Marcos Antônio Senna da Silva (born 17 July 1976), known as Senna, is a retired 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

central midfielder A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He was mainly known for his passing range and long-range shooting and was also a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

specialist. He spent most of his professional career in Spain with

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

, appearing in 363 official matches during 11 seasons, 10 of which were in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

(33 goals scored). He ended his career with the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

, with whom he twice won the Soccer Bowl. Born in Brazil, Senna represented the Spain national team during a four-year spell, appearing at the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

and

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...

, and winning the latter tournament as starter.

Club career

Villarreal

Born in

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 ...

, Senna began his career with

Rio Branco Esporte Clube Rio Branco Esporte Clube, more commonly referred to as Rio Branco de Americana or simply Rio Branco, is a Brazilian football club based in Americana, São Paulo. The team compete in Campeonato Paulista Segunda Divisão, the fourth tier of the ...

. After playing for a number of Brazilian clubs early in his career he moved to Spanish side

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

in 2002, from

Associação Desportiva São Caetano Associação Desportiva São Caetano, commonly referred to as São Caetano, is a Brazilian professional club based in São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo founded on 4 December 1989. It competes in the Campeonato Paulista Série A2, the second tier ...

. He only made 25

appearances in his first two seasons combined, however this was mainly due to a serious knee injury he picked up in August 2003. However, after recovering from his injury he became an undisputed starter, helping the club reach as far as the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

semi-finals in 2005–06; eventually, he also gained the club captaincy. In the summer of 2006, Senna almost joined Manchester United: he had one year left on his contract, and Villarreal were prepared to sell him for a fee of around £4 million. However, the deal was put on hold while United pursued

Owen Hargreaves Owen Lee Hargreaves (born 20 January 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was known as a hard-working and "solid defensive midfielder who worked tirelessly to win the ball" and provide his teammates with posses ...

, but FC Bayern Munich refused to sell their player and, when United returned with a bid for Senna on transfer deadline day, Villarreal rejected their advances; he had become frustrated with the delays to his proposed move and decided to stay at Villarreal, signing a three-year extension shortly after the transfer window closed. On 27 April 2008, Senna scored a goal from inside the centre circle against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

that he deemed "the best goal of my life". That season, as the player netted a further three times in a total of 33 matches, Villarreal finished a club-best second, to champions Real Madrid. After nearly two seasons marred with physical problems, 35-year-old Senna returned to full fitness for 2011–12, as the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

side's playmaker. On 21 March 2012, he scored from a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

for the 83rd-minute home equaliser against Real Madrid (1–1), but his team would be eventually relegated after a twelve-year stay in the top level.

New York Cosmos

On 13 June 2013, after helping Villarreal return to the top flight, Senna signed with newly formed North American Soccer League club

for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in the team's inaugural match on 3 August, a 2–1 win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, and scored his first goal on 1 September in a 1–1 draw at

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...

. In his first year with the team he was named the league's player of the week on two occasions, and also helped to wins in the NASL Fall Championship and the Soccer Bowl, scoring the game-winner in the final championship match against the Atlanta Silverbacks. On 13 November 2013, Senna was awarded a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

by Villarreal, featuring in a 3–0 win over the Cosmos: he started the game and set up

Jérémy Perbet Jérémy Louis Perbet (born 12 December 1984) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for RFC Liège. Career Clermont and Moulins Perbet was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire. He finished his youth graduation with hometow ...

for the first goal. In his honour, the crowd broke out in a full minute of applause that started in the 19th minute (the jersey he wore), and he played the second half with the North American before leaving the pitch with 20 minutes to go to another standing ovation. Senna netted his first goal of the season on 12 May 2014, scoring the game-winner in a 1–0 home win over the Spring season champions Minnesota United FC, who were handed their only loss in the competition. His second came on 9 August, as he connected on a spectacular second half free kick to help the Cosmos come from behind to win it 2–1 at the Silverbacks; he helped the club to the third position in the combined standings as well as a berth in The Championship, being nominated to the NASL Team of the Week four times, second best in the squad. On 10 June 2015, one month shy of his 39th birthday, Senna announced he would retire as a player at the end of the Fall season. His final game was the Soccer Bowl on 15 November, which his team won 3–2 against

Ottawa Fury FC Ottawa Fury Football Club was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competed in the North American Soccer League and USL Championship and played its home games at TD Place Stadium. The Ottawa Fury FC were dis ...

