José Carlos Gonçalves Rodrigues

Vitória Setúbal

Born in Lisbon, Zeca started his career with local Casa Pia, joining the club's youth system at the age of 10 and promoting to the fourth division in his first season as a senior. In summer 2010 he moved straight into the Primeira Liga, signing with Vitória de Setúbal. During his only season with the Sado River team, Zeca made 26 league appearances, appearing in as many games as a starter or a substitute and totalling 1,611 minutes of action.

Panathinaikos

Zeca signed a four-year contract with Greek side Panathinaikos on 29 July 2011 for a fee of €400,000, as the club was coached by countryman Jesualdo Ferreira. He played all 30 league games in 2012–13, but the Clover could only finish in sixth place. After a massive rebuilding for the following campaign, he was one of the few survivors. After more than 100 appearances with the club, on 26 April 2014 Zeca lifted the Greek Cup as team captain, in a final against PAOK at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. On 21 June, he signed a three-year extension. In February 2015, Zeca expressed his desire to play for the Greece national team if he was awarded the country's citizenship. He agreed to renew his contract until 2018 two months later, commenting on the deal: "It will be good to continue with Anastasiou in charge. ... The team is happy and I think we can do a lot better under him". On 6 February 2016, Andrea Stramaccioni's team ended the match with ten players as Zeca was shown a straight red card…

Having completed five years of residence and professional status in Greece, Zeca became eligible for its citizenship in the beginning of 2017. He passed the relevant language and history exams in November 2016, becoming available for national side manager Michael Skibbe in the middle of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. He earned his first cap on 25 March 2017, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–1 away draw against Belgium; in the return match, on 3 September of that year, he scored his first goal in a 1–2 loss in Piraeus.

Club

International

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zeca goal.

Panathinaikos

Greek Football Cup: 2013–14, 2023–24 Copenhagen

Danish Superliga: 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022–23 Individual

Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2014–15, 2015–16 Danish Superliga Player of the Season: 2019–20 Copenhagen Player of the Season: 2019–20, 2020–21