José Carlos Cracco Neto (born 16 May 1994), known as Zeca, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right or left back for the Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer. Zeca helped Brazil win a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, starting all 6 games of the tournament and playing 554 of a possible 570 minutes.[1]
![]() Zeca with Brazil at the 2016 Olympics | ||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||
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Full name | José Carlos Cracco Neto | |||||||||
Date of birth | (1994-05-16) 16 May 1994 (age 28) | |||||||||
Place of birth | Paranavaí, Brazil | |||||||||
Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||
Position(s) | Full back | |||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||
Current team | Houston Dynamo | |||||||||
Number | 37 | |||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||
EF São Carlos | ||||||||||
2006–2007 | Santos | |||||||||
2007–2009 | América-SP | |||||||||
2009–2014 | Santos | |||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||
2014–2018 | Santos | 115 | (4) | |||||||
2018–2021 | Internacional | 48 | (0) | |||||||
2020–2021 | → Bahia (loan) | 11 | (1) | |||||||
2021 | Vasco da Gama | 40 | (1) | |||||||
2022– | Houston Dynamo | 20 | (0) | |||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||
2015–2016 | Brazil U23 | 9 | (0) | |||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 August 2016 |
Born in Paranavaí, Paraná, Zeca joined Santos' youth setup in 2006, aged 11.[2] In 2007, Zeca joined the youth setup of América-SP.[3] He returned to Santos in 2009 at the age of 15.[3] On 19 February 2014 he renewed his link with Peixe until 2018.[4]
On 9 March 2014 Zeca made his first-team debut, coming on as a late substitute for fellow youth graduate Emerson Palmieri in a 4–1 home win over Oeste in a Campeonato Paulista match.[5][6] He made his Série A debut on 11 May, playing the entire second half in a 2–0 away win against Figueirense.[7][6] Zeca ended his first season with the first team with 15 Série A matches, as Santos finished 9th in the table. He also made 2 appearances in the Copa do Brasil, helping Santos reach the semifinals, along with 1 appearance in the Campeonato Paulista.[6]
At the start of the 2015 campaign, Zeca was rarely used by managers Enderson Moreira and Marcelo Fernandes, playing just 4 times across all competitions under them.[8] He was nearly loaned to the Columbus Crew of MLS in July, but newly appointed manager Dorival Júnior convinced Zeca to stay, giving him a chance in the first team.[9][10][11] Zeca ended the season with 22 appearances and 4 assists in Série A play, helping the Peixe finish 7th.[12][8] He made 10 appearances in the Copa do Brasil as Santos reached the final, where they lost to Palmeiras 4–3 on penalties.[8] Zeca made 3 appearances in the 2015 Campeonato Paulista to help Santos win their 21st state league title.[8]
On 31 March 2016 Zeca scored his first professional goal, netting his team's first in a 4–1 Paulistão home routing of Ferroviária.[13][14] His first goal in the Brasileirão came on 12 June, the first of a 2–0 win at Santa Cruz.[15][14] In Série A play, Zeca scored 3 goals from 31 appearances as Santos finished runners-up, 9 points off first place Palmeiras.[14][16] In the 2016 Campeonato Paulista, he made 18 appearances and scored 1 goal to help the Peixe defend their title.[14] His strong performances during the tournament saw him named to the Paulistão Team of the Year.[17] He also made 4 Copa do Brasil appearances during the season.[14]
On 18 November 2016, after establishing himself as an undisputed starter, Zeca extended his contract until December 2020.[18][10]
He made his Copa Libertadores debut on 9 March 2017, starting in a 1–1 away draw against Sporting Cristal.[19][20] In April Zeca had surgery on his left meniscus, causing him to miss over a month.[21][22] On 28 May, in his 3rd game back from injury, he was subbed off early in the second half of a 1–0 loss to Cruzeiro due to swelling in his left knee and pain in his left calf.[21][22][23] On 3 August he returned after missing 2 months, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 win over Flamengo.[20] Zeca ended the 2017 season with 14 appearances and 1 assist in Brasileirão play to help Santos finish 3rd. He made 11 appearances in the Campeonato Paulista and 6 in Copa Libertadores, helping the Peixe reach the quarterfinals in both competitions.[20]
On 26 October 2017, after altercations with Santos supporters at São Paulo–Congonhas Airport and threatening graffiti was painted on the walls of the Vila Belmiro,[24] Zeca took a legal action against Santos by alleging a delay of payments.[25] He would not make another appearance for Santos during the 2017 season. Despite being granted the right to represent another club on 1 December, Santos appealed to stop the departure of the player on a free transfer.[26]
