Liédson da Silva Muniz (born 17 December 1977), known simply as Liédson, is a 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 lea ...
who played as a
striker.
Nicknamed ''Levezinho'' ("Slender one") due to his light frame (63 kg),
[Liedson, cameras, action!](_blank)
UEFA, 17 May 2005 he spent the bulk of his professional career in Portugal representing
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries, , scoring nearly 120 goals in more than 200 competitive matches, winning four major titles with the club and helping it to four
Champions League participations.
Born in Brazil, Liédson became a Portuguese citizen in 2009 and appeared with the
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
at the
2010 World Cup, already in his 30s.
Club career
Early years
Born in
Cairu,
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 ...
, Liédson started his professional career at
Coritiba Foot Ball Club
Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as heCoxa, is a List of football clubs in Brazil, Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Paraná s ...
, aged 22. Before that he played amateur football on weekends, working at a supermarket during the week.
Liédson continued his career at
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...
and
Sport Club Corinthians Paulista
Sport Club Corinthians Paulista () is a Brazilian professional sports club based in São Paulo, in the district of Tatuapé. Although it competes in multiple sports modalities, it is best known for its professional men's Association football, f ...
, traditional big clubs at
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
and
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
respectively, with relative individual success.
Sporting
Liédson was signed by
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries, for
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
2 million on 31 August 2003, giving manager
Fernando Santos a new option following injuries and sales. On his debut, the "S" in his name was printed in reverse, which he took as a good omen and maintained it like that for the rest of his career.
Liédson was crowned top scorer in the
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...
in
his second season, scoring 25 goals
while also netting nine in 14 games as his team reached
the final of the
UEFA Cup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
– this included 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 a 4–0 win at
FC Dinamo Tbilisi
FC Dinamo Tbilisi ( ka, დინამო თბილისი, ) is a Georgian professional football club based in Tbilisi that competes in the Erovnuli Liga, the top flight of Georgian football.
Dinamo Tbilisi was one of the most prom ...
in
the group stage.
The following year he finished second in the scoring race, scoring 15 times from 31 appearances (28 of which he played the full 90 minutes) with an impressive mark of 2,899 minutes played; he was top scorer again in
2006–07, but the ''Lions'' only conquered one
domestic cup during that timeframe.
Considered by many as one of the greatest strikers in Sporting history since the early performances of
Fernando Peyroteo,
Héctor Yazalde,
Manuel Fernandes,
Rui Jordão
Rui Manuel Trindade Jordão (; 9 August 1952 – 18 October 2019) was a Portuguese footballer.
His professional career was spent mostly with two of the biggest clubs in the country, Benfica and Sporting CP. One of the most prolific strikers ...
,
Fernando Gomes,
Alberto Acosta
Alberto Federico 'Beto' Acosta Tabizzi (born 23 August 1966) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker.
In a professional career which spanned 18 years (nearly 700 official games and more than 250 goals), he pla ...
and
Mário Jardel, Liédson was also regarded as the club's top trademark player since the departures of
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-t ...
,
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...
,
Nani and
Ricardo Quaresma. He also ranked team top scorer in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
, after scoring the lonely goal in the
2008–09 group stage contest against
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...
on 22 October 2008. In the last group stage match, he also found the net – in a 2–5 home loss to
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
– for the 19th time in
European competition, another club best; on 1 November he appeared in his 150th league match with the green-and-white striped jersey, 213 overall.
On 17 January 2010, after having missed one month due to injury, Liédson came
from the bench to score twice, helping Sporting overcome
C.D. Nacional 3–2 at home. On 7 March, all of the game's goals were his as his team beat
last-placed C.F. Os Belenenses
Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses (), commonly known as Os Belenenses or simply Belenenses, is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 19,856 ...
4–0 away.
Liédson entered Sporting's history books on 21 October 2010 as he scored the club's 200th goal in European competitions, netting twice in a
5–1 home win against
K.A.A. Gent for the Europa League.
Return to Brazil
On 31 January 2011, after having appeared in 310 official matches with Sporting, scoring 174 goals, 33-year-old Liédson returned to his homeland, signing with former club Corinthians.
