Kristopher Da Graca

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Santosand the second or paternal family name is Da Graca.

Kristopher Da Graca

Personal information
Full name	Kristopher Santos Da Graca
Date of birth	(1998-01-16) 16 January 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth	Gothenburg, Sweden
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Schaffhausen (on loan from Sirius)
Youth career
0000–2013	Hisingsbacka FC
2013–2017	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2020	IFK Göteborg	51	(0)
2021–2022	VVV-Venlo	35	(0)
2022–	Sirius	30	(0)
2023	→ HJK (loan)	5	(0)
2024	→ KuPS (loan)	11	(0)
2025–	Schaffhausen	0	(0)
International career‡
2013–2014	Sweden U17	4	(1)
2015–2016	Sweden U19	3	(0)
2020	Sweden	1	(0)
2023–	Cape Verde	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:24, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Kristopher Santos Da Graca (born 16 January 1998) is a footballer who plays as a centre back for Schaffhausen, on loan from Sirius. ^[1] Born in Sweden, he plays for the Cape Verde national team.

Club career

On 6 January 2021, Da Graca was transferred from Swedish side IFK Göteborg to Dutch club VVV-Venlo. ^[2]

On 29 January 2022, Da Graca returned to Sweden and signed with IK Sirius. ^[3]

On 27 July 2023, Da Graca was loaned out to Finnish club HJK Helsinki for the rest of the 2023 season with a purchase option. After the season, he returned to Sirius. ^{[4] [5]} On 1 March 2024, Da Graca was loaned out to Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) in Veikkausliiga for the 2024 season, with a purchase option. ^[6]

International career

Da Graca was born in Sweden to parents from Cape Verde. ^[7] He was a youth international for Sweden. In January 2020, he was selected for the Swedish national a-team's international training matches in Doha, Qatar against Moldova and Kosovo by head coach, Janne Andersson. He is still eligible to represent Cape Verde due to his heritage.

He made his international debut for the Sweden national team on 12 January 2020 in a friendly game against Kosovo. ^[8]

On 4 October 2023, Da Graca got a call-up to Cape Verde national team for friendly matches against Algeria and Comoros, on 12 and 17 October 2023, respectively. ^[9] On 17 October, he debuted with the Cape Verdean national side and was included in the starting lineup in a friendly match against Comoros hosted at Stade Parsemain in Fos-sur-Mer, France. His side lost the match 2–1. ^[10]

Career statistics

As of 23 October 2024.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup [a]		League cup [b]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
IFK Göteborg	2017	Allsvenskan	7	0	1	0	–		–		8	0
	2018	Allsvenskan	4	0	0	0	–		–		4	0
	2019	Allsvenskan	22	0	2	0	–		–		24	0
	2020	Allsvenskan	18	0	0	0	–		0	0	18	0
	Total		51	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	54	0
VVV-Venlo	2020–21	Eredivisie	20	0	2	0	–		–		22	0
	2021–22	Eerste Divisie	15	0	1	0	–		–		16	0
	Total		35	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	38	0
Sirius	2022	Allsvenskan	22	0	1	0	–		–		23	0
	2023	Allsvenskan	8	0	2	0	–		–		10	0
	Total		30	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	33	0
HJK Helsinki (loan)	2023	Veikkausliiga	5	0	0	0	0	0	4 [c]	0	9	0
KuPS (loan)	2024	Veikkausliiga	11	0	4	0	2	0	1 [d]	0	18	0
KuPS Akatemia (loan)	2024	Ykkönen	1	0	–		–		–		1	0
Schaffhausen (loan)	2024–25	Swiss Challenge League	0	0	0	0	–		–		0	0
Career total			133	0	13	0	2	0	5	0	153	0

1. Includes Svenska Cupen, KNVB Beker and Suomen Cup
2. Includes Finnish League Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League
4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Conference League

International

National team	Year	Competitive		Friendly		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sweden	2020	0	0	1	0	1	0
Total		0	0	1	0	1	0
Cape Verde	2023	0	0	1	0	1	0
Total		0	0	1	0	1	0

Honours

HJK

• Veikkausliiga: 2023

KuPS

• Veikkausliiga: 2024 ^[11]
• Finnish Cup: 2024
• Finnish League Cup runner-up: 2024

References

1. Kristopher Da Graca at Soccerway
2. "VVV-Venlo sign Swedish centre-back with Arsenal past". Football Oranje. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
3. "Kristopher Da Graca klar för Sirius Fotboll" (Press release) (in Swedish). IK Sirius. 29 January 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
4. Kristopher Da Graca Ruotsista lainalle Klubiin, hjk.fi, 26 July 2023
5. Pelaajasiirrot 2023-24 seuroittain, Veikkausliiga, 15 December 2023
6. KuPSille kova vahvistus – tervetuloa Kuopioon Da Graca!, kups.fi, 1 March 2024
7. "Kristopher da Graça o filho de cabo-verdiano que joga no Arsenal - DTudo1Pouco". dtudo1pouco.com. 8 April 2016.
8. "Kristopher Da Graca — svenskfotboll.se". www2.svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
9. "Seleção Masculina defronta Argelia e Comores em compromisso amigável". 4 October 2023.
10. "Cape Verde vs. Comoros 2023-10-17". NationalFootballTeams.com. 18 November 2023.
11. Kuopio villiintyi KuPSin mestaruudesta – Eini ilmestyi juhlahumuun, Yle, 19 October 2024

External links

• Kristopher Da Graca at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
• #4 Kristopher Da Graca at ifkdb.com