On 23 April 2018, Zeca signed with Sport Club Internacional as part of a swap deal that saw Eduardo Sasha's loan to Santos made permanent. Zeca signed a contract with Internacional until 30 June 2022, with Santos maintaining 50% of his rights and Internacional keeping 50% of Sasha's rights.[27][28][29] On 12 May, Zeca made his Internacional debut, starting as a central midfielder in a 0–0 draw against bitter rivals Grêmio.[30] During his first season in Porto Alegre, Zeca made 19 appearances and had 1 assist to help Internacional finish 3rd in the Série A table.[30]
During the 2019 season, Zeca played in 20 Série A matches as Internacional finished 7th in the standings. In the Campeonato Gaúcho, he made 9 appearances to help Inter reach the final, where they fell to Grêmio in a penalty shoot-out. In the Copa Libertadores, Zeca made 6 appearances as Inter reached the quarterfinals. He appeared in 2 of Internacional's Copa do Brasil matches, helping them reach the final, where they lost to Athletico Paranaense 3–1 on aggregate.[31]
On 15 January 2020, Zeca was loaned to Série A club Bahia for the 2020 season as part of a deal that saw fellow full-back Moisés go on loan in the opposite direction.[32][33] He made his Bahia debut on 19 February, coming off the bench in a 2–0 win over CSA in a Copa do Nordeste match.[34] On 16 November he scored his first goal for Bahia to give Tricolor a 2–1 win against Coritiba in a Série A match.[34] Zeca ended the season with 1 goal from 11 Série A matches as Bahia finished 14th in the table. In the Campeonato Baiano, Zeca made 5 appearances to help Bahia reach the final, where they won their 49th state league title after defeating Alagoinhas Atlético Clube on penalties. He made 2 appearances in the Copa do Nordeste as Tricolor reached the final, where they lost to Ceará 4–1 on aggregate.[34]
On 9 March 2021, Zeca reached an agreement with Internacional to have his contract terminated.[35]
On 9 March 2021, Zeca signed with Série B side Vasco da Gama on a contract running through the 2021 season plus a team option for 2022[36][37] Zeca made his Vasco debut on 18 March, playing the full match in a 1–1 draw against Caldense in a Copa do Brasil match.[38] He scored his first goal for the club on 27 March in a 2–2 draw with Madureira in a Campeonato Carioca match.[38] Zeca made 29 appearances and had 3 assists in Série B play as Vasco finished 10th.[39] He made 11 appearances, scored 1 goal, and had 1 assist in the Campeonato Carioca, helping Vasco win the Taça Rio.[40] He also made 6 appearances in the Copa da Brasil as Vasco da Gama reached the round of 16.[40]
On 6 December 2021, Vasco da Gama declined Zeca's contract option for 2022.[41]
On 10 February 2022, Zeca signed with Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo.[42] He made his Dynamo debut on 5 March, coming off the bench in a 1–0 loss at Sporting Kansas City.[43]
On 29 June 2016, Zeca was named to the 18 player squad for the 2016 Olympics by manager Rogério Micale.[44] On 20 August, Zeca played 120 minutes in the gold medal match as Brazil beat Germany 5–4 on penalties. He started all 6 games of the tournament and played 554 of a possible 570 minutes.[45]
Club | Season | League | State League[lower-alpha 1] | Cup[lower-alpha 2] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Santos | 2014 | Série A | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||
2015 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||||
2016 | 31 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 53 | 4 | ||||
2017 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | |||
Total | 82 | 3 | 33 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 137 | 4 | |||
Internacional | 2018 | Série A | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
2019 | 20 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | |||
total | 39 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 56 | 0 | |||
Bahia (loan) | 2020 | Série A | 11 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 19 | 1 |
Vasco da Gama | 2021 | Série B | 29 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 46 | 1 | ||
Houston Dynamo | 2022 | MLS | 20 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||
Career total | 181 | 4 | 58 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 279 | 6 |
Santos
Bahia
Vasco da Gama
Brazil U23
Individual
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Houston Dynamo FC – current squad | |
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Brazil men's football squad – 2016 Summer Olympics – Gold medalists | ||
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