Cléverson Gabriel Córdova (born 9 August 1985), commonly known as Cléo, is a former Brazilian 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 ...

who played as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

. He also holds

Serbian citizenship Citizenship of Serbia is regulated by the ''Citizenship Law of the Republic of Serbia'', adopted in 2004 and based primarily on the principle of Jus sanguinis. Article 23 of the citizenship law stipulates that any foreign national with Serbian ...

. While playing on three different continents, Cléo scored at least once in the major club international competitions, in the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

for

Atlético Paranaense Club Athletico Paranaense (commonly known as Athletico and formerly known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná, founded on March 26, 1924. The team ...

, in 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 ...

for

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

, and in the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

for two clubs, Guangzhou Evergrande and

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadiu ...

Club career

Early career

Born in Guarapuava, Cléo started out with local club

Batel Batel ( ar, باتيل, Bātil, ku, باتێل, Batêl) is a village and sub-district in Dohuk Governorate in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is located in the Simele District Simele District ( ku, قەزای سێمێل, Qezaya Sêmêl, ar-at, ق� ...

, before joining Comercial-PR. He was later spotted by Olivais e Moscavide, which brought him to Portugal in the summer of 2004. Six months later, Cléo returned to Brazil and signed for

, playing with them in the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

. He also made three appearances in the

2005 Copa Libertadores The 2005 Copa Libertadores was the 46th edition of the Copa Libertadores. The champion also qualified for the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship. It was the first time ever that two teams from the same country reached the final. This year's tourn ...

, scoring once against Paraguayan side Cerro Porteño. Meanwhile, Cléo spent some time on loan at Ferroviária and

Figueirense Figueirense Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Figueirense, is a Brazilian professional club based in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina founded on 12 June 1921. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, the third tier of Brazilian ...

in 2005. In the summer of 2006, Cléo returned to Olivais e Moscavide, staying there for the next two seasons. In August 2008, Cléo moved to Serbian club

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

, on a one-year loan with a view to a permanent move. He was given the number 17 shirt. During a turbulent period for the club, Cléo managed to score 12 goals in 24 appearances (league and cup) that season. He eventually left Red Star after the club was not able to pay a transfer fee of €800,000.

Partizan

2009–10 season

On 19 June 2009, Cléo signed a four-year contract with

, becoming the first player to join the club from arch-rivals

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

in more than 20 years (the last was

Goran Milojević Goran Milojević (; born 6 December 1964) is a Serbian retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Club career Milojević was born in Aranđelovac, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia. In his country he represented both major clubs, Belgrad ...

in 1988). He scored on his official debut for Partizan on 14 July and helped his team to a 4–0 away win over Welsh champions Rhyl in the first match of the

2009–10 UEFA Champions League The 2009–10 UEFA Champions League was the 55th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 18th under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played on 22 May 2010, at the Santiago Bernabéu St ...

second qualifying round. Seven days later, Cléo netted a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in the return leg, opening his tally in an 8–0 victory with a bicycle kick. He also scored from a penalty in a 1–1 home draw with Slovak side MŠK Žilina in the first leg of the

2009–10 UEFA Europa League The 2009–10 UEFA Europa League was the first season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The competition was previously known as the UEFA Cup, which had been in existence for 38 years. Spain ...

play-off round. On 28 November, Cléo scored a goal against his former club to help Partizan beat Red Star 2–1. He appeared regularly in the second part of the

2009–10 Serbian SuperLiga The 2009–10 Serbian SuperLiga (known as the Jelen SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons) is the fourth season of the SuperLiga since its establishment in 2006. It began on 15 August 2009 and ended on 16 May 2010. A total of sixteen teams contest th ...

, adding nine goals in 14 games, and helped Partizan clinch their third consecutive title. In total, Cléo was the club's top scorer with 22 goals in all competitions, one more than Senegalese striker

Lamine Diarra Lamine Diarra (born 20 December 1983) is a Senegalese former footballer who played as a striker. He was capped once for Senegal at full level. Nicknamed ''Black Mamba'' and ''Mamba Di'', due to his speed and clinical finishing, Diarra is best r ...

, who left the club at the end of the season.

