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The Portland Hearts of Pine announced the signing of Portuguese midfielder Diogo Barbosa on Thursday, nine days before the 2026 USL League One season opener against the New York Cosmos in Paterson, New Jersey.

Barbosa, 30, joins the Hearts of Pine from Gzira United F.C. of the Maltese Premier League. Barbosa has a well-traveled soccer resume, starting his senior career in the fourth tier of Portuguese soccer in 2015. He played in England’s National League South with Dulwich Hamlet for the 2019-20 season and has also played in Cyprus, Australia, and Bulgaria. This will be his first time playing for a team in the United States.

“Diogo brings us a different profile in the midfield. He’s bigger, he can cover more ground,” said Hearts coach Bobby Murphy in the club press release. “We’re super fortunate to have him here and we think he’ll have a huge impact.”

Steve Craig reports primarily about Maine’s active high school sports scene and, more recently, the Portland Hearts of Pine men's professional soccer team. His first newspaper job was covering Maine...

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