team's top scorer and helped it reach the elite division. In April-May 2012 he had a streak of five productive matches, scoring his team’s only goal in the League Cup final against Benfica (1-2).

"Braga"

In the summer of 2011, he was promoted, signing a five-year contract with Braga (the transfer amount was 1 million euros). Here he was able to make his debut in the Champions League match against Udinese. On November 3, he scored the first goal in the new team, hitting the Gil Vicente goal (3-1). In his debut season, he was never able to gain a foothold in the starting lineup, having spent many matches in the reserve team. On April 13, he played in the League Cup final, which ended in a victory over Porto (1-0). He spent the 2013/14 season on loan at the Hungarian Videoton. In this team, he was also a reserve for some time, until he scored two goals against Ujpest. At the end of the season he got into excellent shape, scored five goals in four matches and reached the final of the Hungarian Cup with the team.

In the 2014/15 season, Ze Luis finally got his chance in the Braga first team. In the September matches against Nacional, “ Rio Ave"and Porto he scored three goals and provided one assist. The next bright segment in the forward’s career happened in April, when he scored his debut hat-trick in a cup match against Rio Ave (3-0), and also scored two goals in a confrontation with his native Gil Vicente. The striker finished that season with 11 goals and 3 assists. Local giants Porto and Benfica, as well as Moscow Dynamo, began to take an interest in him. The capital club was ready to pay 2.5 million euros, but Braga began to bargain. Local grandees offered 1.5 million + a percentage of the next resale, but also in this direction there was a deadlock.

"Spartacus"

In the summer of 2015, Ze Luis was linked with Spartak Moscow. After lengthy negotiations, the Cape Verdian footballer moved to the “red and white” camp, signing a contract for five years. The transfer amount was 6.5 million euros. The player himself was glad to be in the ranks of the “red and white”:

“I’m very glad to be in Spartak! Of course, when you go to new team, there are always certain moments associated with adaptation. But I don’t think this period will last. “Spartak” is my personal choice. Naturally, I had enough information about my new club and the Russian championship, which I received, in particular, from the Internet. I know that Spartak is a very reputable club, the most popular in Russia. I am confident that now the team has everything to achieve great results."

At Spartak, Ze Luis was supposed to replace Artem Dzyuba, who moved to Zenit. The player’s debut took place on July 17 in a match against Ufa (2-2). He came on as a substitute for Yura Movsisyan and scored the first goal. At the start of his Spartak career, he was a player in the closest reserve, and only on August 22 did he appear in the starting lineup for the first time. In September, Ze Luis got into good shape, scoring a double in the Russian Cup match against Volga (7-0). Three days later he helped Spartak draw with Zenit (2-2), but was injured in the same match back surface hips and was out for a month.

By the end of the season, the Cape Verdian player was in good form, scoring another six goals and four assists. As a result, he finished his debut season with 10 goals and 5 assists, and his team took fifth place and qualified for the European Cup. Red-White coach Dmitry Alenichev said he was pleased with the performances of the African forward and was confident that in the future he would be able to compete for the title top scorer Russian Championship:

“I'm happy with Ze Luis. In St. Petersburg, for example, he played a very strong match, although he didn’t score. I think if Ze Luis manages to avoid injuries, then next season he will claim the title of top scorer in the championship.”

International career of Zé Luis

In 2009, he was included in the Cape Verde team for the Lusophone Games, scored three goals and received gold medals. On March 24, 2010, the player made his official debut in the main team of Cape Verde. He scored his first goal during the qualifying round for the 2014 World Cup in a match against Sierra Leone. He scored his next goals in the qualifying campaigns for the African Cup of Nations against Madagascar, Niger and Zambia.

Achievements of Ze Luis

"Gil Vicente"

Portuguese Segunda Champion 2010/11
League Cup finalist 2011/12

League Cup winner 2012/13

"Videoton"

Hungarian Cup finalist 2013/14

Where Zé Luis was born, football is one of the few joys that people can afford, so his fellow countrymen are proud of him. Everyone at Spartak Moscow is already used to it: if music is playing somewhere, it means their striker is nearby.

Childhood and youth

Ze Luis has an unusual name; according to his passport, he is Jose Luis Mendes Andrade, and he is of the same exotic nationality - Cape Verdian. The footballer was born in this island nation off the west coast of Africa in January 1991, the youngest of three sons.

The biographies of the Andrade brothers develop differently. One moved his family to the USA and is trying to settle down there. The second, according to Ze Luis, stayed with his mother in Cape Verde, became addicted to alcohol and doesn’t want anything from life.

Luis himself studied at school intermittently - he spent a month in class, a month at the local football academy "Epiph". The family lived modestly - the president of the academy gave the guy his first football boots. Mom, despite the difficulties, made every effort to youngest son I didn’t have to work and devote more time to study and football.

