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Elkeson de Oliveira Cardoso (born 13 July 1989), known as Elkeson or Ai Kesen (), is a 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 for Brazilian club Grêmio FBPA and formerly the China national team as an
attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
or
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 ...
. Starting out at Vitória, he played mostly as an
attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
and as a winger, but since his final days at Botafogo, he was moved to attack and has played as a striker. Born in Brazil, Elkeson obtained Chinese citizenship in 2019 through
naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
and represents China internationally.


Club career


Brazil

Elkeson first played for Vitória's youth academy before signing with the first team in 2009. During the 2010 season, Elkeson proved himself a breakout success and soon earned himself a move to
Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...
in May 2011. After two years of being one of Botafogo's star players in the Brasileirão,
Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...
of the
Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
secured his services at the end of the 2012 season.


Guangzhou Evergrande

On 24 December 2012, Guangzhou Evergrande officially announced that they had signed Elkeson on a four-year deal for a fee of €5.7 million. He was not initially included in Guangzhou's 30-player squad for the
2013 AFC Champions League The 2013 AFC Champions League was the 32nd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 11th under the current AFC Champions League title. The defending champions, Ulsan Hyu ...
due to the limit on foreign players. On 3 March 2013, he made his debut for Guangzhou in the
2013 Chinese FA Super Cup Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...
which Guangzhou Evergrande lost to Jiangsu Sainty 2–1. On 8 March 2013, Elkeson scored his first two goals in China in the opening match of
2013 Chinese Super League The 2013 Chinese Super League was the tenth season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League, the 20th season of a professional football league and the 52nd top-tier league season in China. Guangzhou Evergrande won their third consecuti ...
against
Shanghai Shenxin Shanghai Shenxin Football Club () was a professional football club that participated in China's football league system between 2003 and 2019 under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Jinshan District, Shangha ...
, which ensured Guangzhou Evergrande's 5–1 victory. He scored thirteen goals in his first seven matches in the league. In July 2013, Elkeson was named in the squad which was submitted for the next stage of the AFC Champions League, replacing
Lucas Barrios Lucas Ramón Barrios Cáceres (; born 13 November 1984) is an Argentine-born Paraguayan former footballer. Barrios was known for his effectiveness in the target area. This earned him his nickname ''La Pantera'', which means ''The Panther''. Eve ...
who had decided to return to Europe. He scored twenty-four goals in twenty-eight appearances in the Super League which made him the top goalscorer of the season, eight more than the second-placed
Carmelo Valencia Carmelo Enrique Valencia Chaverra (; born 13 July 1984) is a Colombian soccer player who currently plays for Atlético Junior. Club career Carmelo Valencia's greatest performance came in the 4-1 victory of Junior de Barranquilla “tu papá” ...
. He scored six goals in six matches in the AFC Champions League, including two goals across both legs of the
2013 AFC Champions League Final The 2013 AFC Champions League Final was the final match of the 2013 AFC Champions League, the thirty-second round of the top grade Asian club football tournament. It was organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was the eleventh roun ...
against
FC Seoul FC Seoul ( ko, FC 서울) is a South Korean professional football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS Group. They play their home games ...
as Guangzhou was crowned champion of the competition for the first time. The win in the final was the first time a Chinese club had won the trophy in 23 years. On 1 December 2013 in the first leg of
2013 Chinese FA Cup TOSHIBA 2013 Chinese FA Cup () is the 15th edition of Chinese FA Cup. The match of first round was kicked off on 31 March 2013, and finished on 7 December 2013. The cup title sponsor is Japanese company Toshiba. Participants Chinese Super League ...
final against
Guizhou Renhe Beijing Chengfeng Football Club () was a professional Chinese football club that last participated in the Chinese League One under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Fengtai District, Beijing and their h ...
, he was sent off after striking Yang Hao in the face with his hand. On 5 December, he received a ban of 4 matches and was fined ¥20,000 by
Chinese Football Association The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams and administers the country's ...
discipline committee. Guangzhou Evergrande finally lost to Guizhou Renhe 3–2 on aggregate, failing to defend the FA Cup title. Elkeson played all three matches for Guangzhou Evergrande in the
2013 FIFA Club World Cup The 2013 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2013 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament between t ...
. On 14 December 2013, he scored Guangzhou's first goal in the FIFA Club World Cup against African champions
Al Ahly AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...
in the quarter-finals, helping Guangzhou win the match 2–0. In March 2015, after a match against
Changchun Yatai Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Changchun, Jilin and their home stadi ...
he was heavily criticised for annulling teammate's
Gao Lin Gao Lin (; born 14 February 1986) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Chinese Super League club Shenzhen. He is the all-time top goalscorer for Guangzhou Evergrande – his previous club – with 113 goals, and has ...
's certain bicycle kick goal by attempting to poach the goal for himself by just brushing the ball on the line with his head, which meant ultimately that the goal was (correctly) ruled offside and the team only drew the match 1–1. Elkeson scored the winner as Guangzhou beat Al-Ahli of the UAE to win a second
AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
in three years on 21 November 2015.


