Francisco Conceição

Francisco Fernandes da Conceição (born 14 December 2002) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Portugal under-21 national team.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Fernandes and the second or paternal family name is da Conceição.
Francisco Conceição
Personal information
Full name Francisco Fernandes da Conceição
Date of birth (2002-12-14) 14 December 2002
Place of birth Coimbra, Portugal
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Ajax
Number 35
Youth career
2011–2017 Sporting
2017–2018 Padroense
2018–2020 Porto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2021 Porto B 20 (4)
2021–2022 Porto 39 (2)
2022– Ajax 18 (0)
2022– Jong Ajax 6 (3)
International career‡
2018 Portugal U16 9 (1)
2018 Portugal U17 3 (1)
2019 Portugal U18 3 (1)
2021– Portugal U21 16 (3)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  Portugal
UEFA European U21 Championship
Runner-up2021
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:02, 24 April 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:18, 1 May 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Francisco Conceição joined Sporting's academy at the age of eight, spending six seasons at the club.[1] He spent a season at Porto's feeder club Padroense[1][2] before joining Porto's youth setup in 2018.[1]

Porto

In August 2020, Conceição signed his first professional contract with the club,[3][4] and made his professional debut in a 1–0 loss against Varzim during the 2020–21 Liga Portugal 2 season.[5] He made his debut in the Portuguese top tier in a 2–2 draw against Boavista, on 13 February 2021;[1][6] four days later, he became the second youngest Porto player to feature in a UEFA Champions League match, coming on in the last minutes of a 2–1 win against Juventus in the round of 16 of the 2020–21 season.[7]

In 2021–22, Conceição played 33 total games as Porto won a league and cup double; only four were starts, including one in the league.[8] He contributed three goals, beginning with a penalty to conclude a 5–1 home win over Feirense in the fourth round of the Taça de Portugal;[9] his first league goal on 8 January won the game 3–2 at Estoril two minutes after coming on for Fábio Cardoso.[10]

Ajax

On 21 July 2022, Conceição signed with Eredivisie club Ajax, on a five-year contract.[11] Nine days later, he was an unused substitute as they lost the 2022 Johan Cruyff Shield 5–3 to PSV Eindhoven.[12] He made his debut for the reserves on 8 August, equalising in a 1–1 Eerste Divisie draw at home to SC Telstar;[13] his first-team debut came on 3 September in a 4–0 home win over SC Cambuur, replacing double goalscorer Steven Bergwijn after 61 minutes.[14] On 1 November, two minutes after replacing Bergwijn, he scored his first goal to conclude a 3–1 win at Rangers in the UEFA Champions League group stage.[15] He played in the 2023 KNVB Cup final against PSV, coming on in the 75th minute for Steven Berghuis as the game ended 1–1 and Ajax lost on penalties.[16]

Style of play

Conceição's early promise and his small stature (1.70 m),[17] led to comparisons to Lionel Messi in the Portuguese press,[18] with him sometimes being nicknamed "Messi do Olival" (Olival's Messi) by fans and in media outlets.[19]

Personal life

Born in Coimbra, Conceição is the fourth son of former Portugal international footballer and current manager Sérgio Conceição; his older brothers Sérgio and Rodrigo are also professional footballers.[20][21]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 2 April 2023[22][23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Porto B 2020–21 Segunda Liga 204————204
Porto 2020–21 Primeira Liga 14010002[lower-alpha 3]0—170
2021–22 Primeira Liga 16131102[lower-alpha 3]0—222
Total 301411040—392
Ajax 2022–23 Eredivisie 16030—4[lower-alpha 4]100231
Career total 66571108100827
  1. Includes Taça de Portugal, KNVB Cup
  2. Includes Taça da Liga
  3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. Three appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Porto

