Marcos dos Santos Assunção (born 25 July 1976) 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 lea ...

. A

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, he was renowned as a world-class

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

specialist. Assunção played for clubs in four countries; he is best known for his spells with

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

in Italy and

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

in Spain. At international level, he represented

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

on 11 occasions between 1998 and 2000, scoring a single goal; he was a member of the team that finished third at the

1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fourth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Gold Cup, the association football, soccer championship for the member associations of CONCACAF, which governs the sport in North America, Central America, and the Caribb ...

Club career

Early years and Roma

Born in

Caieiras Caieiras is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 102,775 (2020 est.) in an area of 97.64 km2. Due to the municipality's large reforestation area, it is kn ...

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 ...

, Assunção began his career at Rio Branco, where he stayed two years. He then played for Santos, scoring three goals in 33 Série A games and moving to

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 ...

in 1998. After impressive performances with Flamengo, Assunção was bought by

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

for 1999–2000. In his first year, he netted once in 21 appearances, adding another in five

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 ...

matches A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

; he would be used regularly during his three-year stay, proving himself a threat at set pieces as the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

club lifted the ''

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'' in his second season.

Betis

Assunção joined Spanish side

in August 2002, being an undisputed first-choice from the start and scoring several goals from free kicks. His debut as a ''Verdiblanco'' was spectacular, as he netted once in a 4–2 away win against

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

through a 40-yarder with his weaker left foot, then proceeded to strike the woodwork on no less than three occasions; he scored eight goals as the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

n team finished fourth at the end of the 2004–05 campaign, subsequently

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for 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 ...

. During 2005–06, Assunção played in seven Champions League contests, failing to appear in the

due to injury. He only managed to score once in the domestic league. On 25 July 2006, his 30th birthday, Assunção became a citizen of Spain due to his time spent at Betis, but the 2006–07 season would be however his last in the country. On 22 August 2007, he left Betis by mutual consent, having failed to fit into

Héctor Cúper Héctor Raúl Cúper (; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player who was most recently head coach of the Syria national team. As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at Ferro Carril Oeste, w ...

's plans – he gave a press conference in which he said goodbye to the club and fans, saying that he would not join another Spanish club.

Later career

In the following two years, Assunção played in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, consecutively with Al Ahli and Al Shabab. On 26 September 2009 the 33-year-old returned to his homeland, signing with Grêmio Prudente (formerly Barueri). However, after a mere months, he switched sides again, moving to

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

on a one-year deal. Assunção was selected by manager

Luiz Felipe Scolari Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player who currently serves as the technical director of Grêmio. Considered to be one of the greatest and most su ...

as one of the club's four "leaders", alongside

Marcos Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) * Marcos family Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Né ...

Danilo Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born ...

and Edinho. In the season's

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

, he provided one assist and scored from a long-range kick in a 3–0 win against Vitória (3–2 aggregate win). On 6 January 2013, following a contract dispute, Assunção left Palmeiras. Five days later the 36-year-old rejoined Santos after 14 years, penning a deal until December. In January 2014, Assunção joined Figueirense after his contract with Santos expired. In April, however, he cut ties with the club, signing a short-term deal at Portuguesa in June. On 2 September 2014, after refusing to stay on the bench in some matches, Assunção had his contract with ''Lusa'' terminated.

International career

Assunção made 11 appearances for the Brazil national team during two years. He made his debut against

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, and scored his only international goal against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

on 18 November 1998 in a 5–1 friendly win. Assunção was dropped from the ''Seleção'' after a poor performance during a

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

qualifier against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

– a 0–3 away loss – and was never called up since.

Personal life

Both Marcos Senna, who spent most of his career at

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...

, even representing the Spain national team, and

Márcio Senna Márcio Senna da Silva (born 21 May 1981) is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Senna was born in São Paulo. He moved to Grêmio Recreativo Barueri, Grêmio Barueri of the Campe ...

, are Assunção's cousins.Marcos Senna, estrella de Champions (Marcos Senna, Champions star)
''

Las Provincias ''Las Provincias'' is a regional newspaper published in Valencia, Spain. Founded in 1866, it is one of the oldest publications in the country. History and profile ''Las Provincias'' was first published in Valencia in January 1866.Miguel Lorenci ...

'', 2 October 2008

Honours

Santos * Torneio Rio – São Paulo: 1997 *

Copa CONMEBOL The Copa CONMEBOL () was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was a very prestigious South American club football contest, similar to the ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Roma *

: 2000–01 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Betis *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

: 2004–05 Al Ahli *

UAE President's Cup The UAE President's Cup, or simply the President Cup, is a association football, football tournament that takes place in United Arab Emirates, between Football team, clubs in the UAE Pro League and the UAE First Division League. The winner qualifi ...

: 2007–08 Palmeiras *

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

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 ...

Figueirense *

Campeonato Catarinense The Campeonato Catarinense is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. It is run by the Santa Catarina Football Federation (FCF). History The Catarinense has had different names throughout ...

: 2014

References

External links

*
CBF data
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Assuncao, Marcos 1976 births Living people People from Caieiras Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Brazil men's international footballers 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Serie A players La Liga players UAE Pro League players Rio Branco Esporte Clube players Santos FC players CR Flamengo footballers SE Palmeiras players Figueirense FC players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Criciúma Esporte Clube players Sampaio Corrêa Futebol Clube players AS Roma players Real Betis players Shabab Al Ahli Club players Al Shabab Al Arabi Club (Dubai) players Naturalised citizens of Spain Spanish people of Brazilian descent Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Footballers from São Paulo (state)