 Josué withLegia Warsaw in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Josué Filipe Soares Pesqueira[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1990-09-17)17 September 1990 (age 35)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Valongo, Portugal[1] | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Coritiba | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2009 | Porto | ||
| 2005–2006 | →Padroense (loan) | ||
| 2007 | →Candal (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2011 | Porto | 0 | (0) |
| 2009 | →Covilhã (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2010 | →Penafiel (loan) | 14 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | →VVV (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | Paços Ferreira | 42 | (0) |
| 2013–2017 | Porto | 20 | (4) |
| 2014–2016 | →Bursaspor (loan) | 44 | (7) |
| 2016 | →Braga (loan) | 12 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | →Galatasaray (loan) | 25 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | Osmanlıspor | 9 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Akhisarspor | 20 | (2) |
| 2019–2021 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 53 | (13) |
| 2021–2024 | Legia Warsaw | 94 | (23) |
| 2024– | Coritiba | 54 | (8) |
| International career | |||
| 2009 | Portugal U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2009 | Portugal U20 | 3 | (2) |
| 2010–2012 | Portugal U21 | 17 | (3) |
| 2013–2014 | Portugal | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11:26, 11 December 2025 (UTC) | |||
Josué Filipe Soares Pesqueira (born 17 September 1990), known simply asJosué, is a Portuguese professionalfootballer who plays as anattacking midfielder forCampeonato Brasileiro Série A clubCoritiba.
He spent most of his career attached toPorto, though he was often loaned out, and also representedPaços de Ferreira andBraga in thePrimeira Liga. Abroad, he played for four clubs in Turkey'sSüper Lig, among themBursaspor andGalatasaray. He also had a three-year spell atLegia Warsaw, where he won thePolish Cup and thePolish Super Cup in 2023, before joining Coritiba the following year.
Josué made his full debut forPortugal in 2013.
Born inValongo,Porto District, Josué joinedFC Porto's youth system at the age of nine. He spent his first two seasons as a senior on loan, both in Portugal and abroad, representing successivelyS.C. Covilhã,[2]F.C. Penafiel (both in theSegunda Liga) andVVV-Venlo (Netherlands).[3]
In summer 2011, Josué was released by Porto with only two official appearances to his credit, both in theTaça da Liga,[4][5] and signed withF.C. Paços de Ferreira. He made hisPrimeira Liga debut on 17 September, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 away loss againstC.D. Nacional.[6] In hissecond year he contributed 23 league appearances – 18 starts – as the club finished a best-ever third andqualified for theUEFA Champions League, and was chosen as Best Young Player in the competition in the process.[7]
Josué agreed on a return to former side Porto on 29 May 2013, penning a four-year contract and moving alongside managerPaulo Fonseca.[8][9] On 10 August he won his first club honour, coming on as asubstitute in a3–0 win overVitória de Guimarães in theSupertaça Cândido de Oliveira,[10] and scored his first goal for his new team a week later starting and netting through apenalty kick in a 3–1 victory atVitória de Setúbal.[11]
Deemed surplus to requirements at Porto as practically all Portuguese players, Josué then spent 18 months on loan atBursaspor. He made hisSüper Lig debut on 30 August 2014, coming on as a latesubstitute in a 0–2 home loss toGalatasaray SK, andhelped the team to the final of theTurkish Cup, notably contributing a brace to a 3–2 away defeat ofSamsunspor in the group phase on 24 December 2014.[12] On 26 January 2016, he returned to his homeland and was loaned toS.C. Braga for the rest ofthe campaign,[13] netting against his parent club inthe decisive match of theTaça de Portugal that was won in apenalty shootout for their first such title in half a century.[14]
On 23 August 2016, Josué returned to Turkey, joining Galatasaray on aseason-long loan.[15] He scored his first goal for theIstanbul-based team on 25 December, closing a 5–1 home win againstAlanyaspor six minutes after replacingEren Derdiyok.[16]
Josué left Porto in August 2017, signing a two-year contract atOsmanlıspor again in Turkey's top flight.[17] He was released in December, and resumed his career the following July with a deal of the same length atAkhisarspor.[18] His sidefinished runners-up in the Turkish Cup to former club Galatasaray, with him scoring in both legs of a 5–2 aggregate victory overKasımpaşa S.K. in the quarter-finals.[19] In June 2019, however, afterbeing relegated, he severed his ties to the organisation.[20]
In September 2019, Josué signed forHapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. of theIsraeli Premier League for two years, joining compatriotMiguel Vítor.[21] Later joined byDavid Simão, they won theState Cup in hisfirst season, with him scoring in the semi-finals againstBnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. on 10 June and the2–0 final win overMaccabi Petah Tikva F.C. on 13 July.[22][23]
Josué and Vítor cut their salaries in half in May 2020 to stay in Israel for another year.[24] Ten months later, he extended his stay for one more season.[25]
On 21 June 2021, Josué joined PolishEkstraklasa championsLegia Warsaw on a two-year contract.[26] He and his compatriotYuri Ribeiro won the2022–23 edition of thePolish Cup, defeatingRaków Częstochowa 6–5 on penalties.[27]
