Herculano Nabian

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Bucanciland the second or paternal family name is Nabian.

Herculano Nabian

Personal information
Full name	Herculano Bucancil Nabian
Date of birth	(2004-01-25) 25 January 2004 (age 20)
Place of birth	Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Empoli
Number	87
Youth career
2013–2015	Recreios Algueirão
2015–2018	Belenenses
2018–2020	Vitória Guimarães
2022–	→ Empoli U19 (loan)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020–2023	Vitória Guimarães B	35	(10)
2021–2023	Vitória Guimarães	5	(0)
2022–2023	→ Empoli (loan)	1	(0)
2023–	Empoli	0	(0)
International career‡
2019	Portugal U15	5	(3)
2019	Portugal U16	6	(5)
2019–2020	Portugal U17	9	(4)
2021–2022	Portugal U18	11	(2)
2022–	Portugal U19	13	(1)
2023–	Portugal U20	5	(1)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Portugal UEFA European Under-19 Championship Runner-up 2023 Malta
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:11, 18 October 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:50, 19 November 2023 (UTC)

Herculano Bucancil Nabian (born 25 January 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Empoli. Born in Guinea-Bissau, he is a youth international for Portugal.

Club career

Born in Bissau, Nabian was formed at C.F. Os Belenenses before joining Vitória de Guimarães in 2018. His tally of 51 goals in two years in their youth team earned attention from foreign teams, and in July 2020, he signed his first professional contract of three years with the option of one more, and a buyout clause of €60 million. ^{[1] [2]}

In the 2020–21 season, he took part with the reserve team in the third tier, scoring 7 goals in 21 games. This included a hat-trick on 3 April in a 5–1 win over the second team of Rio Ave FC. ^[3] On 26 July 2021, he made his first-team debut in the first round of the Taça da Liga in a 4–1 home win over Leixões S.C. as an 85th-minute substitute; he assisted the final goal by Maga. ^[4] His Primeira Liga bow came on 8 August again as a late replacement at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, in a 1–0 loss to Portimonense SC. ^[5]

On 6 August 2022, Nabian joined Serie A club Empoli on loan. ^[6] The Italian side paid a €150.000 loan fee and an option-to-buy was set at €450.000 plus €600.000 in future add-ons. ^[7] In April 2023, Empoli decided to trigger the buy-clause, with Nabian signing a four-year contract. ^[8]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 11 March 2023 ^{[9] [10]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Vitória Guimarães B	2020–21	Campeonato de Portugal	21	7	—		—		21	7
	2021–22	Liga 3	14	3	—		—		14	3
	Total		35	10	—		—		35	10
Vitória Guimarães	2021–22	Primeira Liga	5	0	0	0	1	0	6	0
Empoli (loan)	2022–23	Serie A	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
Empoli	2023–24	Serie A	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Career total			41	10	0	0	1	0	42	10

References

1. "Vitória em negociações para renovar contrato do internacional Herculano Nabian" [Vitória in negotiations to renew contract of international Herculano Nabian] (in Portuguese). Guimarães Digital. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
2. Freitas, Bruno (14 July 2020). "Herculano Nabian renova com V. Guimarães e fica com cláusula de rescisão de 60 milhões de euros" [Herculano Nabian renews with V. Guimarães and ends up with release clause of 60 million euros]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 February 2022.
3. "Quer ser "referência no Vitória" e sonha com o Real Madrid: eis Herculano" [He wants to be an "icon for Vitória" and dreams of Real Madrid: behold Herculano]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 14 April 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
4. "V. Guimarães: mais novo do século estreou-se com assistência" [V. Guimarães: youngest of the century debuted with assist] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
5. "DIRETO V. Guimarães-Portimonense" [LIVE V. Guimarães-Portimonense]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 8 August 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
6. "Herculano Nabian è un nuovo calciatore azzurro" [Herculano Nabian is a new footballer in blue] (in Italian). Empoli. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
7. "V. Guimarães empresta Herculano ao Empoli" [V. Guimarães loans Herculano to Empoli] (in European Portuguese). Record. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
8. "Herculano Nabian fica em Itália: saiba quanto rende ao V. Guimarães" [Herculano Nabian remains in Italy: find out how much it's worth to V. Guimarães] (in European Portuguese). O Jogo. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
9. Herculano Nabian at Soccerway
10. Herculano Nabian at ForaDeJogo (archived)

External links

• Herculano Nabian national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)