He was still allowed to play with the ''Lions'' the following Friday, starting and scoring twice against
Associação Naval 1º de Maio
Associação Naval 1º de Maio or Associação Naval 1893, commonly known as Naval, was a Portuguese Association football, football club based in Figueira da Foz, Coimbra District. Founded on 1 May 1893, it last played in the Division of Honour i ...
, in a 3–3 home draw.
Liédson contributed with ten games in the
2012 Copa Libertadores campaign, scoring once in the 6–0 group stage home win against
Deportivo Táchira of
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
(immediately after missing a
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
) as the ''Timão'' won the
continental competition for the first time in its history. On 31 July, he left Corinthians after both club and player decided not to renew his contract.
On 2 August 2012, Liédson agreed on a return to Flamengo, signing until December of the following year. In late January of the following year he came back to Portugal, joining
FC Porto
Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...
on a loan until the end of
the season. On 11 May, he was involved in the goal that clinched the title for the ''Dragons'' against rivals
S.L. Benfica in ''
O Clássico''; put on as a substitute by manager
Vítor Pereira alongside
Kelvin
The kelvin (symbol: K) is the base unit for temperature in the International System of Units (SI). The Kelvin scale is an absolute temperature scale that starts at the lowest possible temperature (absolute zero), taken to be 0 K. By de ...
, he assisted the youngster's added-time winner.
International career
Liédson expressed interest in playing for the
Portugal national team despite being Brazilian-born. He stated: "If one day I was called up to play, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second, as I feel right at home in Portugal." After the retirement of striker
Pauleta, Liédson was one of the main candidates in line for succession, especially after countrymen
Deco and
Pepe's previous switches. Liédson's
naturalisation
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
process created some controversy, as the Portuguese Footballers' Union in August 2009 publicly objected the
Portuguese Football Federation
The Portuguese Football Federation ( , FPF) is the governing body of Association football, football in Portugal. The federation was formed in 1914 as Portuguese Football Union (, UPF) by the three existing regional associations of Lisbon Footbal ...
's (FPF) plans of expediting his citizenship.
After six years of residence in Portugal, Liédson received
citizenship
Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state.
Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
, being eligible to play for the country. On 26 August 2009, he was called up by
Carlos Queiroz for the
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
qualifiers against
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
and made his debut against the former on 5 September, coming on as a substitute for
Tiago at half-time. After having been
booked, Liédson scored the equaliser in the 85th minute, heading the ball in from a
corner.
Liédson started in Portugal's World Cup opener, a 0–0 draw against
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
. He lost his place to
Hugo Almeida for the following match, but found the net twice in a 7–0 routing of
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
on 21 June.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Liédson goal.''
Honours
Corinthians
*
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...
:
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
*
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), ...
: 2003
*
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...
:
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
Sporting
*
Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...
:
2006–07,
2007–08
*
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...
:
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
,
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
*
Taça da Liga
The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...
: runner-up
2007–08,
2008–09
*
UEFA Cup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
: runner-up
2004–05
Porto
*
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...
:
2012–13
*
Taça da Liga
The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...
: runner-up
2012–13
Individual
*
Copa Sul-Minas
Copa Sul-Minas was a Brazilian football competition that ran between 2000 and 2002, with teams from the three Southern states of Brazil, plus the Southeastern state of Minas Gerais. It is a successor competition to the 1999 Tournament called Copa ...
top scorer: 2002
*
Bola de Prata:
2004–05,
2006–07
*
SJPF Player of the Month: January 2006, April 2007, January 2009, April 2009, March 2010
(record)
*
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), ...
top scorer:
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liedson
1977 births
Living people
Footballers from Bahia
Brazilian emigrants to Portugal
Naturalised citizens of Portugal
Brazilian men's footballers
Portuguese men's footballers
Black Portuguese sportspeople
Men's association football forwards
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players
Coritiba Foot Ball Club players
CR Flamengo footballers
Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players
Copa Libertadores–winning players
Primeira Liga players
Sporting CP footballers
FC Porto players
Portugal men's international footballers
2010 FIFA World Cup players