Shanghai SIPG

On 21 January 2016, Elkeson moved to fellow Super League side
Shanghai SIPG Shanghai Port FC (), previously named Shanghai SIPG, is a professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Pudong, Shanghai, and their home sta ...
with a fee of ¥132 million (€18.5 million). On 4 April 2018, Elkeson scored his side's only goal in their 1–1 draw with
Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, in Nakahara W ...
in the group stage of the
AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
. The goal was Elkeson's 27th in the competition proper, moving him to fourth all time in the top scoring charts. On 18 September 2018, Elkeson scored the winning goal for Shanghai SIPG, as the club recorded its first ever win in the Super League against his former club Guangzhou Evergrande. The win cemented SIPG's position in first place at the top of the league table. On 7 October, Elkeson scored again as SIPG recorded a 5–0 win over bottom-of-the-table
Guizhou Hengfeng Guizhou FC (; ) was a professional Chinese football club. The team was based in Guiyang, Guizhou and their home stadium was the 51,636 seater Guiyang Olympic Sports Center. Their majority shareholders were Hengfeng Real Estate, Guizhou Zhicheng ...
to extend their lead over his former club at the top of the table to 4 points with just over a month of the season left. On 7 November, Elkeson played part in Shanghai's 2–0 win over
Beijing Renhe Beijing Chengfeng Football Club () was a professional Chinese football club that last participated in the Chinese League One under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Fengtai District, Beijing and their hom ...
in the penultimate round of fixtures. The win secured Shanghai SIPG's first Chinese Super League title and ended Guangzhou Evergrande's seven year title reign.


Return to Guangzhou Evergrande

On 9 July 2019, Elkeson returned to his former club Guangzhou Evergrande. Elkeson reportedly agreed a €10 million (US$11.2 million) annual salary to return, up from €6 million in Shanghai. At the time of his transfer, the two clubs were level on points, and were two points behind leaders
Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in the Chaoyang District in Beijing and their ho ...
. Elkeson marked his return to Guangzhou with goals in his first two games, and a hat-trick against local rivals
Guangzhou R&F Guangzhou City Football Club (广州城) is a Chinese professional football club that competes in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Guangzhou, Guangdong, and their home venu ...
in his third match on 20 July. On 13 December 2021, Elkeson has confirmed his departure from Guangzhou FC.


International career

In September 2011, Elkeson received his first call up for
Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team ( pt, Seleção Brasileira de Futebol), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' (‘Canary Squad’, after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the B ...
by
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 Sport Club Internacional, Internacional. He managed the Brazil national f ...
for the second leg of
2011 Superclásico de las Américas The 2011 Superclásico de las Américas – Copa Doctor Nicolás Leoz was the first edition of the Superclásico de las Américas. After a 0–0 draw in the first leg, Brazil beat Argentina by 2–0 and conquered their first title. Venues Match ...
against
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. However, he didn't play for Brazil in the match. Elkeson was called up to the Chinese national team in August 2019, following gaining Chinese citizenship via naturalisation. Elkeson subsequently became the first player to be called up for China without any Chinese ancestry. Following his naturalisation as a Chinese citizen, his name is rendered as Ai Kesen in Chinese (). Prior to that, he used the Chinese transliterated name Ai Er'kesen (); in Cantonese speaking areas such as
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
and
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, he was known as Ngai Git-san (). However, in 2022, Elkeson unofficially retired from the national team after his transfer to Gremio, reverting back to Brazilian citizenship.


Career statistics


Club


International

''As of 30 May 2021. China score listed first, score column shows score after each Elkeson goal.''


Honours

Vitória *
Campeonato Baiano The Campeonato Baiano is the football league of the state of Bahia, Brazil. The championship has been played since 1905 without interruption. 2020 format First stage: 10 teams are included in one group, playing once only against all teams in ...
: 2009, 2010 *
Copa do Nordeste Copa do Nordeste (''Cup of the North-East''), also known as Campeonato do Nordeste (''Championship of the North-East'') or Copa Nordeste (''Northeastern Cup''), and sometimes informally referred as Lampions League – in reference to the UEFA Ch ...
: 2010 Botafogo *
Taça Rio Taça Rio, or Rio Trophy, is an annual Rio de Janeiro football tournament. It is the second stage competition of the Campeonato Carioca, the state football championship in Rio de Janeiro. It has been organized since 1982 by the Rio de Janeiro St ...
: 2012 Guangzhou Evergrande *
Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
:
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
*
AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
:
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 ...
,
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 ...
Shanghai SIPG * Chinese Super League:
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 United ...
*
Chinese FA Super Cup The Chinese FA Super Cup (), formerly named Chinese Football Super Cup (), is a pre-season association football, football competition held before the season begins in China PR, China. It is a Chinese football championship contested by the winners ...
:
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 ...
Grêmio *
Recopa Gaúcha The Recopa Gaúcha ( en, Rio Grande do Sul Winners Cup), is a super cup tournament organized by the Rio Grande do Sul Football Federation (FGF), disputed between the winners of Campeonato Gaúcho and Copa FGF The Copa Federação Gaúcha de F ...
:
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
Brazil *
Superclásico de las Américas The Superclassic of the Americas ( pt, Superclássico das Américas, es, Superclásico de las Américas), is an annual friendly football match between the national teams of Argentina and Brazil. Established in 2011 and organized by CONMEBOL, ...
:
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 ...
Individual *
AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
Dream Team:
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 ...
,
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 ...
*
Chinese Football Association Footballer of the Year Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
: 2014 *
Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
Golden Boot: 2013, 2014 *
Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
Team of the Year: 2013, 2014


See also

*
List of Chinese naturalized footballers Chinese naturalized footballers are association football players originally from another country who changedChinese nationals cannot have dual nationality according to the law. their nationality to Chinese (People's Republic of China) via natura ...


References


External links

*
Profile
at IG Esporte website {{DEFAULTSORT:Elkeson 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Maranhão Chinese footballers China international footballers Brazilian footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Esporte Clube Vitória players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Guangzhou F.C. players Shanghai Port F.C. players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Chinese Super League players Brazilian emigrants to China Association football forwards Naturalized citizens of the People's Republic of China