Costa Nhamoinesu

Costa Nhamoinesu

Nhamoinesu with Sparta in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth	(1986-01-06) 6 January 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Harare, Zimbabwe
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) [1]
Position(s)	Centre-back, [2] left-back [3]
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005	AmaZulu
2006–2010	Masvingo United
2007–2008	→ KS Wisła Ustronianka (loan)
2008–2010	→ Zagłębie Lubin (loan)	51	(1)
2010–2013	Zagłębie Lubin	61	(3)
2013–2020	Sparta Prague	146	(9)
2020–2021	Kerala Blasters	16	(2)
2021–2022	Podbeskidzie	1	(0)
International career
2015–2017	Zimbabwe	11	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Costa Nhamoinesu (born 6 January 1986) is a Zimbabwean retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He works as a scout.

He started his senior career with Masvingo United. In 2008, he moved to Poland joining lower-league club KS Wisła Ustronianka on a half-year loan. He switched to Zagłębie Lubin on a two-year loan before signing permanently for Zagłębie Lubin in 2010. In 2013 he signed for Sparta Prague. ^[1] After spending seven years there, he left the club in 2020 and joined Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters FC.

Early life

Costa was born in Harare and was raised both in the city by his parents, and in the countryside with his grandparents. His parents' home did not have enough room for him to live there permanently, however, so he was forced to stay with friends and other relatives around the city. While at middle school he started playing football for a club which paid his education fees and accommodation. ^[4]

Club career

Early career

While playing in the Zimbabwean first league for Masvingo United, Nhamoinesu was spotted by an agent who sent him to Poland, where he began playing for 5th division amateur side KS Wisła Ustroniaka. ^[4]

Zagłębie Lubin

In July 2008, he joined Zagłębie Lubin on loan, ^[5] before signing permanently in 2010. ^[6] While at Lubin, he became one of the most highly rated left-backs in the Polish league. ^[4]

Sparta Prague

In 2013, seeking an exit from Poland, he signed a deal with Czech side AC Sparta Prague. He had also received offers from Russia, Germany and Turkey. ^[4] He made his league debut for Sparta Prague on 21 July 2013 in a 4–1 away victory over Vysočina Jihlava. ^[7] His first league goal for the club came on 31 August 2013 in a 4–1 home win over Baník Ostrava. The goal, scored in the 64th minute, made up for the own goal that he had scored in the 26th. ^[8]

In July 2020, it was announced Nhamoinesu would leave the club after the club had decided not to renew the contract of the 34-year-old. He spent seven years with Sparta Prague. ^[9] He was the first African player to captain the Czech side. ^[10]

Kerala Blasters

On 10 October 2020, it was officially announced that Nhamoinesu joined the Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters FC on a one-year deal. ^{[2] [11]} By signing for the Blasters, he became the first Zimbabwe player to represent the club. ^{[12] [13]} On 18 November 2020, he was appointed as one of the captain ahead of the club's new season. ^[14] He made his debut for the Blasters on 20 November 2020 in match against ATK Mohun Bagan where the Blasters suffered a 1–0 loss. ^[15] On 10 January 2021, he scored his first goal for the club against Jamshedpur FC in which Blasters won 3–2. ^[16] On 11 June, Nhamoinesu's exit from the club was announced. ^[17]

TS Podbeskidzie

In July 2021, Nhamoinesu joined the Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała in the I liga. ^[18] He left the club on 24 January 2022, citing personal reasons. ^[19]

International career

Nhamoinesu represented the Zimbabwe national team, ^[20] for whom he made 11 appearances. On 20 October 2012, he was among those exonerated from a lifetime ban imposed on many Zimbabwean internationals for match fixing. ^[21] Nhamoinesu scored his first goal for Zimbabwe on 28 March 2016 against Swaziland in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. ^[1]

After the active career

In 2022, Nhamoinesu ended his career and returned to Sparta Prague, where he was employed as a scout. ^[22]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		League cup		Continental [lower-alpha 2]		Other [lower-alpha 3]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Zagłębie Lubin (loan)	2008–09 [23]	I liga	27	0	2	0	—		—		—		29	0
	2009–10 [23]	Ekstraklasa	24	1	1	0	—		—		—		25	1
	Total		51	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	54	1
Zagłębie Lubin	2010–11 [23]	Ekstraklasa	11	0	1	0	—		—		—		12	0
	2011–12 [23]	Ekstraklasa	27	2	0	0	—		—		—		27	2
	2012–13 [23]	Ekstraklasa	23	1	4	0	—		—		—		27	1
	Total		61	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	66	3
Sparta Prague	2013–14 [1]	Czech First League	24	3	4	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 4]	0	0	0	30	3
	2014–15 [1]	Czech First League	28	0	4	0	—		11 [lower-alpha 5]	1 [lower-alpha 6]	1 [lower-alpha 7]	0	44	1
	2015–16 [1]	Czech First League	25	3	4	1	—		15 [lower-alpha 8]	2 [lower-alpha 9]	0	0	44	7
	2016–17 [1]	Czech First League	16	0	1	0	—		10 [lower-alpha 10]	1 [lower-alpha 11]	0	0	27	0
	2017–18 [1]	Czech First League	16	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	16	0
	2018–19 [1]	Czech First League	28	2	3	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 12]	0	0	0	32	2
	2019–20 [1]	Czech First League	9	1	4	1	—		2 [lower-alpha 13]	1 [lower-alpha 14]	0	0	15	3
	Total		146	9	20	2	0	0	41	5	1	0	208	16
Kerala Blasters	2020–21 [1]	Indian Super League	16	2	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	16	2
Podbeskidzie	2021–22 [1]	I liga	1	0	0	0	—		—		—		1	0
Career total			275	15	28	2	0	0	41	5	1	0	345	22

