Pedro Paulo de Oliveira, known as Pedrinho (

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 ...

, 29 June 1977), is a former brazilian footballer who played as a

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 ...

. In January 2024, he took office as the president of

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

, with a term set to last until 2026.

Playing career

Club career

Pedrinho began his journey at

, joining the club's futsal team at the age of six. He was promoted to the main squad in 1995 and experienced the pinnacle of his career during Vasco's victorious campaign in the 1998 Copa Libertadores. In 2001, he transferred to Palmeiras, a move influenced by a debt Vasco owed to Palmeiras from the acquisition of forward Euller. At the end of 2005 Pedrinho was signed by Ittihad Club of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, aiming to compete in the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

. However, he was excluded from the tournament due to late registration. He returned to Brazil in 2006, joining Fluminense but was released by the end of the year. On 26 January 2007 Pedrinho was signed by Santos, where he played in that year's

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 ...

campaign. In early 2008 Pedrinho signed a five-month contract with

Al Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is Oman–United Arab Emirates border, bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al A ...

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 ...

. Later that year, in September, he returned to Brazil and rejoined Vasco da Gama, signing on for the rest of the season. After his contract expired, he joined Figueirense. On 6 August 2009, at the age of 32, Pedrinho announced his retirement from professional football, largely due to recurring injuries that plagued his career. After two years away from the field, in October 2011 Pedrinho signed with Olaria for the 2012

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

. He played his final match on 13 January 2013, in a commemorative friendly where

defeated

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), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

1–0.

International career

Following Vasco's triumph in the 1998 Copa Libertadores, Pedrinho earned his first call-up to the Brazilian national team. In 2002, he played his only match for Brazil in a friendly against

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

Injury record

Throughout his career, Pedrinho struggled with frequent injuries. He revealed that there was a point in his career when he began to believe his issues might be psychological, but physiotherapist Nilton Petroni identified a hip imbalance as the root cause. Their collaboration allowed Pedrinho to achieve a milestone in 2007 with Santos, managing over 60 games in a single season.

President of Vasco da Gama

Following his departure from Globo, Pedrinho announced his candidacy for president of

for the 2024–2026 term. On 11 November 2023, he won the election, defeating Leven Siano to become the club's president.

Honours

Vasco da Gama *

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 ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

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 ...

: 1998 * Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1999 * Copa Mercosur: 2000 Palmeiras *

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 ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Santos *

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), ...

: 2007

References

External links

sambafoot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedrinho (footballer, born 1977) 1977 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazil men's international footballers Brazil men's under-20 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Copa Libertadores–winning players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players UAE Pro League players CR Vasco da Gama players SE Palmeiras players Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players Fluminense FC players Santos FC players Al Ain FC players Figueirense FC players Olaria Atlético Clube players São Paulo state football team players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Brazilian football chairmen and investors 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen