January 3, the New England Revolution announced the signing of Portuguese central defender Jose Goncalves, 27, on loan with a purchase option from Switzerland’s FC Sion.
Goncalves is the Revolution's third international signing ahead of 2013, in addition to French midfielder Kalifa Cisse and Welsh midfielder Andy Dorman.
“The entire organization, along with my new teammates, was very welcoming when I came in November to see the facilities and meet with everyone," said Goncalves. "It was great to see how the club was run and only further supported my decision to come to New England."
Goncalves most recently played for Swiss Super League club FC Sion and has nine years of professional experience in various divisions and leagues in Europe.
He began his professional career in 2002 with Switzerland’s FC Basel and in 2004 moved to second division FC Winterhur, then Italy’s Serie B side Venezia in 2005 before moving back to Switzerland to FC Thun, where he made 26 appearances. In January 2006, Goncalves signed with Lithuania’s FBK Kaunas, but was immediately loaned to Scotland’s Heart of Midlothian, where he appeared in 57 matches between 2006 and 2010, while also going on a season-long loan to German 2 Bundesliga club FC Nuremberg for 2008-09. Following a knee injury that sidelined him in 2010, Goncalves signed with FC St. Gallen in January 2011, before moving to FC Sion.
Goncalves represented Portugal seven times at the Under-21 level.
Goncalves will officially be added to the Revolution’s international roster upon receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and his U.S. P-1 Visa.
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