Gilberto Oliveira Souza Júnior (born 5 June 1989), simply known as Gilberto, is a Brazilian 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 lea ...

who plays as a striker for Juventude.

Career

Santa Cruz

A Santa Cruz youth graduate, Gilberto made his senior debut on 5 July 2009, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 Série D away win against CSA. In January 2010, after five first team appearances, he was loaned to Vera Cruz until the end of the year's

Campeonato Pernambucano The Campeonato Pernambucano is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. It is run by the Pernambuco Football Federation (FPF). History The first edition of the Campeonato Pernambucano was played i ...

. After scoring twelve goals in 18 appearances (including four in a 4–1 home routing of Vitória das Tabocas), Gilberto returned to ''Santa'' and started to feature more regularly. He became an undisputed starter during the 2011 campaign under Zé Teodoro, scoring twelve goals in the 2011 Pernambucano and being chosen as the best striker in the competition.

Internacional

In May 2011, Gilberto signed a three-year contract with Internacional in the Série A. He made his debut in the category on 28 May, replacing Mario Bolatti in a 1–0 loss at

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

. Gilberto scored his first goal in the main category of Brazilian football on 16 November 2011, netting the game's only in a home defeat of

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

. On 7 July of the following year, after being sparingly used, he was loaned to Sport Recife until May 2013. After appearing regularly, Gilberto returned to Inter in January 2013. In July, however, he moved to Portuguesa also in a temporary deal; an immediate starter, he finished the season 14 goals for the club.

Toronto FC

On 13 December 2013, Gilberto joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

for a reported transfer fee of over $3 million, choosing MLS after turning down more lucrative offers from Mexico and Germany. He made his debut with Toronto FC against D.C. United on 22 March 2014, the game ended in a 1–0 home victory. Entering as a substitute against the Columbus Crew on 31 May 2014, Gilberto recorded an assist on

Jermain Defoe Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982) is an English football coach and former professional player. He was most recently the under-18s coach at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Defoe was a striker and began his career with Charlto ...

's 81st-minute equalizer in an eventual 3–2 win to help his team win the Trillium Cup. On 27 June 2014, Gilberto scored his first goal for Toronto FC against the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

, lashing in a 72nd minute free-kick, after arguing with Defoe as to who would take the kick.

Vasco da Gama (loan)

Due to the arrival of

Jozy Altidore Josmer Volmy "Jozy" Altidore ( ; born November 6, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker. He last played for the Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. Altidore made his professional debut in 2006, at ...

, and

Sebastian Giovinco Sebastian Giovinco (; born 26 January 1987) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. A quick and creative player on the ball, Giovinco was a versatile attacker c ...

in January 2015, both of whom would take up DP slots, after only one season with Toronto, Gilberto was loaned to Brazilian club

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

on 20 February 2015. He was the club's top goalscorer during the 2015 Campeonato Carioca with nine goals, but was demoted to a backup option after the arrival of new manager Celso Roth.

Chicago Fire

Vasco de Gama terminated the loan in July 2015, forcing Toronto to release Gilberto. He was claimed off waivers and acquired as a designated player by Chicago Fire on 27 July 2015. After scoring five goals in his first season – which included a brace against former club Toronto – Gilberto failed to find the net in his second, and his contract with Chicago Fire was mutually terminated on 29 June 2016.

São Paulo

On 15 July 2016, Gilberto signed a contract with

São Paulo FC São Paulo Futebol Clube () is a professional Association football, football club in the Morumbi, São Paulo, Morumbi district of São Paulo, Brazil. It plays in Campeonato Paulista, São Paulo (state), São Paulo's premier State football lea ...

until December 2017. A backup to Andrés Chávez, he only featured in eight matches. On 12 February 2017, Gilberto 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 Wick ...

in 5–2 home routing of Ponte Preta, for the year's

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

. He finished the tournament as the top goalscorer with nine goals, along with William Pottker.

Yeni Malatyaspor

Following a two-year stint with São Paulo, Gilberto joined

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side

Yeni Malatyaspor Yeni Malatyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Malatya. The club plays in the TFF First League, which is the second tier of football in the country. History Founded in 1986 as Malatya Belediyespor. Its primary colo ...

in Turkey.

Bahia

On 11 June 2018, Gilberto returned to Brazil, signing a six-month contract with Bahia. He signed an extension until the end of 2021, being the lead scorer for the team. On 19 October 2020, he became the all-time leading scorer in goals in the Campeonato Brasileiro for Bahia. On 5 November 2020, Gilberto scored his 50th goal in 113 matches for Bahia, across all competitions.

Al-Wasl

On 9 January 2022, Gilberto signed contract free with Al-Wasl.

Career statistics

Honours

Santa Cruz *

: 2011 Internacional *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

: 2012, 2013 Vasco da Gama *

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Bahia *

Campeonato Baiano The Campeonato Baiano (), also known as the Baianão (), is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Run by the Bahia Football Federation (FBF), it is the second-oldest state football championship o ...

: 2019,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Individual *

top scorer:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Copa do Nordeste Copa do Nordeste (English: ''Cup of the North-East''), also known as Campeonato do Nordeste (''English: Championship of the North-East'') or Copa Nordeste (English: ''Northeastern Cup'') is a Brazilian football competition among Northeastern re ...

top scorer:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilberto 1989 births Living people Footballers from Alagoas Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série D players Santa Cruz Futebol Clube players SC Internacional players Sport Club do Recife players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players CR Vasco da Gama players São Paulo FC players Esporte Clube Bahia players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Esporte Clube Juventude players Major League Soccer players Toronto FC players Chicago Fire FC players Süper Lig players Yeni Malatyaspor footballers UAE Pro League players Al Wasl F.C. players Designated Players (MLS) Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen