Cléverson Gabriel Córdova (born 9 August 1985), commonly known as Cléo, 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 lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He also holds Serbian citizenship. 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 Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

for

Atlético Paranaense Club Athletico Paranaense (abbreviated CAP, commonly known as Athletico Paranaense and up to 2019 known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná, founded o ...

, in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

for Partizan, and in the

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

for two clubs,

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club (), previously Guangzhou Evergrande (), was a Chinese professional football club based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. Historically, Guangzhou FC played its home matches at various grounds in their home city, most notably at T ...

and

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional association football, 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 ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Guarapuava Guarapuava is a municipality in the state of Paraná in Brazil. It is the largest municipality in that state by area. Considered a regional development hub with a strong influence on neighboring municipalities, it is also part of a railroad junct ...

, Cléo started out with local club Batel, 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 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

. 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 Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...

. 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 fo ...

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 referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

, 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 Partizan, 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. ...

in more than 20 years (the last was Goran Milojević 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 Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

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 Wick ...

in the return leg, opening his tally in an 8–0 victory with a

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...

. He also scored from a penalty in a 1–1 home draw with Slovak side

MŠK Žilina MŠK Žilina () is a Slovak football club based in the town of Žilina, that is playing in the Slovak First Football League. Since the league inception in 1993, the club has won 7 titles and comes second in All-time table that makes them one o ...

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. Spai ...

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 contested t ...

, 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 professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped once for Senegal at full level besides representing the country at the under-23 level. Nicknamed ''Black Mamba'' and '' ...

, 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 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 Ba ...

second qualifying round. A week later in

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

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 established in 2006. It began on 14 August 2010 and ended on 29 May 2011. A ...

against

Inđija Inđija (, ) is a town and a municipality located in the Srem District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the town has total population of 24,450, while the municipality has 43,433 inhabitants. It is located in the geogr ...

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 List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 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, B ...

, 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 The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

, 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 association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

, 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 Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

side

, 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. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

3.2 million ( $4.5 million) transfer fee. He made his league debut for Guangzhou against

Dalian Shide Dalian Shide was a professional Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning province, China who played in China's football league system between 1955 and 2012. Their home stadiums were the 55,843 capacity Dalian People's Stadium and then lat ...

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 Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

match against 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 Association football, 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 Jin ...

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 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

side

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and another Super League club Guizhou Renhe. 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 () 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 at the Guangzhou University City Stadi ...

, a 2–1 victory over

Tianjin Teda Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Football Club (), previously Tianjin TEDA (), is a Chinese professional football club based in Tianjin, that competes in . Tianjin Jinmen Tiger plays its home matches at the TEDA Soccer Stadium, located within Binhai. The f ...

, 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 A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

, as Guangzhou trashed

K League K League () is South Korea's professional football league. It includes the first division K League 1 and the second division K League 2. Clubs competing in the K League have won a record total of twelve AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions ...

champions

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC () 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. Jeonbuk have won the K League a record nine times, including ...

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 () is a Thai professional football club based in Buriram. The club has played at the top level of Thai football for the majority of their existence and competes in the Thai League 1. The club was founded in 1970 as P ...

, Cléo earned a penalty in the 90th minute, which

Darío Conca Darío Leonardo Conca (; born 11 May 1983) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Conca was elected for two consecutive years as the best player of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in 2009 and 2010. ...

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 , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

side

FC Tokyo , commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country. From 2025, FC Tokyo is one of the few J.League clubs to be simply called ''Footb ...

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 Lucas Ramón Barrios Cáceres (; born 13 November 1984) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a forward. Barrios is known for his effectiveness in the target area. This earned him his nickname ''La Pantera'', which means ...

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 Chinese professional football club based in Changchun, Jilin, that competes in . Changchun Yatai plays its home matches at the Changchun Stadium, located within Nanguan District. The club's founder and main ...

, 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. In November, Cléo was diagnosed with

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

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 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. 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 States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

, 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 top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders th ...

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 Meu Super 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 ...

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 ar ...

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 League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

club Qingdao Huanghai, 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 Ivica Dačić ( sr-cyrl, Ивица Дачић, ; born 1 January 1966) is a Serbian politician serving as deputy prime minister of Serbia since 2022 and minister of internal affairs since 2024. He has been the leader of the Socialist Party of ...

, the

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. On 23 September 2010, Cléo became a citizen of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

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

Career statistics

Honours

;Partizan *

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

: 2009–10 ;Guangzhou Evergrande *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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. The current holders are Shanghai Port, having beaten Shandong Taishan in 2024 for their first title. H ...

Chinese FA Super Cup The Chinese FA Super Cup (), formerly named Chinese Football Super Cup (), is a Chinese football super cup competition that takes place every year before the start of the new season. It is contested between the champions of the previous Chinese Su ...

;Kashiwa Reysol *

J.League Cup The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organised by J.League, the men's association football league in Japan. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since it ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

;Goiás *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

;Qingdao Huanghai *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Individual *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

Top Scorer: 2008–09 *

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; ), often referred to in English as Partizan Belgrade, is a Serbian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Belgrade. It forms ...

Player of the Year: 2010 *

Most Valuable Player:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleo Associação Ferroviária de Esportes players Men's association football forwards Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Brazilian men's 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 men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's 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 Footballers from Paraná (state) 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen