Vanderson Válter de Almeida

For other people named Vandinho, see Vandinho (disambiguation).
Vandinho
Personal information
Full name Vanderson Válter de Almeida
Date of birth (1978-01-15) 15 January 1978
Place of birth Cuiabá, Brazil
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998 Internacional
1999 Pelotas
2000 Guarani
2000 Santa Cruz 14 (1)
2001 Criciúma
2002 Grêmio Inhumense
2002–2004 Rio Ave 53 (4)
2004–2011 Braga 158 (8)
2011 Al Sharjah 6 (0)
2012 Paraná 11 (0)
2013 Santo Ângelo
2013 Cuiabá 15 (0)
2014 Grêmio Anápolis 9 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Vanderson Válter de Almeida (born 15 January 1978 in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso), known as Vandinho, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a central midfielder.

He spent most of his professional career in Portugal, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 182 games and nine goals over the course of eight seasons.

Football career

After an unsuccessful spell at Sport Club Internacional, Vandinho played mainly with modest clubs in his country: Grêmio Esportivo Brasil, Guarani Futebol Clube, Santa Cruz Futebol Clube, Criciúma Esporte Clube and Grêmio Esportivo Inhumense, moving in 2002–03 to Portugal with Rio Ave F.C. and helping the Vila do Conde team return to the Primeira Liga in his first season.

For the 2004–05 campaign, Vandinho joined S.C. Braga, being an everpresent midfield fixture as the Minho side achieved two consecutive fourth-league places from 2005 to 2007. During his second year he contributed with 31 games and three goals, including in both matches against former team Rio Ave (2–1 away, 5–0 at home).

In February 2010, as he continued to be an automatic first-choice and Braga led the league, Vandinho received a three-month ban for his actions in a scuffle during a 2–0 home win over S.L. Benfica late in the previous year, effectively ending his season[1] as they were eventually surpassed in the table by the opponents in that game.

Vandinho helped Braga reach the UEFA Europa League final in 2010–11, scoring through a header in the semi-finals' first leg, a 1–2 away loss against Benfica (2–2 aggregate win).[2] In late August 2011, after nearly one full decade in the same country, the 33-year-old joined Al-Sharjah SCC in the United Arab Emirates, for an undisclosed fee.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Vandinho só pode jogar na última jornada (Vandinho can only play in last round); Record, 2 February 2010 (Portuguese)
  2. ↑ Oscar Cardozo gives Benfica slim Europa League advantage over Braga; The Guardian, 29 April 2011
  3. ↑ Vandinho assina pelo Al Sharjah de Carlos Azenha (Vandinho signs for Carlos Azenha's Al Sharjah); Record, 21 August 2011 (Portuguese)
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