Leonardo Rodrigues Pereira or simply Leonardo (born September 22, 1986) 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 ...

. Leonardo usually plays as an

attacking 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 ...

but can also play as a winger.

Club career

Leonardo was born in

Vila Velha Vila Velha (; Portuguese for "Old Village") is a coastal city in Espírito Santo, Brazil. It lies across from Vitória, the state capital. Its population was 501,325 (2020) and its area is 210.23 km². Location Vila Velha forms part of t ...

, Brazil. On July 30, 2009, Leonardo signed a five-year contract with

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

. On August 20, Leonardo made his official debut for AEK, in the game versus

Vaslui Vaslui (), a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu, and Viișoara. History Archaeological surveys indicate ...

in the

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 ...

. Leonardo made his league debut in the 1–0 away win over Atromitos on August 30. He scored his first goal for AEK on December 6, against

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

. In the Greek

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

home 4–2 win against

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

, Leonardo came in as a substitute in the 51st minute and scored twice. AEK's next fixture was facing Aris again, held in

Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium The Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium () or Charilaou Ground (Γήπεδο Χαριλάου) is a football stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. It was built in 1951 as the home stadium of Aris F.C. (Thessaloniki), one of the most popular football clubs in ...

. The score was 1–0 against AEK, and Leonardo (who had also come in as a substitute that match) made the score 1–1 and equalized in injury time, giving AEK an invaluable point. In the 2011–12 season, he played in 26 matches scoring 9 goals, and was the club top scorer in the league.

Personal life

Leonardo is married to Kamilla Fiorese Da Silva, and the couple has two daughters. Leonardo, who moved to Greece at the age of 18, speaks fluent

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

AEK Athens *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

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. ...

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors *

K League Classic The K League 1 (Hangul: K리그1) is the men's top professional football division of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. History The South Korean professional football league was founded in 1 ...

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 ...

, 2015 * AFC Champions League:

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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Al Jazira Club * UAE Arabian Gulf League: 2016–17 Individual *

K League Best XI The K League Best XI is an award for the best eleven players in a K League season. K League 1 award (1983–present) Winners Players marked bold won the Most Valuable Player award in that respective year. Appearances by player Appearanc ...

: 2013, 2016

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonardo 1986 births Living people People from Vila Velha Sportspeople from Espírito Santo Association football midfielders Brazilian footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Thrasyvoulos F.C. players Levadiakos F.C. players AEK Athens F.C. players Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors players Super League Greece players Al Jazira Club players Al Nassr FC players Tianjin Tianhai F.C. players Shandong Taishan F.C. players Al Dhafra FC players K League 1 players UAE Pro League players Saudi Professional League players Chinese Super League players Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in South Korea Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate footballers in China