João Palhinha

João Palhinha
Personal information
Full name	João Maria Lobo Alves Palhinha Gonçalves
Date of birth	9 July 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Height	Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Moreirense (loan from Sporting)
Number	60
Youth career
2008–2009	Alta de Lisboa
2009–2012	Sacavenense
2012–2014	Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years	Team
2014–	Sporting B
2015–2016	→ Moreirense (loan)
International career‡
2011	Portugal U18
2013−2014	Portugal U19
2015−	Portugal U20
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:00, 2 May 2016 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 00:00, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

João Maria Lobo Alves Palhinha Gonçalves (born 9 July 1995), known as Palhinha, is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Moreirense F.C. on loan from Sporting Clube de Portugal as a defensive midfielder.

Club career

Born in Lisbon, Palhinha joined local Sporting Clube de Portugal's youth system in 2012, aged 17. 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 SC for the Segunda Liga championship, on 3 February 2014;^[1] it was one of only two appearances during the season.

Still in the second level, Palhinha scored his first senior goal on 4 April 2015, his header contributing to a 3−1 home success over Leixões SC.^[2]