Nilson Corrêa Júnior (born 26 December 1975), known simply as Nilson, is a Brazilian former

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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

, currently

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Campeonato Cearense The Campeonato Cearense is the professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Ceará. It is run by the Ceará Football Federation (FCF). In over a hundred years of competition, only 11 clubs have won the title. List of champio ...

club . Most of his professional career was spent in Portugal with Vitória de Guimarães, where he appeared in 226 competitive matches over seven seasons, six spent 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 ...

. He also played for three years with

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

in Iran.

Playing career

Club

Brazil

Born in

Vitória, Espírito Santo Vitória (; ) is the capital of the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. It is located on a small island within a bay where a number of rivers meet the sea. It was founded in 1551. The city proper is and has a population of 322,869 (2022), whilst ...

, Nílson started his career at

Esporte Clube Vitória Esporte Clube Vitória () is a Brazilian professional club based in Salvador, Bahia, Salvador, Bahia founded on 13 May 1899. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, as well as in the Campeonato Baiano, the top flight of the Bahia St ...

, signing with

Santa Cruz Futebol Clube Santa Cruz Futebol Clube is a Brazilian professional football club based in Recife, Pernambuco, that competes in the Série D, the fourth tier of Brazilian football, and in the Campeonato Pernambucano, the top flight of the Pernambuco stat ...

in 1999 and achieving promotion from the

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (commonly referred to as the Brasileirão Série B, the Série B or the Brazilian Série B to distinguish it from the Italian and the Ecuadorian Serie B), and currently officially called Brasileirão Série B ...

in the same year. He then had loan spells, at

Sociedade Esportiva do Gama Sociedade Esportiva do Gama, commonly referred to as Gama, is a Brazilian professional club based in Gama, Distrito Federal founded on 15 November 1975. It competes in the Campeonato Brasiliense, the top flight of the Distrito Federal state ...

and

Associação Atlética Internacional (Limeira) Associação Atlética Internacional, commonly referred to as simply Inter de Limeira, is a Brazilian association football club in Limeira, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série D, the fourth tier of Brazilian football, as well as in t ...

. Nilson was released by Santa Cruz in 2003, for financial reasons. After an injury-ridden stint with Americano FC he joined

Clube Náutico Capibaribe Clube Náutico Capibaribe (), or simply Náutico, is a Football in Brazil, Brazilian Sports club, multi-sport club based in Recife, Pernambuco. The club is most notable for its association football team, that plays in the Campeonato Brasile ...

, where he won the

Campeonato Pernambucano The Campeonato Pernambucano is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. It is run by the Pernambuco Football Federation (FPF). History The first edition of the Campeonato Pernambucano was played i ...

Vitória Guimarães

In 2003, Nílson was spotted by

Vitória S.C. Vitória Sport Clube, popularly known as Vitória de Guimarães or sometimes just Vitória, is a Portuguese professional football club based in Guimarães that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football, at the Est ...

manager Jorge Jesus and

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...

António Texeira while playing

footvolley Footvolley ( in Brazil, ''Futevólei'' in Portugal) (first known as pevoley) is a sport that combines aspects of beach volleyball and association football. Similar to Kick Volleyball and Futnet. Footvolley was created by Octavio de Moraes in ...

, with Jesus wanting him to play in Portugal. They lost touch, but later he was contacted again by Teixeira and agreed to move to Portugal that year after his

€ 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 ...

90,000 release clause was paid, being first choice from the start but not being able to prevent, however, the

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved ...

side from being relegated to the Segunda Liga in his first season. After only missing two league games in 2006–07 as the

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

team returned to the

, Nilson played all matches the following campaign as they achieved a third place, subsequently reaching the

third qualifying round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

of 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 ...

Persepolis

On 17 July 2012, aged nearly 37, Nilson signed a two-year deal with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian club Persepolis FC. He helped his new team to finish second in 2013–14 and thus qualify for the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

, keeping a Pro League-best 18 clean sheets. Nilson extended his contract for another year on 24 May 2014, but was released on 1 January 2015.

Later years

On 10 July 2015, Nilson returned to Portugal with

Moreirense FC Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaqui ...

. For the following campaign, still in that country but in the second tier, he joined

C.F. União Clube de Futebol União, commonly known as União da Madeira, was a Portuguese association football, football club based in Funchal, Madeira, notable for its six season in the Portuguese top-flight Primeira Liga, between the 1989–90 Primeira D ...

International

Nilson played for

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 ...

at under-20 level, and was part of the squad that finished runners-up in the

1995 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the 1995 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 10th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It was held in Qatar from 13 to 28 April 1995. The tournament t ...

although he did not play. In late May 2011, he was invited by Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte to represent the Burkinabé national team, with the nation risking sanctions due to FIFA eligibility rules if he was selected; the following month, the player announced that he would no longer be eligible since a possible call up to the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (C ...

would have negative impact in his Vitória Guimarães career.

Coaching career

After retiring, Nilson worked as a coach, mainly in the state of Pernambuco and in amateur football. In quick succession, he was in charge of

Flamengo Esporte Clube de Arcoverde Flamengo Sport Club de Arcoverde, commonly known as Flamengo de Arcoverde, is a Brazilian football club based in Arcoverde, Pernambuco state. They competed in the Série C once. History The club was founded on May 1, 1959. Flamengo de Arcoverde ...

, Sociedade Esportiva Ypiranga Futebol Clube, Sociedade Esportiva Decisão Futebol Clube,

Vera Cruz Futebol Clube Vera Cruz Futebol Clube, commonly known as Vera Cruz, is a Brazilian football club based in Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco state. They competed in the Série C once. History The club was founded on 3 February 1960. Vera Cruz won the Cam ...

, Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil,

Central Sport Club Central Sport Club, usually known simply as Central, is a Brazilian football club. Based in Caruaru, Pernambuco state, the club competes in the Série D. History On June 15, 1919, at Sociedade Musical Comercial Caruaruense, the club was found ...

, Associação Cultural e Desportiva Potiguar and Associação Atlética Maguary.

Career statistics

¹ includes one match in 2011 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

Honours

Vitória *

Campeonato Baiano The Campeonato Baiano (), also known as the Baianão (), is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Run by the Bahia Football Federation (FBF), it is the second-oldest state football championship o ...

: 1996, 1997 *

Campeonato do Nordeste Copa do Nordeste (English: ''Cup of the North-East''), also known as Campeonato do Nordeste (''English: Championship of the North-East'') or Copa Nordeste (English: ''Northeastern Cup'') is a Brazilian football competition among Northeastern re ...

: 1997 Náutico *

: 2004 Vitória Guimarães *

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 ...

runner-up:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Persepolis * Iranian Hazfi Cup runner-up: 2012–13

References

External links

* *
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilson 1975 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Campeonato Brasileiro Série C players Esporte Clube Vitória players Santa Cruz Futebol Clube players Sociedade Esportiva do Gama players Americano FC players Clube Náutico Capibaribe players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Vitória S.C. players Moreirense F.C. players C.F. União players Persian Gulf Pro League players Persepolis F.C. players Brazil men's youth international footballers Brazil men's under-20 international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Iran Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Iran Brazilian football managers Retrô Futebol Clube Brasil managers