# Gonçalo Brandão

Gonçalo Jardim Brandão (born 9 October 1986) is a Portuguese former professional footballer. Mainly a central defender, he also appeared as a left-back.

## Club career
### Belenenses

A product of hometown C.F. Os Belenenses' academy, Lisbon-born Brandão scored in his second match in the Primeira Liga aged 17, against FC Porto in a 1–4 home loss on 18 October 2003 when he still had not finished his youth career. He only managed another seven first-team appearances over the next three seasons, with a loan to Charlton Athletic in 2005–06 in between (no Premier League appearances).
Brandão played his first league match after his Belenenses return on 4 February 2007, in a 1–0 away win over Vitória F.C. where he started.

### Siena

In June 2008, it was announced Brandão had signed a four-year contract with Serie A's AC Siena. After a shaky start – he only made his league debut on 20 December in a 1–2 home defeat to Inter Milan– he finished his first season as a starter.
After the end of the 2009–10 campaign, Brandão was loaned to Juventus FC for the United States tour along with Albin Ekdal (owned by Juve and loaned to Siena) and three other players.

### Parma

On 22 June 2011, after contributing only two games to Siena's top-flight return, Brandão signed for Parma FC on loan. In the following summer, the clubs were involved in a player-only transaction which saw Parma sign Brandão, Alessandro Iacobucci, Giuseppe Pacini and Andrea Rossi, while Siena acquired Manuel Coppola, Paolo Hernán Dellafiore, Abdou Doumbia and Alberto Galuppo – both organisations also retained 50% registration rights on their players.
Brandão left for Serie B club AC Cesena on 7 July 2012, as Marco Parolo moved to Parma in a temporary deal for €1 million, with the latter side also being responsible of €1.8 million in wages. In the ensuing off-season, still owned by both Parma and Siena, he signed for Romanian club CFR Cluj along with Denilson Gabionetta.

### Belenenses return

On 6 January 2014, Brandão returned to Portugal and Belenenses in a temporary deal. On 20 June he was sold back to Siena, with Galuppo returning to Parma. However, the Italians declared their liquidation on 15 July as the club did not meet the financial requirements for the upcoming season, and the player re-joined Belenenses as a free agent.
Subsequently, Brandão represented G.D. Estoril Praia (Portuguese top division) and FC Lausanne-Sport (Swiss Challenge League). He scored his only goal for the latter on 21 September 2018, in a 1–1 home draw with FC Aarau.
Brandão retired at the end of the 2020–21 campaign aged 34, as a member of Porto B. Afterwards, he worked as assistant coach at Sporting CP B and Casa Pia AC.

## International career

After having represented Portugal at almost every youth level, including the under-21s, Brandão made his debut for the full side on 31 March 2009, appearing as a left-back in a 2–0 friendly victory against South Africa in Lausanne, Switzerland.

## Career statistics

    As of 14 May 2016
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Belenenses | 2003–04 | Primeira Liga | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 |
| Belenenses | 2004–05 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 |
| Belenenses | 2006–07 | Primeira Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Belenenses | 2007–08 | Primeira Liga | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Belenenses | Total | Total | 19 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
| Charlton Athletic (loan) | 2005–06 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Siena | 2008–09 | Serie A | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 |
| Siena | 2009–10 | Serie A | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 |
| Siena | 2010–11 | Serie B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Siena | Total | Total | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 44 | 0 |
| Parma | 2011–12 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Cesena (loan) | 2012–13 | Serie A | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 |
| CFR Cluj (loan) | 2013–14 | Liga I | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Belenenses (loan) | 2013–14 | Primeira Liga | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 |
| Belenenses | 2014–15 | Primeira Liga | 29 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 |
| Belenenses | 2015–16 | Primeira Liga | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| Belenenses | Total | Total | 67 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 84 | 1 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 155 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 181 | 2 |
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League