2010–11 season

On 14 July 2010, Cléo opened the season by scoring the third goal in his team's 3–1 victory over Armenian champions

Pyunik Football Club Pyunik Yerevan ( hy, Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ Փյունիկ Երևան, Futbolayin Akumb P’yunik Yerevan), commonly known as Pyunik ("Phoenix"), is an Armenian professional sports club based in the Kentron neighbourhoo ...

in the first leg of the

2010–11 UEFA Champions League The 2010–11 UEFA Champions League was the 56th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 19th under the UEFA Champions League format. The final was held at Wembley Stadium in London on 28 May 2011, where Bar ...

second qualifying round. A week later in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

in the second meeting, Cléo scored a goal from the edge of the penalty area in the fifth minute of injury time in the first half, thus leading his team to the next round with a total score of 4–1 on aggregate. In the first match of the third qualifying round, Cléo scored in the 90th minute for his team's 3–0 win against Finland's HJK. Subsequently, Cléo netted both goals in the team's 2–1 return leg victory. He also scored a goal in the first round of the

2010–11 Serbian SuperLiga The 2010–11 Serbian SuperLiga (known as the Jelen SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the Serbian SuperLiga, the top football league of Serbia, since its establishment in 2006. It began on 14 August 2010 and ended on 29 ...

against Inđija at home, thus continued his series of goals. On 18 August, in the play-off round first leg against

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

, a game which ended 2–2, Cléo scored his seventh goal in six matches. Six days later, on 24 August, Cléo scored twice against Anderlecht in the return tie, bringing his tally to nine goals in seven matches in the season. He was also accurate in the penalty shoot-out, and so helped Partizan reach the Champions League for the first time in seven years. On 4 September, Cléo scored his 10th goal in the season with an overhead bicycle kick in the match against

Hajduk Kula FK Hajduk Kula (Serbian Cyrillic: ФК Хајдук Кула) was a Serbian football club based in Kula. The club was named after a Hajduk, a much celebrated hero figure in the Serbian epic poetry. On 30 July 2013, just eleven days before start ...

. On 28 September, in the second round of the Champions League group stage, Cléo completed one of two penalties in a 3–1 defeat versus

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. On 8 December, again in a match against Arsenal, Cléo scored an equalizer at

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

, however Partizan lost the game 3–1. He was voted as the club's Player of the Year in 2010 by the fans.

Guangzhou Evergrande

2011 season

On 12 February 2011, Cléo completed his move to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

side Guangzhou Evergrande, signing a four-year deal. At the time, this move set a new record of Chinese football with

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

3.2 million ( $4.5 million) transfer fee. He made his league debut for Guangzhou against Dalian Shide on 2 April and scored the winning goal in the match. Cléo started the season by scoring five goals in his first five league appearances. However, Cléo suffered a muscular strain in leg during a

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

match against

Guizhou Zhicheng Guizhou FC (; ) was a professional Chinese football club. The team was based in Guiyang, Guizhou and their home stadium was the 51,636 seater Guiyang Olympic Sports Center. Their majority shareholders were Hengfeng Real Estate, Guizhou Zhicheng ...

on 4 May, ruling him out for two months. On 26 June, after recovering from injury, Cléo entered from the bench at the half and scored a penalty in the 60th minute against Jiangsu Sainty. He scored another four goals in the next four matches, but the recurrence of a leg strain in a match against

Nanchang Hengyuan Shanghai Shenxin Football Club () was a professional football club that participated in China's football league system between 2003 and 2019 under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Jinshan District, Shangha ...

on 14 July ruled him out for a further two months. Cléo returned to training in late August but got injured again in early September. The lingering injury kept him out of the field for the second half of the year. He managed to score 10 times in 10 appearances during the 2011 league season.

2012 season

After the end of the 2011 season, it was reported that Guangzhou had decided to give up Cléo for his lingering injury. He was linked with France's

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

side

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

and another Super League club

Guizhou Renhe Beijing Chengfeng Football Club () was a professional Chinese football club that last participated in the Chinese League One under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Fengtai District, Beijing and their h ...

. However, Cléo eventually stayed in Guangzhou for the 2012 season. On 25 February 2012, Cléo scored both goals for Guangzhou in the

2012 Chinese FA Super Cup The 2012 Chinese FA Super Cup (Chinese: 2012中国足球协会超级杯) was the 10th Chinese Football Super Cup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Super League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played ...

, a 2–1 victory over Tianjin Teda, which ensured Guangzhou win this trophy for the first time in the club's history. He continued his goalscoring form into the

, netting a brace in the first match of the group stage, as Guangzhou trashed

K League K League (Hangul: K리그) is South Korea's professional football league. It includes first division K League 1 and second division K League 2. History Until the 1970s, South Korean football operated two major football leagues, the National S ...

champions

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors ( ko, 전북 현대 모터스) is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Playing at the Jeonju World Cup S ...

5–1 on 7 March. On 15 May, during Guangzhou's last group stage match of the Champions League against

Buriram United Buriram United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลบุรีรัมย์ ยูไนเต็ด) is a professional football club based in Buriram, Thailand. The club has played at the top level of Thai football for the ...

