Willian Gomes de Siqueira (born 1 March 1986), simply known as Willian, is a Brazilian

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 plays as a forward for

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

Club career

Early career

Born in Três Fronteiras,

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 Ga ...

, Willian joined Guarani's youth setup in 2002. He made his first team – and Série A – debut on 22 August 2004, coming on as a second half substitute for

Sandro Hiroshi Sandro Hiroshi Parreão Oi (born 19 November 1979) is a Brazilian former professional footballer. He played domestically for Tocantinópolis, Rio Branco, São Paulo, Flamengo, Figueirense, Guarani, América RN, Santo André and Red Bull B ...

in a 1–1 home draw against Vasco da Gama. Willian appeared rarely for the club during the season, as his side suffered relegation. He appeared more regularly in the following year, but was still sparingly used.

Atlético Paranaense

On 23 December 2005, Willian signed for

Atlético-PR Club Athletico Paranaense (commonly known as Athletico and formerly known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná, founded on March 26, 1924. The team ...

. He scored his first goal in the top tier for the club on 30 August 2006, netting the winner in a 2–1 home win against Santos. Willian was rarely used in the following years, also suffering a knee injury in 2007. On 3 February 2009, he was loaned to Vila Nova until December. While on loan, Willian scored eight goals during the year's Série B, being the club's top goalscorer as his side avoided relegation. Highlights included braces against Campinense (two times) and América-RN. On 26 January 2010, after returning from loan, Willian rescinded his contract with Atlético.

Figueirense

In February 2010, Willian joined

Figueirense Figueirense Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Figueirense, is a Brazilian professional club based in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina founded on 12 June 1921. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, the third tier of Brazilian ...

. He was the top goalscorer of

Campeonato Catarinense The Campeonato Catarinense de Futebol, known as Campeonato Catarinense or simply Catarinense, is the main competition of association football from state of Santa Catarina, in Brazil. History The Campeonato Catarinense top level has had several ...

with 13 goals in only 15 matches, being also elected the best player of the tournament. Willian also scored a further 12 goals during the Série B championship, being one of the key units as the club achieved top level promotion as second.

Corinthians

On 3 January 2011, Willian signed for

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

, with Atlético still retaining part ownership. He made his debut for the club late in the month, replacing Morais in a 2–2 draw at São Bernardo. Willian scored his first goals for ''Timão'' on 13 March 2011, netting a brace in a 3–2 away win against

Mirassol Mirassol is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The city is located in the northern part of the state, 453 km from the city of São Paulo and 15 km from São José do Rio Preto. Mirassol has 60,303 inhabitants (IBGE/2020). ...

. Mainly used as a substitute during the Campeonato Paulista, he became a regular starter for the club during the year's ''Brasileirão''; he scored a double in a 2–0 home win against

on 12 June. Willian also appeared regularly in 2012 Copa Libertadores, helping Corinthians to lift their first-ever title in the competition.

Metalist Kharkiv

On 2 July 2012, Willian moved abroad, signing for

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League' ...

club

FC Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб Металі́ст Ха́рків ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2021–22 season. It was revived 5 year ...

. He scored his first goal abroad on 18 August, netting the second in a 3–0 win at

FC Hoverla Uzhhorod Football Club Hoverla Uzhhorod ( ) was a Ukrainian professional football club based in Uzhhorod. Following the end of the 2015–16 season it was expelled from the Ukrainian Premier League because of debts to (current and former) players.

. Willian made his continental debut on 23 August 2012, starting in a 2–0 away win against FC Dinamo București in 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. ...

. Again mainly used as a substitute, he returned to his homeland in the following year.

Cruzeiro

On 14 July 2013, Willian signed a one-year loan deal with Cruzeiro, with Diego Souza moving permanently in the opposite direction. Roughly one year later, he was bought outright for a fee of

€ 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; he also appeared regularly as his side achieved back-to-back ''Brasileirão'' titles in 2013 and 2014. During the 2015 campaign, Willian became an undisputed starter under new manager

Mano Menezes Luiz Antônio Venker de Menezes (born 11 June 1962), known as Mano Menezes, is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of Internacional. He managed the Brazil national team from July 2010 until ...

; during the manager's debut on 6 September, he scored four goals in a 5–1 home routing of Figueirense.

Palmeiras

On 11 January 2017, Willian signed for

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

after being involved in an exchange with

Robinho Robson de Souza ( or , born 25 January 1984), known as Robinho (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. In 1999, at 15 years of age, Robinho was picked by Brazil legend Pelé as his heir apparent and, in 2002 ...

. Regularly used in his first year, he won the 2018 Série A with the club, and finished the year with 17 goals overall. After scoring another 16 goals in 2018, Willian spent the most of the 2019 campaign sidelined due to a knee injury. In the 2020 season, he won the Campeonato Paulista, 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 ...

and the Copa Libertadores, but did not feature in the latter's

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. On 26 June 2021, Willian renewed his contract with ''Verdão'' until December 2022.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;Corinthians * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2011 * Copa Libertadores:

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 gat ...

;Cruzeiro * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A:

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 fa ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* Campeonato Mineiro: 2014 ;Palmeiras * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

* Campeonato Paulista:

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 ...

* Copa Libertadores:

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Fluminense * Campeonato Carioca:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

Individual

Best player: 2010 *

Team of the year: 2010 * Campeonato Paulista Team of the year: 2020

References

External links

*
Furacão profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willian 1986 births Living people Brazilian footballers Association football forwards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Guarani FC players Club Athletico Paranaense players Vila Nova Futebol Clube players Figueirense FC players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players Fluminense FC players Ukrainian Premier League players FC Metalist Kharkiv players Brazilian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Ukraine Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine