Victor Leandro Bagy (born 21 January 1983), known as Victor, 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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. Having started his career with

Paulista Paulista is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil, with a population of 334,376 as of 2020. It has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) of the Recife metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo and is also famous for its beac ...

, where he spent his first six professional years and won the

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de P ...

in 2005, Victor moved to Grêmio in 2008, where he finished as runner-up of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in his first season, receiving the

Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão The Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão ( en, Brasileirão Best Player Award) is an award given by the Brazilian Football Confederation (known as CBF) and TV Globo for the best players, head coaches, and referees of the Série A. Player of the Year ( ...

twice and the Bola de Prata once as best goalkeeper in the league during his spell with the club. He then joined

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 2012, where he won the Copa Libertadores in

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(being selected as the best goalkeeper of the tournament) and the

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, while again finishing as runner-up of the Brasileiro twice. Victor has represented the Brazil national team since 2010, being part of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup winning squad, also being included in the 2011 Copa América and 2014 FIFA World Cup teams.

Club career

Paulista

Born in

Santo Anastácio Santo Anastácio is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over ...

, Victor joined São Paulo FC's youth setup in 1997, aged 14. However, a year later he moved to Paulista FC, due to the limited prospect of playing in the first-team. Victor was called up to the main squad in 2000, but had to wait until 2003 to make his senior debut. He served his first years mostly as a backup to

Rafael Bracalli Rafael Wihby Bracali (born 5 May 1981) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also held Italian citizenship. Club career Born in Santos, São Paulo, Bracali started playing professionally for local Paulista ...

, but in 2006, after the latter's move to C.D. Nacional, he was chosen as first-choice; Victor also was a part of the squad which won the 2005 Copa do Brasil, but remained as a substitute for both legs of the final.

Grêmio

On 18 December 2007, Victor joined Grêmio, with the ''Tricolor'' paying R$400,000 for a half of his registration rights. He retained a starting spot during his first games at the club, but suffered an injury on 24 February 2008, being sidelined for one and a half month. Victor returned from injury and was an undisputed starter during the year, appearing in all matches during the Brasileirão and winning the

for best goalkeeper of the tournament. In 2009, he was again the championship's best, winning both the Bola de Prata and the Craque do Brasileirão, but his contribution was reduced due to call-ups to the national side. In the summer, Victor was linked to Bari and Benfica, but nothing came of it. On 18 June 2010, he signed a new contract with Grêmio, running until 2015. Victor remained in the starting eleven, and his side finished fourth. However, in the following years, Grêmio struggled to keep the same levels of the past seasons, but he appeared 32 times in 2011.

Atlético Mineiro

On 29 June 2012, Victor joined

for a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

3.5 million fee, signing a five-year contract. He immediately became the first-choice goalkeeper in his new club, appearing in 29 matches as Galo finished second in the 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro. In 2013, Victor was one of the key figures of Atlético Mineiro's 2013 Copa Libertadores winning run. An iconic moment for him and the club happened in the second leg of that competition's quarter-finals, when a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

was awarded to

Club Tijuana Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, commonly known as Tijuana, or simply as ''Xoloitzcuintle, Xolos'', is a Mexican professional Football team, football club based in Tijuana. The club's badge is the founder's (Jorge Hank) hairless xoloit ...

in injury time. It would have meant elimination for Atlético if it had been scored, but was saved by Victor with his foot. The save, according to sports commentators and fans, represented the kicking out of the club's historic "bad luck". Victor also made saves in the penalty shoot-outs against

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

in the semi-finals and Club Olimpia in the finals, and was elected the competition's best goalkeeper.

International career

Brazil and Colombia match at the FIFA World Cup 2014-07-04 (42)

On 21 May 2009, Victor was called up for the second time (2005 was the first) to the Brazil national team for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. On 10 August 2010, he made his debut with the main squad, starting in a 2–0 friendly match win against

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He was included as a substitute goalkeeper in the Brazilian squad for 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. Also, he was part of the squad for 2011 Copa América. On 7 May 2014, Victor was included among the 23-man squad ahead of 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life

Victor is Roman Catholic.http://fidespress.com/brasil/jogadores-catolicos-testemunham-fe-na-copa/

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

Paulista *

: 2005 Grêmio *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho Série A1 (Gaúcho Championship A1 Series or Série A1), officially named as Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF - Divisão Especial - Série A1 and commonly known as Campeonato Gaúcho or Gauchã ...

: 2010 Atlético Mineiro * Copa Libertadores:

* Recopa Sudamericana:

* Campeonato Mineiro:

, 2015,

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2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

International

Brazil * FIFA Confederations Cup: 2009

Individual

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

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, 2009 * Bola de Prata: 2009 * Copa Libertadores Goalkeeper of Year:

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victor 1983 births Living people Brazilian footballers Brazil international footballers Brazilian Roman Catholics Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Paulista Futebol Clube players Ituano FC players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Clube Atlético Mineiro players Association football goalkeepers 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2011 Copa América players 2014 FIFA World Cup players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players