Leonardo de Matos Cruz (born 2 April 1986), better known as Léo Matos, is a former 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 played as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Club career

Starting from the academies of

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

and having been for a short time in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, Leo Matos did not find his best in this small passage from Europe and fought exclusively in his homeland until 2010, when he moved to Ukraine. In

Chornomorets Odesa FC Chornomorets Odesa ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Odesa. The club's home ground is the 34,164 capacity Chornomorets Stadium opened in 1935 and rebuilt in 2011. According to the club's website, it was formed in 1936 as ...

, he learned to focus in defence and remain faithful to tactics. The Chornomorets coach

Roman Hryhorchuk Roman Yosypovych Hryhorchuk ( uk, Роман Йосипович Григорчук; born 22 March 1965) is a Ukrainian football manager who is the head coach of Chornomorets Odesa and a former player. Playing career He started playing with Lys ...

, with whom he worked with, before moved to

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Football Club Dnipro ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб «Дніпро́», ) was a Ukrainian football club based in Dnipro. The club was owned by the Privat Group that also owns BC Dnipro and Budivelnyk Kyiv. In 2018 FC Dnipro was forced in ...

, was the one who actually helped him to change. ''"...We watched video every single day, we learned tactics and defense, thinking that in football is not only attack..."'' has said in an earlier interview. Although he is a full back, he played most of the

matches as a right midfielder, proving he can cover the whole right ring. In summer of 2014, he signed for

changing his position to left full back, a quite successful move. He participated in the UEFA Europa League final, where his team lost from

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...

PAOK

On 8 May 2016, the 30-year-old solved his contract with

due to serious economic problems of the club and he joined PAOK. The acquisition of the player is expected to be announced after the end of the Superleague playoffs and until then all formalities (medical examinations, duration of contract etc.) with the player will take place. On 18 August 2016, in his third appearance for PAOK, Leo Matos scored a wonderful goal helping the club to escape with a 3–0 away win against

FC Dinamo Tbilisi FC Dinamo Tbilisi ( ka, დინამო თბილისი, ) is a Georgian professional football club based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that competes in the Erovnuli Liga, the top flight of Georgian football. Dinamo Tbilisi was one of the mo ...

in the

UEFA 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 ...

playoffs. On 11 December 2016, he scored a second-half brace (62', 81'), helping his team to win 3–0 against

Platanias Platanias (Greek: Πλατανιάς) is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about west from the city of Chania and east of Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platania ...

Toumba Stadium Toumba Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Τούμπας) is a football stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is property of AC PAOK. The official name of the stadium is simply PAOK Stadium ( el, Στάδιο ΠΑΟΚ), but through the years it has become ...

. On 17 August 2017, he helped PAOK complete a remarkable turnaround and defeat

Östersunds FK Östersunds Fotbollsklubb, commonly known simply as Östersunds FK, Östersund () or (especially locally) ÖFK, is a Swedish professional football club located in Östersund, Sweden and since 2022 play in the Swedish second tier, Superettan. The ...

3–1 at home scoring a crucial goal in the second half of the 1st leg of the UEFA Europa League play-offs. On 30 September 2017, he scored his first goal for the 2017-18 Super League season in a 1–1 away draw against AEL On 22 October 2017, the club unofficially announced that his contract will be extended till the summer of 2021 with better financial earnings. On 20 December he scored a brace in a 5–1 away

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

win against

Trikala Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...

On 6 January 2018, he opened the score in a 5–0 home win against

Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Λεβαδειακός) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, afte ...

., and he repeated a week later in the next matchday in a 3–0 away win against

Kerkyra Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

. On 15 September 2018, he scored his first goal for the 2018-19 Super League season, as he rose highest to head home from a corner in the fifth minute of added time just before the referee blew the half-time whistle, in a 3–1 away win against OFI. On 16 March 2019, he scored as rose to head home

Diego Biseswar Diego Marvin Biseswar (born 8 March 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Greek Super League club PAOK. Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Suriname national team. Early life He was born in Amsterdam to Sur ...

