Jardel Nivaldo Vieira (born 29 March 1986), simply known as Jardel, is a 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 last played for Portuguese club Benfica as a

central defender 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 spent most of his career at Benfica, having joined from

Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense () is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth tier of Portuguese football. It holds home matches at the ...

for €500,000 in January 2011, and became captain in September 2018. He made 288 appearances for the club and won 15 honours, including five

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, ...

titles.

Career

Early career

Born in

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina, in the South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as well as part of the mainland. It has a populat ...

, Santa Catarina, Jardel was an

Avaí FC Avaí Futebol Clube () is a Brazilian football team from Florianópolis in Santa Catarina, founded on 1 September 1923. Their home stadium is Estádio Aderbal Ramos da Silva, also known as Ressacada, with a capacity of 17,800. They play in b ...

youth graduate. Signing his first professional contract at the age of only 16, being promoted to the first team. In March 2005, Jardel joined

Esporte Clube Vitória Esporte Clube Vitória, commonly referred to as Vitória, is a Brazilian professional club based in Salvador, Bahia founded on 13 May 1899. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, the second tier of Brazilian football, as well as i ...

, winning the year's

Campeonato Baiano The Campeonato Baiano is the football league of the state of Bahia, Brazil. The championship has been played since 1905 without interruption. 2020 format First stage: 10 teams are included in one group, playing once only against all teams in ...

while at the club. After suffering relegation from

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B is commonly referred to as the Brasileirão Série B (Série B), and until 2022 was officially called Brasileirão Sportingbet by sponsorship reasons. It is the second tier of the Brazilian football league system ...

, he signed for

Santos FC Santos Futebol Clube (), commonly known simply as Santos or Santos FC and nicknamed the ''Peixe'' (; "fish"), is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a '' bairro'' in the city of Santos. It is also the team with the most goals i ...

on 15 January 2006. Jardel left ''Peixe'' in December 2006 after making no appearances and struggling severely with injuries. He subsequently represented

Iraty Sport Club Iraty Sport Club, or simply Iraty, is a Brazilian football team from Irati in Paraná, founded on April 21, 1914. Their home stadium is the Coronel Emílio Gomes stadium, capacity 8,000. History The club was founded at Irati city, in 1914. ...

, Avaí,

Joinville Esporte Clube Joinville Esporte Clube, JEC or simply Joinville, is a Brazilian Football League Teams, Brazilian football team from Joinville in Santa Catarina . Founded on January 29, 1976 they have won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, Série B and Campeo ...

Ituano FC Ituano Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as simply Ituano, is a Brazilian association football club in Itu, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série B, the second tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the Campeonato Paulista Sér ...

and

Desportivo Brasil Desportivo Brasil Participações Ltda., commonly referred to as Desportivo Brasil, is a Brazilian professional association football club based in Porto Feliz, São Paulo. The team competes in the Campeonato Paulista Série A3, the third tier of t ...

before moving abroad. In 2009, Jardel moved to Portugal, where he would remain in the following years. He played one season with

G.D. Estoril Praia Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia (), commonly known as Estoril, is a Portuguese sports club from Estoril, Cascais, Lisbon. Founded on 17 May 1939, its football team currently plays in Primeira Liga and hold home games at the Estádio António Coimb ...

in 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 ...

where he only missed two league games, then signed with

S.C. Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense () is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth tier of Portuguese football. It holds home matches at the ...

in the top level on a one-year deal. He made 19 total appearances in his half-season on the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

, scoring in a 3–1 win over

Vitória de Setúbal 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 (b ...

on 2 October 2010 to put the team into second place.

Benfica

In January 2011, Jardel joined Portuguese club

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...

for a €500,000 transfer fee, replacing

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

-bound

David Luiz David Luiz Moreira Marinho (born 22 April 1987) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Flamengo. Primarily a centre back, he can also be deployed as a defensive midfielder. After starting out at Vitoria, David Luiz moved to Ben ...

. After two months of sporadic appearances, then manager

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. He started his career with Sporting CP, going on to play for 12 ...

dropped Sidnei and immediately inserted Jardel into the first team's starting lineup. On 28 April, he scored his first goal for the

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

side, in a 2–1 home win against S.C Braga for the campaign's

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 ...

semi-finals (2–2 aggregate loss), He finished his first season with 16 appearances and won his first piece of

silverware Silverware may refer to: * Household silver including **Tableware **Cutlery **Candlesticks *The work of a silversmith * Silverware is also a slang term for a collection of trophies A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achieveme ...