, Cléo earned a penalty in the 90th minute, which Darío Conca converted into the winning goal. Guangzhou beat Buriram United 2–1 and sealed a place in the knockout phase for the Chinese Super League side. On 30 May, Cléo scored the winning goal during the round of 16 in the AFC Champions League, as Guangzhou beat

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

side

FC Tokyo Football Club Tokyo, commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team is one of only four in the J.League to be si ...

1–0 and became the first Chinese club to reach the quarter-finals of the competition since 2006. Although scoring four goals in seven matches, Cléo was replaced by newcomer Lucas Barrios in the 30-man squad which was submitted for the next stage of the Champions League. On 18 August, in an interview after a league match against

Changchun Yatai Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Changchun, Jilin and their home stadi ...

, in which Cléo scored a goal and made an assist to help Guangzhou to a 2–1 win, Cléo stated his disappointment with the club's decision to exclude him from the Champions League squad and would seek a transfer at the end of the season. Cléo played as a regular starter in the domestic competitions and helped Guangzhou Evergrande win their second Super League championship and first FA Cup title.

Loan to Kashiwa Reysol

On 25 January 2013, Cléo moved to Japanese club

on a one-year loan deal. He made 27 appearances and scored nine goals in the

2013 J.League Division 1 The 2013 J.League Division 1 season was the 48th season of Japanese top-flight football and 21st since the establishment of the J.League. The season began on 2 March and finished on 7 December. Sanfrecce Hiroshima are the defending champions. ...

. In November, Cléo was diagnosed with

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

and his loan spell was cut short by the Japanese club. He then returned to Guangzhou Evergrande and was released in early 2014.

Return to Atlético Paranaense

After leaving Asia, Cléo returned to his homeland and started training with his former club

in May 2014. He signed a permanent contract shortly after. On 29 May, Cléo made his second debut for the club in a 2–2 home draw with

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

. He stepped on the pitch in the 77th minute and managed to score little more than 10 minutes later with a volley kick. Throughout the 2014 Brasileirão, Cléo appeared in 20 games and scored nine times, making him the team's highest scorer that year.

Later career

On 29 February 2016, Cléo signed a contract with Série B club

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. ...

, being officially presented two days later. He scored a hat-trick in his team's 5–3 success against Trindade, helping the side win the

Campeonato Goiano The Campeonato Goiano is the football league of the state of Goiás, Brazil. Format First Division First stage *Teams are divided in two groups of six teams. *Double round-robin, in which all teams home-and-away games against the team fro ...

the same year. In August 2017, Cléo returned to Portugal and signed with newly promoted

LigaPro The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier Prim ...

club

Cova da Piedade Cova da Piedade is a former civil parish in the municipality of Almada, Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Almada, Cova da Piedade, Pragal e Cacilhas. The population in 2011 was 19,904, in an area of ...

on a one-year deal. He was the team's top scorer in the 2017–18 season with 12 goals in all competitions. In July 2018, Cléo signed with

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

club

Qingdao Huanghai Qingdao Football Club () was a professional Chinese football club that participated in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Qingdao and their home stadium was the Qingdao Gu ...

, returning to Chinese football after six years. He was the team's top scorer over the next two seasons, helping them win the

2019 China League One The 2019 China League One ( zh, 58同城 2019中国足球协会甲级联赛) was the 16th season of the China League One, the second tier of the Chinese football league pyramid, since its establishment in 2004. The league's title sponsor was the ...

and get promotion to the

for the first time in history.

International career

In August 2010, Cléo expressed his desire to play for the Serbia national team. He applied for Serbian citizenship the following month after meeting with Ivica Dačić, the

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

. On 23 September 2010, Cléo became a citizen of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. However, Cléo never received a call-up for the Serbia national team, failing to satisfy a 5-year residency requirement.

Statistics

Honours

Club

;Partizan * Serbian SuperLiga: 2009–10 ;Guangzhou Evergrande *

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh titl ...

* Chinese FA Super Cup:

;Kashiwa Reysol * J.League Cup:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

;Goiás *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

;Qingdao Huanghai *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Individual

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије, Kup Srbije) is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. From 2006 to 2010, the competition was known as the Lav Cup ...

Top Scorer: 2008–09 *

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...

Player of the Year: 2010 * Chinese FA Super Cup Most Valuable Player:

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleo Associação Ferroviária de Esportes players Association football forwards Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Brazilian footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players C.D. Cova da Piedade players C.D. Olivais e Moscavide players China League One players Chinese Super League players Club Athletico Paranaense players Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate footballers in Japan Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Serbia Figueirense FC players FK Partizan players Goiás Esporte Clube players Guangzhou F.C. players J1 League players Kashiwa Reysol players Liga Portugal 2 players Naturalized citizens of Serbia People from Guarapuava Qingdao F.C. players Red Star Belgrade footballers Serbian SuperLiga players 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Paraná (state)