Nilmar Honorato da Silva (born 14 July 1984), commonly known as Nilmar, 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 striker. He won club and personal honours with

Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonat ...

and

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 ...

in Brazil, and also played in France for

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

and in Spain for

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 ...

. He also had several short spells in the Middle East towards the end of his career. Nilmar made his international debut for

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 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in 2003, and scored 9 goals in 24 appearances. He was part of their squad that won the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and represented his nation at the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Club career

Internacional

After coming through the

youth teams, Nilmar was promoted to the main squad in 2002, and appeared regularly during his two-seasons.

Lyon

Nilmar was signed for

in summer 2004, initially as cover for fellow Brazilian forward

Giovane Élber Élber de Souza (born 23 July 1972), commonly known as Giovane Élber, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer in various clubs, Élber's career was mostly spent in Germany, where he repres ...

. He signed with a clause in his contract that stated that he could be loaned back to Internacional once Élber was fit. Nilmar made an impressive start during his stint at Lyon, scoring two debut goals as a substitute against Rennes. He did not score any more goals in the Ligue 1 that season.

Corinthians

With the impending signing of

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rod ...

, Lyon chose to loan Nilmar out, this time to

in his native Brazil. They were somewhat forced to do this in order to stay within the limit of non-EU players. As well as this law, Lyon already had four established forwards, namely Fred,

Sylvain Wiltord Sylvain Claude Wiltord (born 10 May 1974) is a French former professional footballer. Mainly a right winger, he also played as a centre-forward, second striker and on the left wing. Wiltord had a four-season spell at Arsenal, with whom he won ...

Milan Baroš Milan Baroš (; born 28 October 1981) is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for FK Vigantice at amateur level. In 2005, he was part of the Liverpool team which won the UEFA Champions League. He went on to win Ligue ...

, and

Sidney Govou Sidney Rodrigue Noukpo Govou (born 27 July 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played primarily as a winger, but was occasionally deployed as a striker. He holds the record for most Ligue 1 titles won (seven), along with Her ...

, and, despite his good performances with Corinthians, Nilmar was ultimately sold to the South American club, for €10 million. At Corinthians, the young striker hit the target on his debut against São Paulo FC, with almost his first touch of the ball and he continued to impress fans and critics alike throughout his first season. His skill, speed, and mazy dribbles helped win him a place in the Brazilian League all-star team for the 2005 season.

Return to Internacional

On 17 August 2007, the Justiça do Trabalho (literally "court of employment") cancelled Nilmar's contract because Corinthians and third-party owner MSI owed the player €2 million. Nilmar was consequently available to sign for any club for free, while Corinthians must still pay the transfer debt of €8million they owed to Lyon for Nilmar's original transfer in 2006. Eventually Corinthians agreed to pay Lyon €6.5 million for the overdue portion of the transfer debt in December 2007. after losing the case in the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its c ...

and FIFA Players' Status Committee. In the following month, Nilmar returned to Internacional for undisclosed fee to Corinthians and third-party owners., despite the interest of several major clubs in Europe and Brazil. It was reported that Inter partnered with D.I.S. to sign 50% economic rights for €3 million. Internacional had sold 20% economic rights for R$5.46 million to unknown parties in 2007. He made his new debut for the

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

team on 4 November 2007, when Inter beat

CR Vasco da Gama Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama (), commonly referred as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, is a professional sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Originally a rowing club, Vasco is mostly known for its football team, who it currently compet ...

2–1. He was chosen as the Man of the Match. In January 2008, he scored an impressive goal against

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

of Italy in the Dubai Cup final, which helped his side win the game. In the summer of 2008, Palermo offered €15 million, with a bonus of up to €3 million. This was rejected, however, and activated the clause that Internacional bought 20% economic rights from Nilmar for reported €2.4 million, with other parties retained 50% economic rights. In December 2008, he scored the winning goal in the Copa Sudamericana final match, giving Internacional the title. It was the first time that the Copa Sudamericana was won by a Brazilian club.

Villarreal

In July 2009, Nilmar returned to Europe, signing for Spain's

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, ...

for an estimated €10 million fee. He built up a prolific strike partnership with Italy international

Giuseppe Rossi Giuseppe Rossi (; born 1 February 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward. Born in the United States, Rossi spent most of his career in Europe with Villarreal and Fiorentina, in addition to spells with other clubs in England, I ...

, which he likened to his title-winning alliance with

Carlos Tevez Carlos Alberto Tevez (; born 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. A quick, tenacious, powerful, hard-working and dynamic forward in his prime, Tevez was capable of playing as a striker, as a wing ...

at Corinthians. On 17 September 2009, Nilmar scored the winning goal in the

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. It ...

group stage clash against Bulgarian side

Levski Sofia Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 ...

. On 10 March 2011, he netted twice (including a

last-minute goal The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game, usually one that affects the outcome of the game. The definition of a "last-minute goal" commonly used is one scored either ...

) to help his team to a 3–2 away win against German club

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

in the first leg of a last 16-round match of the

. He again netted twice against Twente which his side won 5–1 at home.

Al Rayyan

On 15 July 2012, Qatar Stars League side

Al Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled as ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipality in the state of Qatar. Its primary settlement is the city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and largely surrounds Metropolitan Doha and funct ...

announced that they signed Nilmar on a four-year deal, ahead of undergoing a medical. He was loaned to Lekhwiya for one game on 31 December so that he could take part in the club's friendly match against PSG on 2 January 2013. He was selected as a cover for

Sebastián Soria Andrés Sebastián Soria Quintana (; ar, أندريس سيبستيان سوريا كوينتانا; born 8 November 1983) commonly known as Sebastián Soria, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Qatar SC. Born in Uruguay, h ...

who was training with the Qatar national team for the upcoming Asian Cup. On 6 August 2013, he declared to Arabic news network Al Jazeera that he was looking to terminate his loan at Lekhwiya and return to Al Rayyan following a training ground bust up with Lekhwiya first team coach Oliver Rumbold.

El Jaish / Second return to Internacional

On 24 January 2014, Nilmar signed for El Jaish. On 16 September, already as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, he returned to Internacional for a third spell, signing until December 2017.

Al-Nasr

On 30 July 2015, Nilmar moved to Al-Nasr for two seasons. After scoring 11 league goals in his first season, he was separated from the first team.

Santos

On 10 July 2017, Nilmar signed a contract with Santos until December 2018, after being released by Al-Nasr. In September, after just 39 minutes of action in two appearances, his contract was suspended with the player alleging "personal reasons"; it was later revealed that he was suffering with depression. On 13 December 2017, Nilmar cut ties with Santos, after appearing in just two matches.

International career

Nilmar made his international debut for

2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the association football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean ( CONCACAF). For the first time since 1993, the tournament was held in more than one ...

match against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

on 13 July 2003. He appeared three times in the tournament as Brazil was defeated by Mexico in the final. Although Brazil chose to send Brazil under-23 team to the tournament, all the international appearances in the tournament are recognized by FIFA as full international

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

. His first international goal came against Haiti on 18 August 2004, as Brazil won 6–0. After four years out of the national team, on 29 August 2008, Nilmar was recalled by coach

Dunga Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born 31 October 1963), known as Dunga (), is a Brazilian football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. Under his captaincy, Brazil won the 1994 FIFA World Cup and he lifte ...

as a replacement for the injured

Rafael Sóbis Rafael Augusto Sóbis do Nascimento (born 17 June 1985) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Before joining Ceará, Sóbis played for Internacional, Real Betis, Al-Jazira, Fluminense and Tigres UANL. He won t ...

for World Cup qualifiers against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and Bolivia. On 21 May 2009, he was selected in Brazil squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. He made one substitute appearance in the tournament as Brazil went on to win the competition. On 9 September 2009, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

for Brazil in a 4–2 win against

. On 14 November 2009, Nilmar scored the only goal of the match with a header in a friendly against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He then scored again in a second friendly match on 17 November 2009 against

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

. He was a member of the Brazil squad that took part at the

, hosted by South Africa, appearing as a substitute. He scored Brazil's third goal in a friendly match on 7 October 2010 against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Personal life

Nilmar is married to Laura Guimarães.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Internacional *

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 ...

: 2003, 2004,

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; ...

, 2009, 2015 * Copa Sudamericana:

Lyon * Ligue 1: 2004–05 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries. His ...

: 2005 Corinthians * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2005 Al-Rayyan * Qatar Emir Cup:

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 ...

* Qatari Super Cup:

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 ...

Brazil * FIFA Confederations Cup: 2009 Brazil U20 *

FIFA World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...

: 2003 Individual * Campeonato Paulista top scorer: 2006 * Copa Sudamericana top scorer:

* Bola de Prata: 2008

References

External links

* * * *
2010 FIFA World Cup profile
*
UAEFA profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nilmar Honorato Da Silva 1984 births Living people People from Bandeirantes Brazilian footballers Association football forwards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Sport Club Internacional players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Santos FC players Ligue 1 players Olympique Lyonnais players La Liga players Villarreal CF players Qatar Stars League players Al-Rayyan SC players El Jaish SC players UAE Pro League players Al-Nasr SC (Dubai) players Brazil under-20 international footballers Brazil international footballers 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Brazilian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Sportspeople from Paraná (state)