, also the swansong of his national teammate

Raúl Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

International career

Senna was granted

Spanish citizenship Spanish nationality law refers to all the laws of Spain concerning nationality. Article 11 of the First Title of the Spanish Constitution refers to Spanish nationality and establishes that a separate law is to regulate how it is acquired and los ...

in early 2006 and was part of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

squad for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

and

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

. His debut came on 1 March in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

with Ivory Coast, played in

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

. In the quarter-finals of the latter competition, Senna scored the third of Spain's four converted penalties, which resulted in the nation progressing to the semifinals at the expense of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, winning 4–2 in the shootout. He played the full duration of the

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 ...

– a 1–0 win over

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– and was named in

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

's squad for the competition. Some pundits and journalists also named Senna as their player of the tournament. Senna's first international goal came against

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

on 10 September 2008, a 4–0 win in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign. On 20 May 2010, after an irregular season with Villarreal, with several physical problems, the 33-year-old was left out of Spain's final 23-man squad, with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

Sergio Busquets Sergio Busquets Burgos (, ; born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona, where he is captain. He is considered to be a deep-lying playmaker capable of directing gameplay ...

starting in his place as the national team went on to win the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

in South Africa.

Personal life

Senna's younger brother, Márcio, was also a footballer.

Marcos Assunção Marcos dos Santos Assunção (born 25 July 1976) is a Brazilian former professional footballer. A central midfielder, he was renowned as a world-class free kick specialist. Assunção played for clubs in four countries; he is best known for his ...

, who represented

A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

and Betis amongst other clubs, is his cousin, and both were also midfielders. Senna is a Christian, and he spoke about his faith in the documentary ''"The Prize: Chasing the Dream"'', along with Kaká. He is also a member of the International Christian ministry '' Athletes in Action''. Along with

Raúl Albiol Raúl Albiol Tortajada (born 4 September 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Villarreal and the Spain national team. A reliable and physically strong player who excels in the air, his main asset is his versati ...

and

Guillermo Franco Guillermo "Guille" Luis Franco Farquarson (born 3 November 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Argentina, he represented the Mexico national team. Early life Guillermo Franco was born in Corrientes, th ...

, in 2008 Senna founded Evangélico FC, an organisation consisting of 140 athletes and 16 coaches which sought to promote Christian values among young athletes in Spain.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Senna goal.''

Honours

Corinthians * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A:

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

* Campeonato Paulista:

, 2001 * FIFA Club World Cup:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

Villarreal * UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2003, 2004 New York Cosmos * North American Soccer League: 2013 Fall Championship, 2015 Spring Championship * Soccer Bowl:

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 ...

, 2015 * North American Supporters' Trophy: 2015 Spain *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Individual *

: Team of the tournament

Don Balón Award From 1976 until 2010, the Spanish sports magazine ''Don Balón'' conferred the Don Balón Award (''Premio Don Balón'') to the best Spanish player, the best foreign player, the best referee and the breakthrough player in La Liga. These awards cease ...

– Spanish Player of the Year: 2008

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Senna, Marcos 1976 births Living people Brazilian emigrants to Spain Naturalised citizens of Spain Brazilian Christians Spanish Christians Footballers from São Paulo Brazilian footballers Spanish footballers Spanish sportspeople of African descent Association football midfielders Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Rio Branco Esporte Clube players América Futebol Clube (SP) players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Esporte Clube Juventude players Associação Desportiva São Caetano players La Liga players Segunda División players Villarreal CF players North American Soccer League players New York Cosmos (2010) players Spain international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players UEFA European Championship-winning players Brazilian expatriate footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate soccer players in the United States Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States