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 le ...

who plays as a striker for Al-Wasl.

Club 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 CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

. 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 de Futebol (Pernambucan Football Championship, in English) is the football championship of Pernambuco state, Brazil, and is organized by the FPF. The first edition of the Campeonato Pernambucano was played in 1915, a ...

. 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 José Teodoro Bonfim Queiróz, known as Zé Teodoro (born 22 November 1963 in Anápolis), is a Brazilian football (soccer) manager. Honors Club honours ; Goiás * Campeonato Goiano: 1981, 1982, 1985 ; São Paulo * Campeonato Paulista: 1985, ...

, 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 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 ...

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 (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...

. 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 ( , , ; meaning "bay") 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 (sta ...

. On 7 July of the following year, after being sparingly used, he was loaned to

Sport Recife Sport Club do Recife, (; known as Sport Recife or Sport, is a Brazilian sports club, located in the city of Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Founded in 1905, the club currently plays in Série B. In football, the club has w ...

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 men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

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 D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

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 former professional footballer who played as a striker. He also played for the England national team. Defoe began his career with Charlton Athletic, joining their youth team aged 14, be ...

's 81st-minute equalizer in an eventual 3–2 win to help his team win the

Trillium Cup The Trillium Cup is an annual rivalry between the Columbus Crew and Toronto FC. The Trillium Cup is named after the trillium, which is both the official flower of the Canadian province of Ontario, and the official wildflower of the U.S. state of ...

. 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 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. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

, 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 for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. Altidore made his professional debut in 2006, at the age of 16, with ...

, and

Sebastian Giovinco Sebastian Giovinco (; born 26 January 1987) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A quick and creative player on the ball, Giovinco was a versatile forward capable of playing in multiple offensive positions. Gio ...

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, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

on 20 February 2015. He was the club's top goalscorer during the

2015 Campeonato Carioca The 2015 Campeonato Carioca de Futebol (branded as 2015 Cariocão Guaraviton for sponsorship reasons) was the 114th edition of the top tier football of FFERJ (Federação de Futebol do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, or Rio de Janeiro State Football F ...

with nine goals, but was demoted to a backup option after the arrival of new manager

Celso Roth Celso Juarez Roth (born 30 November 1957 in Caxias do Sul) is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as a central defender. He is the current head coach of Juventude. Coaching career On 4 May 2009 the former Grêmio coach ...

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 The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...

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 (), commonly referred to as São Paulo, is a professional football club in the Morumbi district of São Paulo, Brazil, founded in 1930. It plays in the Campeonato Paulista (the State of São Paulo's premier state leag ...

until December 2017. A backup to

Andrés Chávez Andrés Eliseo Chávez (born 21 March 1991) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Uzbekistan Super League club Nasaf Club career Boca Juniors Chávez scored his second and third goal in Boca Juniors against Rosario ...

, 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 wic ...

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 association football, football league in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. Run b ...

. 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''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

side

Yeni Malatyaspor Yeni Malatyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Malatya, Turkey. 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 prim ...

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

Club

;Santa Cruz *

: 2011 ;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 ...

: 2012, 2013 ;Vasco da Gama *

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, B ...

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 ...

;Bahia *

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 ...

: 2019,

2020 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 events, COVID- ...

Individual

Top scorer:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilberto 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Alagoas Brazilian footballers Association football forwards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série D players Santa Cruz Futebol Clube players Sport Club 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 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 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 soccer players in Canada Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates