Maicon Pereira Roque (born 14 September 1988), known simply as Maicon, 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 plays 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 ...

for Santos. He spent most of his career with

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, appearing in 183 games and winning 11 honours including three

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 and the

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 ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. Previously of

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

, he totalled 144 games in Portugal's top flight. He additionally played for two years at

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, and won the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

with Turkey's

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

in 2018.

Club career

Cruzeiro

Born in

Barretos, São Paulo Barretos is a municipality in the northern part of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The city has approximately 122,833 inhabitants (IBGE/2020) and an area of 1566.1 km². Barretos belongs to the Mesoregion of Ribeirão Preto. History The ...

, Maicon started off his career with Cruzeiro. He made his first-team debut on 6 May 2007, coming on as a second-half substitute for fellow youth graduate

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in a 2–0 home win against rivals

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

in the second leg of the

Campeonato Mineiro Campeonato Mineiro is the state football league of the state of Minas Gerais and is controlled by the Minas Gerais Football Federation FMF (Federação Mineira de Futebol). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: befor ...

finals, lost 4–2 on aggregate. In 2008, Maicon moved on loan to modest Cabofriense. Upon returning, he was a part of Cruzeiro's reserves that went on a trip to Portugal, and played three friendlies in the country. Maicon had his first abroad adventure in the 2008–09 campaign, being a defensive mainstay for

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

which again qualified for

European competition The European Competition is a student competition in which students of all ages submit creative, artistic, or written pieces of work on the activities of the European Union. Tendered by European Movement Germany, it is the oldest student competition ...

Porto

On 4 June 2009, Maicon moved to

champions

in a contract running until 2014. He appeared in only four games in his

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

, starting with a 2–1 home victory over

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 ...

on 29 November; on 24 April 2010 he scored a first goal in a 5–2 away defeat of

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 ...

. After

Bruno Alves Bruno Eduardo Regufe Alves (; born 27 November 1981) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a central defender, currently being sporting director of Super League Greece club AEK Athens. He began and spent most of his professional ...

left for

Zenit Zenit, meaning "zenith", may refer to: Spaceflight and rocketry * Zenit (rocket family), a Soviet family of space launch vehicles * Zenit (satellite), a type of Soviet spy satellite * Zenit sounding rocket, a Swiss rocket Sports * Zenit (sports ...

, Maicon became a first-team regular in 2010–11, playing 37 competitive matches as Porto won

the 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 ...

(including eight in the victorious run in the

). In the following season – under new manager Vítor Pereira – after

Cristian Săpunaru Cristian Ionuț Săpunaru (born 5 April 1984) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays mainly as a centre-back for Liga I club Rapid București, which he captains. He can also be deployed as a right-back or a defensive midfielder. Săpun ...

's injury, he beat competition from

Jorge Fucile Jorge Ciro Fucile Perdomo (; born 19 November 1984) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer. A defender, he was equally at ease on the right or left flank. After starting out at Liverpool Montevideo he moved to Porto in Portugal, going ...

and began being often utilised as a

right-back 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 ...

. On 2 March 2012, after a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...

, Maicon headed a late goal in a 3–2 away win over Benfica. He scored five goals from 35 appearances over two seasons, helping his team to back-to-back national championships; in October he was awarded the ''Dragão de Ouro'' as the club's Player of the Year. Maicon made his only appearance for the reserves in Segunda Liga on 3 February 2013, and scored a free kick from his own half in the 3–1 home victory against Oliveirense. He headed home the 2–1 winner over

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 ...

in the group stage of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

on 29 September 2015, in what was his third competitive goal of the campaign.

São Paulo

On 14 February 2016, having been deemed surplus to requirements by new manager

José Peseiro José Vítor dos Santos Peseiro (born 4 April 1960) is a Portuguese football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the manager of the Nigeria national team. After an unassuming career as a player, he went on to coach sever ...

, Maicon was loaned to

; upon arriving, he stated that the move was "a dream come true". He made his debut in the

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional association football, football league in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. Run b ...

on 1 March in a 2–0 home win against Mogi Mirim. On 2 April, he missed a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

before scoring the last-minute winner in a 2–1 victory over Oeste at the ''

Estádio do Morumbi Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, widely known as Morumbi (), is a football stadium located in the eponymous district in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the home of São Paulo Futebol Clube and its formal name honors Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, who w ...

''. Maicon signed a permanent deal for R$22 million on 28 June 2016, as Porto also ceded 50% of the sporting rights to fellow defenders Inácio and Lucão.

Galatasaray

In July 2017, Maicon returned to

European football UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur assoc ...

, signing a four-year deal for

for a fee of €7 million. He scored a career-best five goals – all in the first half of the campaign – as the team from

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

won the

in his first season, including two on 30 September in a 3–2 home win against

Kardemir Karabükspor Kardemir Demir Çelik Karabükspor or simply known as Kardemir Karabükspor or Karabükspor is a Turkish sports club based in Karabük. The team was founded in 1969 after a merger between "Karabük Gençlikspor" and "Demir Çelik Spor". The club ...

Al Nassr

On 5 February 2019,

Al Nassr Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yello ...

paid €1.7 million to gain Maicon on loan for 18 months. The

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

club paid a further €1.4 million to sign him permanently in August 2020. In the

2019 Saudi Super Cup The 2019 Saudi Super Cup was the 6th edition of the Saudi Super Cup, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Saudi Pro League and King's Cup. It was played on 4 January 2020 by Al-Nassr, the winners of the 201 ...

on 4 January 2020, he scored the decisive attempt in the side's

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

defeat of Al Taawoun (1–1 after 120 minutes). Maicon joined permanently in 2020, but terminated his contract on 19 June 2021.

Return to Cruzeiro

On 25 November 2021, Maicon returned to his first club Cruzeiro after agreeing to a three-year deal. However, a directorial change caused him to terminate his link after just three matches.

Santos

On 8 March 2022, just hours after leaving Cruzeiro, Maicon signed a two-year contract with Santos. He made his debut on 5 April, starting in a 1–0

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

away loss against Banfield.

Personal life

Maicon hailed from a family of footballers: his father Maurides played amateur football, while his younger brothers

Muller Muller is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: A–H * A. Charles Muller (born 1953), translator *Bauke Muller (born 1962), Dutch bridge player * Bennie Muller (born 1938), Dutch footballer *Bill Muller (1965–2007), US journalis ...

and Maurides were professionals, the former 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) ** Sm ...

and the latter also as a stopper. Maicon faced Maurides twice in the 2015–16 season, when his sibling was a member of Arouca. In Brazil, Maicon was given the nickname ''God of Zaga'', due to his play and resemblance to Kratos from the videogame series

God of War A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic religions. Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been po ...

Club statistics

Honours

Porto *

: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13 *

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 ...

: 2009–10, 2010–11 *

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 ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

: 2010–11 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

runner-up:

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 ...

runner-up: 2009–10, 2012–13 Galatasaray *

: 2017–18 Al Nassr *

: 2018–19 *

Saudi Super Cup The Saudi Super Cup ( ar, كأس السوبر السعودي) is an annual super cup football match organised by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. Founded in 2013 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2022� ...

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 ...

Individual * FC Porto Player of the Year: 2012

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maicon 1988 births Living people Brazilian footballers Footballers from São Paulo (state) Association football defenders Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Associação Desportiva Cabofriense players São Paulo FC players Santos FC players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players C.D. Nacional players FC Porto players FC Porto B players Süper Lig players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Saudi Professional League players Al Nassr FC players UEFA Europa League winning players Brazilian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia