Jose Sampaio

José Sampaio left Benfica's academy with a résumé most youth defenders would envy — he had signed his first professional contract with the club at 16 and gone through both the Braga training centre and the Seixal campus — yet at the start of the 2023/24 season he chose to move on, joining Vizela. He spent his first year there working through the Sub-19 and Sub-23 sides before breaking into the first team in July 2024, and he has since become a regular starter for Vizela in Liga Portugal 2.

The centre-back's biggest moment in Vizela colours so far came on 8 November 2025, when he scored the winning goal away at Benfica B, sealing a 2-1 win against the very club that raised him. Across the 2025/26 campaign he has contributed three goals and an assist in 20 appearances, and the club rewarded his progress with a contract renewal through 2028.

Internationally, Sampaio has been capped at Portugal's youth levels and has also drawn a call-up to the Under-21 squad. He started for the Portugal Under-20 side at the 2026 Toulon Tournament, setting up a goal in a 4-1 group-stage win over Japan. Portugal went on to win the tournament, beating Tunisia Under-23 2-0 in the final on 13 June 2026.

Sampaio has built his game around the physical profile typical of a modern centre-back, and his path from Benfica's youth ranks to a starting role and a European title with the Under-20s suggests a player still on the way up.