In Cape Verde, the forward said, no football schools in the European sense, but sport is in everyone’s blood. Everyone who achieves even the slightest success strives to leave the islands for Europe. At one of the local team's trips, Ze Luis was asked if he would like to repeat this path. The guy didn’t even ask what salary was being offered and immediately agreed.

While still a teenager, Jose managed to play in the Portuguese Leixoes and Freamunda, then practiced in the Romanian Gloria.

Football

At the age of 18, Luis moved to Portugal and tried out the fields as part of the Gil Vicente and Sporting de Braga teams. In 2013 he won the Portuguese League Cup. Thanks to Braga and the advice of mentor Sergio Conceição, the forward subsequently ended up in Russia.

In the summer of the same year, Ze Luisa rented Videoton from Hungary. The football player liked his coach Jose Gomes not only as a mentor - the athletes developed friendly relations. The team, not without the participation of a new striker, made it to the final of the Hungarian Cup. Luis believes that at the Hungarian club he was able to truly grow professionally.

In 2015, football giants from the Portuguese “Big Three” - Benfica and Porto, as well as Dynamo Moscow, showed interest in Ze Luis. However, the footballer signed the contract with the capital’s Spartak. The transfer amount was € 6.5 million. The current agreement with the forward runs until 2021. Including the 2017-2018 season, he played 73 matches for the red-whites and scored 21 goals.

Luis came to the Moscow club as a player with distinctive jumping ability, which, in general, was not a problem for a football player 185 cm tall and weighing 84 kg. In the penalty area, the dark-skinned Spartak player jumped almost a meter and easily scored with his head.

Over time, the style of play has changed. Jose began looking for the ball on the field, wasting no time waiting for a pass from his partner, turning the heads of his opponents with frequent changes in rhythm, passes and positions.

Ze Luis' goals in the 2016/17 season

In the Premier League match of the 2017-2018 season, Spartak lost to the Chechen Akhmat. A sharp-tongued commentator illustrated the event on Instagram with a photo of a black dog surrounded by sheep, and Ze Luis was mentioned in the comment. The post caused a wave of indignation, Utkin was forced to apologize, and then completely deleted the scandalous post. As the journalist explained, very influential people asked him about this.

The commentator had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the striker’s performance, pointing to bleak statistics and turning to Luis on Twitter with the question “Where are the goals?”

Injuries in football are commonplace. They didn’t spare the Cape Verdian either, but Luis’s injuries were, one might say, exotic. Either he suffered a strain in his abdominal muscles, which is more typical for goalkeepers, or he suffered a pinched nerve of the inguinal canal. And each time the player was out of the game for several weeks. In the end, journalists began to ask Spartak head coach Massimo Carrera if he was tired of so many injuries to the athlete. Because of them, the player appeared on the field of the 2018 Russian Championship in barely a dozen matches.

Personal life

On the personal front, Zé Luis is unclear. The footballer has a common-law wife, Rafaela, and two children, Mia and Leo, but the family remains in Portugal. At the same time, her daughter has serious health problems: according to Luis, until the girl turns 7 years old, she must undergo examination every month.

At the beginning of 2018, new photos in "Instagram" the forward caused confusion among his fans. They show Ze Luis with a Russian woman named Alesya. The girl is a graduate of the capital high school fitness, professional dancer and choreographer, founder of her own dance studio.

The couple spent the winter holidays in Rio de Janeiro, in an account in social network the footballer's new passion posted corresponding illustrations. As the Sportfm.ru portal noted, without knowing the details of the situation, it is premature to condemn young people. But the Spartak player is a priori a public person, and it would be nice to explain himself.

“And if you don’t want your personal life to be discussed, you don’t need to make it public. And so, in its “naked” form, it looks sad.”

Ze Luis now

In the 2017-2018 season, Spartak lost the title of Russian football champion. As a consolation, the team got the opportunity to compete for a direct ticket to the Champions League. The rival of the red-whites was Dynamo Moscow, which they met in the match last round The Russian Premier League ended in defeat for Ze Luis' club. And as a result, Spartak gets into the Champions League only through qualification.

At the beginning of the year, a rumor leaked to the press that a newcomer to the English Premier League, the Brighton club, was ready to buy the Spartak striker for £20 million. This amount was announced by The Mirror. However, team coach Chris Hughton hastened to say that the rumors will remain as such, there is no talk of any deal with Ze Luis.

Moskovsky Komsomolets sports expert Valery Nepomnyashchiy, himself a former coach, said that the forward’s departure would not affect Spartak in the best possible way. And Luis himself admitted that he has not yet received offers that would suit all parties, and therefore intends to work out the contract with the Muscovites.

The Spartak forward played for the Cape Verde national team in the group round qualifying tournament FIFA Championship 2018. Alas, national team his homeland did not qualify.

Awards

2013 – Portuguese League Cup
2017 – Russian football champion, winner of the Russian Super Cup