Iriney Santos da Silva (born 23 April 1981), known simply as Iriney, 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 ...

who played as a

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He also held a

Spanish passport Spanish passports ( es, Pasaporte español) are issued to Spanish citizens with right of abode in the Iberian mainland, Ceuta, Melilla, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, for the purpose of travel outside Spain. Every Spanish citizen is also a ...

, having spent more than one decade playing in the country, mainly with Rayo Vallecano and Betis (three years apiece). He amassed

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

totals of 151 matches and two goals during seven seasons, with Rayo,

Celta Celta is Galician, Portuguese and Spanish for the Celts. It may also refer to: * Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA), an English teaching certificate * Celta (train), an international train service connecting Vigo and Port ...

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

, Betis and

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

Football career

Born in

Humaitá, Amazonas Humaitá is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 56,144 (2020) and its area is 33,072 km². The city is located on the banks of the Madeira River. The city is served by Humaitá Airport. The Trans-Am ...

, Iriney made his professional debut with Associação Desportiva São Caetano in 2000, and moved to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

with Rayo Vallecano three years later. First-choice since his beginnings with the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

side, he did saw them drop two consecutive divisions; he made his

debut on 23 February 2003, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–4 home loss against Valencia CF. In the summer of 2005, Iriney joined

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...

, being one of the Galicians' most consistent players during his two-season spell in the top level. Following the 2007 relegation he decided to leave, but was unable to find a new team due to a lengthy judicial battle until the 2008 January

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 ...

, when he signed with UD Almería. Subsequently, after gaining match practice, Iriney was relatively used during his stay in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

, with Almería consecutively retaining their top flight status. In late June 2009 his contract expired and he moved to neighbours

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

, freshly relegated to the second level. He contributed with 36 matches – 35 starts – and three goals in his second season as they returned to the main division as champions and, on 25 February 2012, played his 100th official match with the ''Verdiblancos'', against

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and op ...

. After repeatedly refusing to renew his contract, Iriney joined neighbouring Granada CF also in the first division, signing for three years as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. After only

one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, however, he moved sides again, agreeing to a two-year deal with

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

for an undisclosed fee. Iriney made his debut in the League Championship on 3 August 2013, starting and finishing the 1–0 win at

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

. On 31 January of the following year, he returned to Spain after being loaned to division two's

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

until the end of the season.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iriney 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Amazonas (Brazilian state) Naturalised citizens of Spain Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Nacional Futebol Clube players Associação Desportiva São Caetano players La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Rayo Vallecano players RC Celta de Vigo players UD Almería players Real Betis players Granada CF footballers RCD Mallorca players English Football League players Watford F.C. players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England