André Ricardo Soares (born 9 October 1981), known as Andrezinho, is a Brazilian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. Mainly a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, he was equally at ease on the left flank.

Club career

Andrezinho was born in

Mineiros Mineiros, population 68,154, is a municipality in the southwest of the state of Goiás, Brazil. Mineiros is the westernmost city in Goiás and a great producer of cattle, soybeans, and corn. Mineiros is located 430 km from the state capital ...

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiânia. ...

. After playing for five teams in his country in six years, he moved in July 2007 to Portugal with

Vitória SC Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória ( ...

, as the

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and a ...

-based club had just returned from the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. An undisputed starter from the very beginning, Andrezinho only missed one game ''

en route ''En route'' may refer to: * ''En Route'' (novel), an 1895 novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans * ''En Route'' (film), a 2004 German movie directed by Jan Krüger * En-route chart, in aeronautics * enRoute (credit card), Air Canada's credit card divisio ...

'' to a final third place in the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

, with the subsequent

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

to the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. In the 2009–10 season he enjoyed his best year as a professional, scoring five goals in 25 matches – often from free kicks– as Vitória finished in sixth position, narrowly missing out on a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

spot Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot (produ ...

. In late July 2010, Andrezinho joined 1. FC Köln in Germany, penning a two-year contract and reuniting with former Guimarães teammate

Pedro Geromel Pedro Tonon Geromel (born 21 September 1985) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and is captain for Grêmio. Geromel also holds an Italian passport because of his grandfather. Club career Early years Born in Sã ...

. However, coach Frank Schaefer saw no perspective for him in a reorganised team, and advised him to leave in the following

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrezinho 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Goiás Association football defenders Brazilian footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players São Raimundo Esporte Clube footballers Vila Nova Futebol Clube players Goiás Esporte Clube players Coritiba Foot Ball Club players Primeira Liga players Vitória S.C. players Bundesliga players 1. FC Köln players Brazilian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Germany Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Germany