Nildeson "Nenei" da Silva Melo (born 29 October 1968 in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil) is a retired Brazilian and naturalized

Salvadoran Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvado ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player, who played as a striker.

Club career

He arrived in

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

in 1989 to play for

Luis Ángel Firpo Luis Ángel Firpo (October 11, 1894 – August 7, 1960) was an Argentine boxer. Born in Junín, Argentina, he was nicknamed ''The Wild Bull of the Pampas''. Boxing career In 1917, Firpo began his professional boxing career by beating Frank Hag ...

after a couple of seasons at home with Grêmio. He had a season at

Atlético Marte 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 ...

in between two seasons with Firpo and he would go to

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

to play for

CS Herediano Club Sport Herediano (), commonly known as Herediano and nicknamed El Team, is a Costa Rican multisport club based in Heredia, Heredia province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Herediano is mostly known for its association ...

scored 21 goals in 1992.

Mexico

His success caught the attention of Mexican club

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

of the

Mexican Primera División The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in al ...

that year. He would end up playing for various clubs in Mexico. In 1997, he would reach the finals with

Toros Neza Neza Fútbol Club, also known as ''Toros Neza'' is a Mexican football team based in the city of Nezahualcóyotl. They play in the Liga de Balompié Mexicano. The club returned for the Clausura 2011 Liga de Ascenso tournament, taking the place o ...

but end up losing the finals. While still at the books of Toros Neza, Nildeson was jailed and prosecuted by his former girlfriend over not paying up alimony.

Back in El Salvador

In 1998, he returned to

to have his second stint with Luis Ángel Firpo. He became a Salvadoran citizen and was able to represent

. He was later cut by

Armando Contreras Luis Armando Contreras Reyes (15 June 1919 – 3 August 1991), known as Armando Contreras, was a Chilean footballer who played as a winger. Club career Born in , an extinct commune in the current Antofagasta Province, Contreras made his ...

who had taken the position after

Juan Ramón Paredes Juan Ramón Paredes Zelaya (born 23 May 1950) is a former Salvadoran professional football player and currently manager. Coaching career Alianza He became the coach of Alianza at the beginning of 2000 season, he went on to win the Apertura 2 ...

stepped down of the national team. He would later play for Chalatenango, FAS and Águila but the latter clubs dismissed him because of indiscipline and apparent drugs abuse. Then, he was give a chance by

Atlético Balboa Club Deportivo Atlético Balboa, commonly known as Atlético Balboa or simply Balboa, was a Salvadoran football club. The team formerly played in La Unión. History Foundation The foundation of Atletico Balboa occurred in 1950 in La Union. Maur ...

where he would eventually retire in 2005 after reaching the final of the 2004 Apertura. After a knee operation in January 2005 he was dismissed by Balboa citing he would not recover to get back to his former best.

International career

After his naturalisation, Nildeson made his debut for

in an August 1997

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

match against

and has earned a total of 10 caps, scoring 3 goals. He has represented his adopted country in 6

matches. His final international game was a September 2004 World Cup qualification match against

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list El Salvador's goal tally first.''

Personal life

Nildeson has four younger brothers who also play football: former

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

midfielder Nélio, Cruzeiro- and Brazilian World Cup defender

Gilberto Gilberto is the Iberian and Italian version of the originally Norman-French given name ''Gilbert'', used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages. In Galician, it's spelled Xilberto or Xilberte. ''Gilbert'' is ultimately derived from the Germ ...

, NilbertoLlegó "Nenei II", Nilberto de Mello
– La Prensa Gráfica and Edmilson who both played in Honduras.

References

External links

*
CBF
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nildeson 1968 births Living people Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Naturalized citizens of El Salvador Brazilian emigrants to El Salvador Association football forwards Salvadoran footballers El Salvador international footballers Brazilian footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Salvadoran expatriate footballers Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo footballers C.D. Atlético Marte footballers Expatriate footballers in Costa Rica C.S. Herediano footballers Expatriate footballers in Mexico Deportivo Toluca F.C. players C.D. Chalatenango footballers C.D. Águila footballers Atlético Balboa footballers C.D. FAS footballers Correcaminos UAT footballers Toros Neza footballers Liga MX players Salvadoran expatriate sportspeople in Costa Rica Salvadoran expatriate sportspeople in Mexico