References
  1. Almeida, Isaura (14 February 2021). "Quem é Francisco Conceição (além de ser filho de Sérgio)?" [Who is Francisco Conceição (besides being Sérgio's son)?]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  2. Aresta, Luís (15 February 2021). "Francisco Conceição, o novo "'abre-latas" do FC Porto" [Francisco Conceição, FC Porto's new "can opener"]. Rádio Renascença (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  3. "Francisco Conceição assina contrato profissional com o FC Porto" [Francisco Conceição signs professional contract with FC Porto]. Record (in Portuguese). 27 August 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  4. "Filhos de Sérgio Conceição reforçam equipa B do FC Porto" [Sérgio Conceição's sons sign with Porto's B team]. Sapo Desporto (in Portuguese). Lusa. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  5. "Varzim vence FC Porto B com golo solitário de Yusuf" [Varzim wins against FC Porto B with solo Yusuf goal]. Notícias ao Minuto (in Portuguese). Lusa. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  6. Fernandes, Mariana (13 February 2021). "Francisco, só ele, merecia que as lágrimas de alegria não tivessem sido em vão (a crónica do FC Porto-Boavista)" [Francisco, only him, deserved that the tears of joy wouldn't be for nothing (the chronicle of FC Porto-Boavista)]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  7. "Francisco Conceição é o segundo mais jovem de sempre a estrear-se na Champions pelo FC Porto" [Francisco Conceição is the second youngest ever to debut in the Champions League for FC Porto]. Rádio Renascença (in Portuguese). 18 February 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  8. "Francisco Conceição nas redes sociais: "Sempre especial voltar às origens"" [Francisco Conceição on social networks: "It's always special to return to your roots"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 20 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  9. "FC Porto goleia Feirense e filho de Conceição estreia-se a marcar" [FC Porto thrash Feirense and Conceição's son scores for the first time]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 20 November 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  10. Coelho, Nuno (8 January 2022). "Super-Díaz conduz dragões e Conceições dão o xeque-mate" [Super-Díaz drives the Dragons and the Conceiçãos do the checkmate]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  11. "Ajax sign Francisco Conceição". english.ajax.nl. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  12. "Supertaça para o PSV em partida de oito golos" [Super Cup for PSV in game of eight goals] (in Portuguese). Rádio Renascença. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  13. Brood, Thomas (9 August 2022). "Met smaakmaker Conceição speelt Jong Ajax gelijk tegen Telstar" (in Dutch). NH Nieuws. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  14. Pus, Milton (4 September 2022). "Dubbelslag Bergwijn helpt Ajax in het zadel tegen Cambuur na onrustige week" (in Dutch). NH Nieuws. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  15. "Rangers' defeat by Ajax sets new low and seals Champions League misery". The Guardian. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  16. "PSV-Ajax: Fábio Silva bate penálti e conquista Taça a Francisco Conceição" [PSV-Ajax: Fábio Silva scores penalty and wins Cup against Francisco Conceição] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  17. Querido, Rodrigo (24 February 2021). "Há um 'Messi' a nascer no Olival e cada vez mais decisivo no FC Porto" [A "Messi" is born at Olival and he is increasingly decisive in FC Porto]. Notícias ao Minuto (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  18. Custódio, Miguel (14 February 2021). "Francisco: o filho de Conceição que "não tem nada a ver com o pai" e "faz lembrar Messi"" [Francisco: Conceição's son that is "nothing like his father" and "reminds of Messi"]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  19. Martins, Arnaldo (15 February 2021). ""Messi do Olival" cumpre sonho e dá a vida pelo pai" ["Olival's Messi" fulfills his dream and gives his life for his father]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  20. Roseiro, Bruno (8 June 2017). "O clã Conceição: o pai treina o FC Porto, um filho joga no Benfica, outro está no Sporting" [The Conceição family: the father manages FC Porto, a son plays in Benfica and another in Sporting]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  21. Soares da Silva, Eduardo (28 December 2019). "Filho de Sérgio Conceição estreia-se na II Liga" [Sérgio Conceição's son debuts in II Liga]. Rádio Renascença (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  22. Francisco Conceição at ForaDeJogo (archived)
  23. Francisco Conceição at Soccerway
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