; on 1 May on his return to the

Estádio José Arcanjo Estadio José Arcanjo is a multi-purpose stadium in Olhão Olhão (), officially known as Olhão da Restauração, is a city and municipality in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 45,396, in ...

Olhão Olhão (), officially known as Olhão da Restauração, is a city and municipality in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 45,396, in an area of . Located near the regional capital Faro and formi ...

, he was sent off in a 1–1 draw. The following season, Jardel made 18 appearances, serving mostly as backup to

Luisão Ânderson Luís da Silva (born 13 February 1981), known as Luisão, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Luisão started his career at Juventus-SP in 1999 before moving to Cruzeiro the year later, where h ...

and

Ezequiel Garay Ezequiel Marcelo Garay González (; born 10 October 1986) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He started his career with Newell's Old Boys but moved to Spain at the age of 19, going on to amass La Li ...

. He started the 2012–13 season with Benfica's reserves in division two. After Luisão's two-month suspension, however, he was propelled directly into the first team's starting XI. During the 2013–14 season, like his 2011–12 season, he made 18 appearances, serving backup to Luisão and Garay. However, he enjoyed success as the club won the

domestic treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...

. After the departure of Ezequiel Garay to

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...

, Jardel became a mainstay in Benfica's starting lineup. On 4 January 2015, Jardel scored his first goal for Benfica in the Primeira Liga, away at

F.C. Penafiel Futebol Clube de Penafiel ( or ) is a Portuguese Association football, football club founded on 8 February 1951 and based in the city of Penafiel, Portugal, Penafiel. Brief history Penafiel first reached the Portuguese Liga, first division in Po ...

(0–3). On 8 February 2015, Jardel scored a crucial

last-minute goal The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game, usually one that affects the outcome of the game. The definition of a "last-minute goal" commonly used is one scored either ...

to tie the

Derby de Lisboa The Derby de Lisboa or Dérbi de Lisboa (English: Lisbon derby) is a football derby match in Portugal. It is played between Lisbon clubs Benfica and Sporting CP, two of the most decorated clubs in Portugal. The rivalry originated in 1907 when e ...

(1–1) in the

. He helped the club win their second straight Primeira Liga and

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...

In the 2015–16 season, Jardel enjoyed his best ever season, appearing in 44 games and scoring 5 goals. He played alongside three different centre backs, Luisão, Lisandro López and Victor Lindelöf, during the variation of the season. He scored the winner against

(2–1) at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, its ...

in the first half, securing Benfica's lead in the

. For the third straight season, he won the Primeira Liga and Taça da Liga. Jardel's 2016–17 season was injury plagued, picking up a series of nagging injuries throughout the campaign. In the following season, he regained his starting position after the departure of Lindelöf to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. On 3 February 2018, he made his 200th appearance for the club and was elected

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

after a goal and assist in a 5–1 home win against

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Football in Portugal, Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which ...

. In September 2018, Jardel became club captain upon the retirement of long-serving compatriot Luisão, and extended his contract by a further year to 2021. He played 19 games as the ''Eagles'' regained the title from

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

on the last day, including one with a straight red card for elbowing Arsénio in a 3–1 home loss to

Moreirense F.C. Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, in Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Liga Portugal 2, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joa ...

on 2 November. Benfica announced in June 2021 that they would let Jardel's contract expire at the start of the new month, after 288 official appearances.

Personal life

Jardel acquired Portuguese citizenship in 2016.

Career statistics

Honours

Benfica *

: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...

: 2013–14, 2016–17 *

2010–11 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 ...

, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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 ...

runner-up:

2012–13 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 ...

, 2013–14 Individual *

City Council Medal of Sports Merit

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jardel 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Santa Catarina (state) Brazilian footballers Association football defenders Avaí FC players Esporte Clube Vitória players Santos FC players Iraty Sport Club players Joinville Esporte Clube players Ituano FC players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players G.D. Estoril Praia players S.C. Olhanense players S.L. Benfica footballers S.L. Benfica B players Brazilian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Naturalised citizens of Portugal