Nicolao Manuel Dumitru Cardoso (born 12 October 1991) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a left winger or a forward.
Club career
Empoli Dumitru started his professional career at Empoli, in a match during the 2008–09 season in Serie B. He also played another game in the following season, still at Serie B level.
Napoli On 31 August 2010, he was signed by Serie A club S.S.C. Napoli at age 18 and 11 months. He failed to break into the first team during his period at Napoli, making only nine Serie A appearances at the club. Dumitru also played a few games for the reserve.
Return to Empoli On 20 July 2011, it was announced Dumitru would return to Empoli in Serie B for the 2011–12 season on a one-year loan basis. On 27 August he scored on his debut, in the first match of the league, against Juve Stabia.
Further Italian loan spells On 23 July 2012, Dumitru joined Serie B club Ternana on a season-long loan deal until the end of the 2012–13 season. On 31 January 2013 the loan was terminated. Dumitru joined Citadella on a temporary deal the same day. He joined Reggina on loan for the 2013–14 season.
Loan to Veria On 13 August 2014, Greek club Veria announced the loan signing of Dumitru from Napoli on a one-year deal. He debuted on 24 August 2014 in the season's premiere home match against Skoda Xanthi where he scored his first goal. On 13 September 2014, in a match against Kerkyra, he scored his second goal and was the victim of "derogatory and racist remarks" Horacio Cardozo. The incident was reported by Veria's squad and Cardozo was invited by the Hellenic Football Federation to further give an explanation of the incident that took place. The HFF found Cardozo not guilty due to the lack of strong evidence. Dumitru was twice nominated for the Best Goal award for the goals that he scored on the first matchday as well as on the third, and won the award for his second goal in the championship. He also scored twice on his 2014–15 Greek Cup debut in home 4–1 victory against Ermionida. He got his first assist with Veria against PAS Giannina where Nikos Kaltsas scored. He scored his third championship goal in a home victory against Levadiakos during Super League's seventh matchday.
Loan to Nottingham Forest On 30 August 2016, Dumitru joined Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan. On 30 December 2016, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 lost against Newcastle United.
Alcorcón On 1 August 2017, Dumitru signed a two-year deal with Spanish Segunda División club AD Alcorcón.
Gimnàstic On 11 January 2018, he moved to fellow league team Gimnàstic de Tarragona.
Livorno On 5 February 2019, Dumitru signed with Italian club Livorno.
Gaz Metan Mediaș On 25 July 2019, Dumitru signed a two-year contract with Romanian club Gaz Metan Mediaș.
Suwon Samsung Bluewings On 14 January 2021, Dumitru signed a contract with Korean club Suwon Bluewings.
UTA Arad On 17 January 2021, Dumitru moved to Romania to sign with UTA Arad
Bnei Sakhnin In July 2022, Dumitru successively signed a one-year contract for Israel club, Bnei Sakhnin.
Buriram United On 8 July 2023, Dumitru moved to Thailand giants, Buriram United.
Johor Darul Ta'zim On 3 February 2024, Dumitru moved to Malaysia giants, Johor Darul Ta'zim.
PSS Sleman On 30 July 2024, Dumitru move to Indonesian club, PSS Sleman.
International career Dumitru was eligible to play international football for Sweden by birth, Brazil through his mother, Romania through his father and Italy through residency, his family having migrated there from Sweden when he was a child.
With the Italy U-19 national team in 2010, he took part in the U-19 European Championship. He was also a member of the Italy U-20 national team.
Personal life Dumitru was born in Nacka, Sweden to a Romanian father (who later took Italian citizenship) and an Afro-Brazilian mother, and successively moved to Empoli, Tuscany in 1998 with his parents. He is fluent in Romanian.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition+ClubSeasonDivisionLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsEmpoli2008–09Serie B1000——102009–10Serie B1000——102010–11Serie B—10——10Total2010——30Napoli2010–11Serie A900030—120Empoli (loan)2011–12Serie B25420——274Ternana (loan)2012–13Serie B15120——171Cittadella (loan)2012–13Serie B50———502013–14Serie B13120——151Total18120——201Reggina (loan)2013–14Serie B132———132Veria (loan)2014–15Super League Greece27632––308Latina (loan)2015–16Serie B347———347Nottingham Forest (loan)2016–17Championship10110—10121Alcorcón2017–18Segunda División12211——133Gimnàstic2017–18Segunda División101———1012018–19Segunda División3010——40Total13110——141Livorno2018–19Serie B80———80Gaz Metan2019–20Liga I29510——3052020–21Liga I12700——127Total411210——4212Suwon Bluewings2021K League 117120——191UTA Arad2021–22Liga I133———133Bnei Sakhnin2022–23Liga I28320—52355Buriram United2023–24Thai League 15000201181Johor Darul Ta'zim2024–25Malaysia Super League0000—0000PSS Sleman (loan)2024–25Liga 128600—00286Kuala Lumpur City2025–26Malaysia Super League20220—42264Career total33852183306236557
References
External links