Josué scored 12 goals in 32 games in2022–23 as the team from thecapital city came runners-up to Raków Częstochowa, adding sevenassists and being voted the league's Midfielder of the Season and also nominated for Player of the Season, which went toKamil Grosicki.[28] On 29 October that year, he scored ahat-trick in a 5–2 win atJagiellonia Białystok;[29] his performances earned him a one-year extension.[30]
On 5 October 2023, Josué was arrested by Dutch police alongside teammateRadovan Pankov after an altercation with security staff following a match againstAZ Alkmaar in thegroup stage of theUEFA Europa Conference League;[31] they were released the following day without charge.[32] On 14 December, he assistedBlaž Kramer in the reverse fixture for a 2–0 home victory, securing qualification as second.[33] The following day,UEFA charged AZ with a €40,000 fine for failing to provide security for the Polish side at theAZ Stadium.[34]
In May 2024, Josué was again nominated for the Ekstraklasa Midfielder of the Season award.[35] Shortly after, he announced onInstagram that he would leave theWarsaw Stadium on 30 June when his contract expired.[36] During his last appearance for Legia,ultras displayed a banner with the words inPortuguese: “Obrigado, capitão!” (lit. 'Thank you, Captain!').[37] The fans gathered at the stadium to chant his name, and when he walked off the field in the 90th minute they honoured him with a standing ovation. He assisted both goals in the 2–1 win overZagłębie Lubin, and later approached theŻyleta stand with his daughter to thank the supporters;[37] his departure was due to the reluctance of the board of directors, most notably sporting directorJacek Zieliński, to hand him a new deal. The decision, announced three weeks before the end ofthe campaign, was met with resentment from club fans, with managerGonçalo Feio also distancing himself from it.[37]
On 14 August 2024, Josué signed withCampeonato Brasileiro Série B clubCoritiba Foot Ball Club.[38] He won the national championship in hissecond season,[39] being voted best player in the process;[40] he was one of his team's top scorers at six goals,[41] also leading the league in chances created according to theSofascore website.[42]
Josué won 26caps forPortugal across allyouth levels, including 17 for theunder-21 team. He made his debut with the full side on 11 October 2013, playing 21 minutes in a 1–1 home draw withIsrael for the2014 FIFA World Cupqualifiers.[43][44]
In the second leg ofthe play-offs againstSweden on 19 November, Josué (who was not used in the game)extended his middle finger towards the opposing fans, while celebrating his country's qualification to the World Cup after the final whistle.[45]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Porto | 2008–09[46] | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| Covilhã (loan) | 2009–10[46] | Segunda Liga | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 2 | ||
| Penafiel (loan) | 2009–10[46] | Segunda Liga | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| VVV (loan) | 2010–11[47] | Eredivisie | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Paços Ferreira | 2011–12[46] | Primeira Liga | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13[46] | Primeira Liga | 23 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 4 | — | — | 33 | 5 | |||
| Total | 42 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 5 | — | — | 56 | 6 | ||||
| Porto | 2013–14[46] | Primeira Liga | 20 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 35 | 5 |
| Bursaspor (loan) | 2014–15[47] | Süper Lig | 30 | 7 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | 39 | 9 | |||
| 2015–16[47] | Süper Lig | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 17 | 0 | |||
| Total | 44 | 7 | 11 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 56 | 9 | ||||
| Braga (loan) | 2015–16[46] | Primeira Liga | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | 5 | 2 | — | 20 | 5 | ||
| Galatasaray (loan) | 2016–17[47] | Süper Lig | 25 | 2 | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | 33 | 4 | |||
| Osmanlispor | 2017–18[47] | Süper Lig | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Akhisarspor | 2018–19[47] | Süper Lig | 20 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 29 | 4 | ||
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2019–20[47] | Israeli Premier League | 28 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 32 | 6 | |||
| 2020–21[47] | Israeli Premier League | 25 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 4 | — | 34 | 13 | |||
| Total | 53 | 13 | 4 | 2 | — | 9 | 4 | — | 66 | 19 | ||||
| Legia Warsaw | 2021–22[47] | Ekstraklasa | 30 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 10 | 0 | — | 44 | 3 | ||
| 2022–23[47] | Ekstraklasa | 32 | 12 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | 37 | 15 | ||||
| 2023–24[47] | Ekstraklasa | 32 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | 14 | 2 | 1[d] | 0 | 49 | 11 | ||
| Total | 94 | 23 | 11 | 4 | — | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 131 | 28 | |||
| Career total | 342 | 55 | 55 | 15 | 14 | 6 | 51 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 466 | 84 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal[48] | 2013 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
Porto
Braga
Akhisarspor
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Legia Warsaw
Coritiba
Individual