1. Includes the Czech Cup
2. Includes the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
3. Includes the Czech Supercup
4. Two appearances in 2013–14 UEFA Europa League
5. Three appearances in 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in 2014–15 UEFA Europa League
6. One goal in 2014–15 UEFA Europa League
7. One appearance in 2014 Czech Supercup
8. Two appearances in 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, thirteen appearances in 2015–16 UEFA Europa League
9. Two goals in 2015–16 UEFA Europa League
10. Two appearances in 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in 2016–17 UEFA Europa League
11. One goal in 2015–16 UEFA Europa League
12. One appearance in 2018–19 UEFA Europa League
13. Two appearances in 2019–20 UEFA Europa League
14. One goal in 2019–20 UEFA Europa League

International

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

List of international goals scored by Costa Nhamoinesu ^[3]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	28 March 2016	National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe	Swaziland	2–0	4–0	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Masvingo United

• Zimbabwean Independence Trophy: 2006, ^[1] 2007 ^[1]

Sparta Prague

• Czech First League: 2013–14 ^[1]
• Czech Cup: 2013–14, ^[1] 2019–20
• Czech Supercup: 2014 ^[1]

References

1. "Costa Nhamoinesu profile". Soccerway. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
2. "ISL: Kerala Blasters Sign Zimbabwean International Defender Costa Nhamoinesu". News18. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
3. "Costa Nhamoinesu". National Football Teams. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
4. Havlín, Tomáš (17 February 2014). "Jsem tady kvůli rodině" [I'm here for my family]. Nový Prostor (in Czech). No. 433. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
5. Costa Nhamoinesu graczem Zagłębia Lubin Archived 14 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine 31 July 2008, 90minut.pl
6. Costa Nhamoinesu i Martins Ekwueme na trzy lata w Zagłębiu 4 July 2010, interia.pl
7. "Vysočina Jihlava vs. Sparta Prague – 21 July 2013 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
8. "Sparta Prague vs. Banik Ostrava – 31 August 2013 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
9. "Dojemné sbohem! Costa ve Spartě končí, s fanoušky se loučí působivým videem". sport.cz. 14 July 2020.
10. "ISL: Who is Costa Nhamoinesu, Kerala Blasters' latest signing?". The Week. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
11. "Nhamoinesu signs for Kerala Blasters". futaa.com. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
12. "ISL: Kerala Blasters signs Zimbabwean defender Costa Nhamoinesu". SPORTSTAR. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
13. "പ്രതിരോധത്തിലെ കാളക്കൂറ്റൻ; സിംബാബ്‌വെ താരം കോസ്റ്റയെ ക്ലബ്ബിലെത്തിച്ച് കേരള ബ്ലാസ്റ്റേഴ്സ്". Indian Express Malayalam (in Malayalam). 10 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
14. Raghunathan, Abhijit (18 November 2020). "ISL 2020/21: Kerala Blasters name three captains for the season". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
15. "Toothless Kerala Blasters will need time to settle in". www.goal.com. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
16. "ISL: 10-man Kerala Blasters ride on Murray's late brace to stun Jamshedpur FC". The Times of India. 10 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
17. "Kerala Blasters release six overseas players ahead of new season". Khel Now. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
18. "Oficjalnie: Costa Nhamoinesu wrócił do Polski po ośmiu latach przerwy". Transfery.info (in Polish). 16 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
19. "Costa odchodzi z klubu" (in Polish). Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
20. Costa Nhamoinesu powołany do kadry Zimbabwe 27 September 2010, 90minut.pl
21. Moses Chibaye (20 October 2012). "Sunday Chidzambwa, Rushwaya get life bans". The Zimbabwean. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
22. "Costa se vrací do Sparty. Rozlučka před Hradcem, pak z něj bude skaut" (in Czech). iDNES.cz. 29 April 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
23. "Costa Nhamoinesu". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 19 November 2020.

External links

• Costa Nhamoinesu at Fortunaliga.cz
• Costa Nhamoinesu at Soccerway
• Costa Nhamoinesu at 90minut.pl (in Polish)