's right-wing corner with

Nikos Giannakopoulos Nikos Giannakopoulos ( el, Νίκος Γιαννακόπουλος; born 19 February 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Petah Tikva. Career Giannakopoulos started his career ...

helpless to react in time, sealing a vital 2–1 away win against

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναιτωλικός), or with its full name Panetolikós Yimnastikós Filekpedeftikós Síllogos ( el, Παναιτωλικός Γυμναστικός Φιλεκπαιδευτικός Σύλλογος'' ...

in his club's rally to win the first championship title since 1985. On 3 April 2019, he scored a brace in the Greek Cup semifinal 1st leg to earn a 2–0 advantage ahead of the second leg against

Asteras Tripoli Asteras Tripolis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Αστέρας Τρίπολης), commonly referred to as Asteras Tripolis (meaning "Star of Tripoli"), is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Tripoli in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greec ...

. PAOK were only 1–0 up deep into stoppage time, but after

Walter Iglesias Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

received a red card, Matos scored his second goal with a wonderful half-volley which sailed beyond the outstretched grasp of Giorgos Athanasiadis. On 6 August 2019, in his first official performance for the 2019–20 season, he scored with a powerful header after an assist from

that emphatically past Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana, in a home game against last season's

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 competit ...

semi-finalists

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie that ended in a 2–2 draw. On 22 September 2019, scored with a header after a corner from Josip Mišić in a 2–2 home draw with

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jamai ...

. On 4 January 2020, Matos scored with a low shot following a free-kick, to close the score in an away 4–2 loss against rivals

Aris Thessaloniki F.C. Aris FC ( el, ΠΑΕ Άρης), commonly known as Aris Thessaloniki FC, AFC or simply Aris, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. Created in 1914 as ''Aris Thessaloniki Football Club'', th ...

, as PAOK were finally beaten after 51 games in

Super League I The year 1996's Stones Bitter Super League I was the official name for the 102nd season of top-level rugby league football, and the first year of Europe's new championship: Super League. It is also the first season of rugby league to be played i ...

. At the end of a frustrating 2019-20 season, Leo Matos was one step away from leaving PAOK and lately he was looking for a team to continue his career, but it seems that despite the fact that the Brazilian, was out of

Abel Ferreira Abel Fernando Moreira Ferreira (born 22 December 1978), known simply as Abel as a player, is a Portuguese football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Brazilian club Palmeiras. As a right-back, he played 234 Primeira Li ...

's initial plans for a long time, the situation is reversed with Matos remaining in Toumba and now stopping the search for another team.

Vasco da Gama

On 23 October 2020, Leo Matos has agreed a two-year contract with

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 ...

and his transfer is expected to be completed immediately, as PAOK informed. The personal problem that Leo Matos has been facing for several months is likely to lead him to Brazil, as the transfer window is open until 9 November. Matos came to PAOK in 2016 from Dnipro and became immediately one of the key players for the club. In four years has 168 appearances with the club in all competitions, scored 26 goals, and had 16 assists. On 2 November 2020 he opened the score in his first appearance with the club in a 1-1 home draw game against

Goiás Esporte Clube Goiás Esporte Clube is a Brazilian sports club, best known for its association football team, located in the city of Goiânia, capital city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. Goiás has won Brazilian's second tier Série B twice, also 28 Camp ...

International career

There were talks of possible naturalization of him to play for the

Ukraine national football team The Ukraine national football team ( uk, Збірна України з футболу) represents Ukraine in men's international football and is governed by the Ukrainian Association of Football, the governing body for football in Ukraine. Ukr ...

, and eventually succeeded to gain a second citizenship.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk *

: runner-up 2014–15 PAOK *

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

: 2018–19 *

: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 Brazil U-17 *

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fédération ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Individual * Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2016–17 2017–18

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matos, Leonardo 1986 births Living people Footballers from Niterói Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's youth international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers CR Flamengo footballers Olympique de Marseille players Paraná Clube players FC Chornomorets Odesa players Tombense Futebol Clube players FC Dnipro players PAOK FC players CR Vasco da Gama players Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Ukrainian Premier League players Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Super League Greece players