Charting the key moments in Jose Sa's career which made him the player he is today.
B-team debut
23rd January 2013 | CS Maritimo B 0-0 UD Oliveirense
Having played for the youth sides at Merelinense, Benfica and Maritimo, it was at the Madeiran club where Sa would make the step up into senior football. Just five days after his 20th birthday, Sa was handed his debut for Maritimo’s B-team in their Segunda Liga clash at home to Oliveirense, with the stopper playing the full 90 minutes and keeping a clean sheet in the side’s goalless draw. Sa would keep four clean sheets in his first four games for Maritimo B, but despite the team’s turnaround with him between the sticks, would end up finishing the season in 16th place.
First senior clean sheet
30th October 2013 | Maritimo 0-0 Farense
Sa’s performances with the B-team, saw him promoted to the senior Maritimo side the following season, although he did begin the 2013/14 campaign by keeping another clean sheet for the reserves in their 1-0 Liga Portugal victory over SC Covilha. But one week later, he was in from the start of Maritimo’s Primeira Liga visit to Benfica, as he helped his side to a 2-1 win over the Portuguese giants. However, keeping clean sheets in the top flight was difficult task for Sa, whose first senior shut out came in an Allianz Cup intermediate stage second leg goalless draw with Farense.
First final
30th June 2015 | U21 European Championships
Sa was between the sticks in all of Portugal’s matches at the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup as the team made an eventual last 16 exit, but after two years of representing his county’s under-21s, the keeper was first choice going into the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championships. Sa kept clean sheets in the group games against England and Italy, before another shut out in the semi-final as Portugal ran out 5-0 winners over Germany. Sa also kept Sweden out in the final and saved one of the penalties in the shootout, but Portugal would have to settle for second place after a 4-3 loss on spot kicks.
First major trophy
5th May 2018 | Primeira Liga
A move to Porto arrived in summer 2016, which saw Sa back up Spanish icon Iker Casillas as number choice keeper, but after taking on the number one spot in the October of 2017, Sa would help the club to the league title. The keeper would make 13 consecutive appearances for the team as Porto would go on an unbeaten run, with 10 wins and three draws from those games, with Porto being named as league champions in early May. Although Sa would be dropped in the final two months of the campaign, Porto ended up finishing the campaign seven points clear of Benfica in second.
International debut
16th November 2023 | Liechtenstein 0-2 Portugal
First brought into the senior Portugal squad during his time with Porto in May 2017 for that year’s FIFA Confederations Cup, Sa was still uncapped when he was part of the group which claimed the inaugural 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals on home soil as well as being an unused substitute throughout the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. However, six years after his first call-up, Sa finally made his senior international debut in a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match – alongside Wolves teammate Toti – as the pair kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 away victory over Liechtenstein.
This article originally featured in Wolves' official 2025/26 matchday programme. Last season's programmes are still available to purchase online through retailers Curtis Sports.