Zezinho Pinto

Jose Luis dos Santos Pinto, otherwise known as Zezinho, is a professional football player who plays as a midfielder. Favouring the left side of the pitch, Zezinho is known for his exceptional running with the ball and dribbling skills and thrives in an attacking position or as a left winger. At the age of 7, Zezinho’s talent was identified by the scouts at Esporte Clube Juventude, who brought him into their youth academy.

In 2008, almost nine years after joining the youth academy, Zezinho got his break into the first team at Juventude, still just 16 years of age. Zezinho never became a regular starter but did get his fair share of starts on his way to 21 appearances for the team along with 2 goals. At the same time, Zezinho was also picked for the Brazilian Under-17 team. At the end of 2010, Juventude decided that they still wanted Zezinho to get some full-time playing experience, which they would not be able to afford. They sold him off to Deportivo Maldonado where, before he could play a single game, Zezinho was sent out on loan to Santos.

After 14 games for Santos, in 2010, he moved to Esporte Clube Bahia for the 2011 season, still on loan. Zezinho has struggled to establish himself in the first team, making just one substitute appearance so far