Luís Alberto Silva dos Santos (born 17 November 1983), known as Luís Alberto, 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He spent the better part of his 15-year senior career in Portugal, representing seven clubs.

Club career

Luís Alberto was born in

Salvador, Bahia Salvador () is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality and capital city of the Federative units of Brazil, state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognize ...

. In his country, he first played for

Esporte Clube Bahia Esporte Clube Bahia () is a Brazilian professional association football club based in Salvador, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Bahia. Known mainly as the ''Esquadrão de Aço'' (Steel Squadron), the club competes in the Campeo ...

, Associação Desportiva São Caetano and

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Cruzeiro Esporte Clube () is a Brazilian professional football club, based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Cruzeiro is the greatest team of Minas Gerais. Although competing in a number of different sports, Cruzeiro is mostly known for its as ...

, being part of Série A rosters with the first and last clubs, where he was often criticised for his propensity to be

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

. Additionally, he served a loan at

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club

Ettifaq FC Al-Ettifaq Club (), commonly known as Al-Ettifaq or simply Ettifaq, is a professional football club in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which competes in the Saudi Pro League. The club was established by the merger of three Dammam-based clubs in 1945. A ...

. In late July 2008, Luís Alberto signed a five-year contract with C.D. Nacional of the Portuguese

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

, who acquired 50% of his sporting rights. He played his first game in the competition on 24 August, in a 3–1 away win against

Leixões S.C. Leixões Sport Club (), commonly known as Leixões, is a Portuguese sports club from Matosinhos. It is organised into several departments for many sports, such as athletics, boxing, football, futsal, handball, karate, swimming, volleyball, wat ...

where he earned praise. His first goal came on 23 November in the 1–0 home victory over C.D. Trofense, and in his first year he also helped his team reach the semi-finals of the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de 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 Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

and qualify for the play-off round of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

after a best-ever fourth-place finish. Luis Alberto made his continental debut on 20 August 2009, opening the 4–3 home defeat of

FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club p ...

(eventually 5–4 on aggregate). In January 2012, he joined S.C. Braga of the same country and league on a three-and-a-half-year deal, being then consecutively loaned by that side to Romania's

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

and

Esporte Clube Vitória Esporte Clube Vitória () is a Brazilian professional club based in Salvador, Bahia, Salvador, Bahia founded on 13 May 1899. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, as well as in the Campeonato Baiano, the top flight of the Bahia St ...

in his country's top division. Whilst at Cluj, he memorably scored the only goal at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the group stage of 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 ...

. Following a brief spell in the Japanese

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 ...

, Luís Alberto returned to the Portuguese top division in July 2015, with C.D. Tondela. One year later, he moved to fellow league club G.D. Chaves. Luís Alberto competed in the

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 ...

until his retirement at the age of 35, representing in quick succession C.D. Aves,

Académico de Viseu F.C. Académico de Viseu Futebol Clube, commonly known as Académico de Viseu, is a Portuguese professional association football, football club based in Viseu. Founded in 1914 as ''Clube Académico de Futebol'', the club went through several changes ...

and

Varzim SC Varzim Sport Club () is a Portuguese football club based in Póvoa de Varzim. The club was founded on 25 December 1915, and has played at the Estádio do Varzim Sport Club since its foundation. The club plays in Liga 3, following relegation in ...

Honours

Cruzeiro *

Campeonato Mineiro The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is run by the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: bef ...

: 2008 Vitória *

Campeonato Baiano The Campeonato Baiano (), also known as the Baianão (), is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Run by the Bahia Football Federation (FBF), it is the second-oldest state football championship o ...

: 2013

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luis Alberto 1983 births Living people Footballers from Salvador, Bahia Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Campeonato Brasileiro Série C players Esporte Clube Bahia players Associação Desportiva São Caetano players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Esporte Clube Vitória players Saudi Pro League players Al-Ettifaq FC players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players C.D. Nacional players S.C. Braga players C.D. Tondela players G.D. Chaves players C.D. Aves players Académico de Viseu F.C. players Varzim S.C. players Liga I players CFR Cluj players J1 League players Kashima Antlers players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen