Rafael Marques Mariano (born 27 May 1983), known as Rafael Marques, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Ventforet Kofu 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 ...

. He gained Turkish citizenship with the name Rafet El when playing for Manisaspor.

Club career

Early career

Born in Araraquara, São Paulo, Rafael Marques started his senior career with Campinas. In 2003 he joined Série A side Ponte Preta, and scored his first goal for the club on 8 October in a 2–2 home draw against Atlético Paranaense. In 2004 Rafael Marques signed for Palmeiras, but acted mainly as a backup to

Muñoz Muñoz ( or ) is a Spanish language, Spanish-language surname—with a Portuguese language, Portuguese-language variant (Munhoz (surname), Munhoz), from Basque "muinoa" (Hill), the surname got expanded during the Reconquista with massive settlements ...

and

Vágner Love Vágner Silva de Souza (born 11 June 1984), known as Vágner Love, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Sport Recife. He is a forward who has been described by ''World Soccer Magazine'' as possessing "mobility, fla ...

during his spell. He subsequently represented Inter de Limeira, which he left on 18 April 2005. Two days later, he joined Marília.

Turkey

In 2005 Rafael Marques moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing with Samsunspor. He made his Süper Lig debut on 11 September in a 1–1 home draw against Manisaspor, and scored his first goal late in the month in a 2–1 home loss against Galatasaray. In August 2006, after his team's relegation, Rafael Marques agreed to a contract with Manisaspor, suffering the same fate in his second season. During the 2008–09 campaign, he contributed with twelve goals as his side was crowned champions and returned to the first division at first attempt.

Omiya Ardija

In August 2009, Rafael Marques was announced at Omiya Ardija. He scored regularly for the side during his spell, including a ten-goal mark during the 2011 season; highlights included a brace in a 3–1 away defeat of Kashiwa Reysol on 25 September 2011.

Botafogo / Henan Jianye

On 10 July 2012, Rafael Marques signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Botafogo back in his home country. After spending his first six months without scoring, he finished the

2013 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The 2013 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A was the 57th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top-level of professional football in Brazil. Fluminense come in as the defending champions, having won the title in the 2012 season. On 13 ...

with ten goals, being the club's top goalscorer. On 21 January 2014, Rafael Marques switched teams and countries again, joining Henan Jianye in the Chinese Super League.

Palmeiras

On 12 January 2015, Rafael Marques returned to Palmeiras on a one-year loan deal. A regular starter, he featured in 32 league matches and scored seven goals during the year. On 13 January 2016, Rafael Marques signed a permanent two-year deal with ''Verdão''. However, he would spend the campaign as a backup to

Róger Guedes Róger Krug Guedes (born 2 October 1996), is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Corinthians. Club career Criciúma Born in Ibirubá, Rio Grande do Sul, Guedes started his career with Grêmio's youth setup, but was released in 2 ...

and Gabriel Jesus as his side lifted the league trophy after 22 years. In March 2017, after the arrival of

Miguel Borja Miguel Ángel Borja Hernández (born 26 January 1993) is a Colombian footballer who plays as a forward for Argentinian club River Plate, and the Colombia national team. Club career Colombia Borja began his career with Deportivo Cali, making h ...

, Rafael Marques was being deemed surplus to requirements by manager

Eduardo Baptista Eduardo Alexandre Baptista (born 30 March 1970), is a Brazilian professional football coach who was most recently in charge of Novorizontino. Career Born in Campinas, São Paulo, Baptista started playing for Juventus as a central defender. Howev ...

, being transfer-listed by the club.

Cruzeiro

On 13 May 2017, Rafael Marques signed an 18-month contract with fellow top tier club Cruzeiro, with

Mayke Mayke Rocha de Oliveira (born 10 November 1992), simply known as Mayke, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a right back for Palmeiras. Honours Club ;Cruzeiro *Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2013, 2014 *Campeonato Mineiro: 2014 ;Palmeiras ...

moving in the opposite direction on loan. In December 2018, after a spell with Sport, Marques joined

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 ...

side São Caetano.

Club statistics

Honours

;Manisaspor *

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...

: 2008–09 ;Botafogo *

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, B ...

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 ...

;Palmeiras * Copa do Brasil:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

References

External links

*
Palmeiras' Official Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marques, Rafael 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Araraquara Brazilian emigrants to Turkey Naturalized citizens of Turkey Turkish people of Brazilian descent Brazilian people of Turkish descent Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Sport Club Barueri players Associação Atlética Ponte Preta players Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players Associação Atlética Internacional (Limeira) players Marília Atlético Clube players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Associação Desportiva São Caetano players Sport Club do Recife players Figueirense FC players Süper Lig players TFF First League players Samsunspor footballers Manisaspor footballers J1 League players Omiya Ardija players Chinese Super League players Henan F.C. players J2 League players Ventforet Kofu players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in China Footballers from São Paulo (state) Converts to Islam