Quick Facts
Biography
Lorenzo Joao Gordinho (born 26 April 1994) is a South African professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier Soccer League side Kaizer Chiefs and the South Africa national team.
An academy graduate of Chiefs, Gordinho made his senior professional debut in 2013 and has since gone on to represent the club on more than 50 occasions. He made his international debut for South Africa in 2017.
Club career
Early career
Gordinho is the son of former Orlando Pirates and Benoni United player, Manny Faria. In his early years, he and his brother Anthony played for Easterns in Benoni and later in Balfour, before being invited to train with Orlando Pirates’ development team. From there Gordinho was signed by Kazier Chiefs at the age of 15 after being put into contact with development coach, Lucky Stylianou by close friend Masalealo Seanego. His brother later trialled in Brazil before joining Ajax Cape Town's academy.
Kaizer Chiefs
Having progressed through the club's academy, Gordinho made his Kaizer Chiefs debut in the 2013–14 PSL season under coach Stuart Baxter. He made only two appearances across all competitions the following season as the club claimed a domestic double, winning the PSL and MTN 8 titles. Following Baxter's departure, and Steve Komphela's arrival in 2015, he was chosen to be part of the club's captains committee and became a regular within the starting line-up. He was voted PSL Player of the Month for August and September 2016. In January 2017, Gordinho was one of four Chiefs players who travelled to England to train with Fulham as part of a relationship-building exercise between the two clubs. Later that month, he was invited to trial with Danish Superliga side AaB and featured for the side in a friendly against Hoffenheim. A permanent move failed to materialize, however, and upon his return to South Africa he signed a new three-year contract with Chiefs.
International career
Though born in Benoni, South Africa, Gordinho was eligible to represent Portugal as his father is Portuguese.
South African national football team
In March 2017, Gordinho received his first call-up to the South African national side by interim-coach Owen Da Gama before making his debut under Stuart Baxter in a 2–1 friendly loss to Zambia in June.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 20 September 2017
| Club | Season | League | Cup1 | League Cup2 | Continental3 | Other4 | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Kaizer Chiefs | 2013–14 | PSL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2014–15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 3 | ||
| 2017–18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 49 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 62 | 7 | ||
1 Includes Nedbank Cup matches.
2 Includes Telkom Knockout matches.
4 Includes MTN 8 matches.
International
- As of 4 September 2017
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 2017 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Honours
Club
- Kaizer Chiefs
- Premier Soccer League: 2014–15.
Individual
- PSL Player of the Month (2): August 2016; September 2016