Deroy D'Encarnação Duarte (born 4 July 1999) is a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Bulgarian First League The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

club

Ludogorets Razgrad Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 (), commonly known as Ludogorets Razgrad or simply Ludogorets, is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Razgrad, which currently competes in the First Professional Football League ...

. Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Cape Verde national team.

Club career

Sparta Rotterdam

Duarte played youth football for

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...

. As the

Tweede Divisie Tweede Divisie (; ) is the highest amateur (and historically the lowest professional) football league in the Netherlands. It was established in 1956, together with the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Between 1956 and 1960 and between 1962 and 19 ...

was reintroduced, he began playing regularly for Jong Sparta Rotterdam who had joined the

Dutch football league system The Dutch football league system consists of two fully professional leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie) and eight levels of amateur football leagues. The three highest amateur leagues, the Tweede, Derde and Vierde Divisie play in nationwide ...

. In the 2016–17 season, he was on Sparta's first-team bench for a few games without making an appearance. He made his professional debut for Sparta in the 2017–18 season, replacing Stijn Spierings in the 81st minute of a 3–0 away loss to

VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch association football, football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutc ...

. Sparta was relegated to the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

that season. However, he was part of the team that finished second and returned to the Eredivisie after winning the promotion play-off against

TOP Oss TOP Oss (), is a professional association football club based in the town of Oss, North Brabant, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system. Founded in 1928 as T.O.P., a Dutch abbrevia ...

and

De Graafschap Vereniging Betaald Voetbal De Graafschap, simply known as De Graafschap () is a professional association football club based in Doetinchem, Netherlands. The team competes in the , the second level of the Dutch football league system. Founded o ...

. In the following 2019–20 season, he was mainly a substitute, with his brother

Laros Duarte Laros Michael D'Encarnação Duarte (born 28 February 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hungarian club Puskás Akadémia. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Cape Verde national team. Club career Duarte m ...

among the players ahead of him in the pecking order. However, he established himself as a regular starter in his fifth and final season at Sparta, during the 2020–21 season. His contract with Sparta expired in June 2021, with Duarte having scored a total of 13 goals in 115 appearances for the club.

Fortuna Sittard

On 12 August 2021, Duarte signed a three-year contract with

Fortuna Sittard Fortuna Sittard (; ) is a professional football club from the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was establi ...

, who acquired him on a free transfer from Sparta. Two days later, he made his debut in the season opener against

Twente Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...

, which was won 2–1. On 26 February 2022, he scored his first goal for the club against Cambuur.

Ludogorets Razgrad

In June 2024, he moved to Bulgaria, joining

International career

Born in the Netherlands, Duarte is of Cape Verdean descent. He was called up to represent the Cape Verde national team for a set of friendlies in March 2022. He debuted with Cape Verde in a 2–0 friendly win over

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

Personal life

He is the younger brother of the footballer

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duarte, Deroy 1999 births Living people Footballers from Rotterdam Cape Verdean men's footballers 21st-century Cape Verdean sportsmen Cape Verde men's international footballers Netherlands men's youth international footballers Dutch sportspeople of Cape Verdean descent Jong Sparta players Sparta Rotterdam players Fortuna Sittard players PFC Ludogorets Razgrad players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Tweede Divisie players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Men's association football midfielders Dutch expatriate men's footballers Cape Verdean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players 21st-century Dutch sportsmen