Nathan Raphael Pelae Cardoso (born 13 May 1995), simply known as Nathan, 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 last played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city and the largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America and also forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várz ...

. He played for the youth and senior teams of

SE 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 ...

in Brazil's top flight and was later loaned to various clubs in Brazil and Switzerland. Nathan was transferred to

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. ...

in the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

in 2019 and played for two years there. He joined MLS club

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

in 2021. Nathan played in 46 matches for San Jose during the 2021 and 2022 seasons with limited availability due to injuries. He underwent surgery after tearing his left knee's

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) In physics (particularly liquid statics), the meniscus (: menisci, ) is the curve in the upper sur ...

in February 2022 and played 26 matches during the regular season. Nathan was unable to play during the 2023 season after he tore his right

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

tear during preseason. He was signed by Seattle Sounders FC in January 2024, but injured his hamstring in May. He played six matches during the season and returned during the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs, where he started in the Western Conference against the

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

. His contract option for the 2025 season was declined by the Sounders on 4 December 2024.

Honours

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, ...

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 ...

Chapecoense *

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 ...

: 2017

References

External links

*
Major League Soccer profile
1995 births Living people Footballers from São Paulo Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Swiss Super League players Swiss Challenge League players SE Palmeiras players Criciúma Esporte Clube players Associação Chapecoense de Futebol players Cuiabá Esporte Clube players Servette FC players Grasshopper Club Zurich players FC Zürich players San Jose Earthquakes players Seattle Sounders FC players Brazil men's youth international footballers Brazil men's under-20 international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Major League Soccer players Tacoma Defiance players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen {{Brazil-footy-defender-1990s-stub