Reinaldo Elias da Costa (born 13 June 1984), known in Brazil as Reinaldo or Reinaldo Mineiro, 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 ...

Club career

Born in Itabirito, Brazil, Reinaldo plays as a striker and started his professional football career at Brazilian club

América Mineiro The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

in 2004, where he became a key player and the club's leading goal scorer. Later that season he trialed with Dutch club

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

for two months until he was signed by Corinthians Alagoano. In his first year for

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

, Reinaldo scored 18 goals and helped them advance to the second stage of the league. While in Australia,

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

side

Queensland Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional Association football, soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's Australian soccer league system ...

had been struggling for goals all season and opted to buy a player on a loan rather than a transfer as the window was closed. Even with exciting goal scoring product

Alex Brosque Alex Jason Brosque (; born 12 October 1983) is an Australian former professional soccer player who was the captain of A-League club Sydney FC. He played primarily as a striker but played predominantly as a midfielder in central midfield during ...

, Queensland lacked something in front of goal.

Brisbane Roar

Searching for a striker who could save Queensland's season by scoring goals on a regular basis, their scouts were recommended Reinaldo and after watching several DVDs of the impressive striker, Roar signed him for a six-game loan. Reinaldo scored two goals and was impressive in all six matches on his short-term loan for

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, but it was all too late for the Roar who missed out on the finals. During the off-season of the

A-league A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

, Queensland lost Golden Boot winner

who transferred to 2005–06 champions

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

and although Brosque won the inaugural Golden Boot Award, his inconsistency lead to the club accepting his departure. Queensland rewarded Reinaldo with a two-year contract, after negotiations with Corinthians. In the 2006–07 season, Reinaldo was a valuable member of the squad but admitted at the end of the season he thought his season was a failure after scoring only 4 goals in 18 matches. They just missed out on the finals that year in heartbreaking circumstances.

2007–08 season

Before the start of the 2007–08 season, Reinaldo stated that this was to be his "do-or-die" season and he was ready for a big year. Unable to score goals at the start of the season, Reinaldo was low on confidence and was criticised by the media and Roar fans. However, in round 11 against

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...

, Reinaldo broke his drought and scored after belting home a powerful volley from just inside the box. He then scored a further two goals against

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the 2007–08 ...

, including a back heel from a low cross from

Matt McKay Matthew Graham McKay (born 11 January 1983) is a retired Australian professional footballer who last played for Australian A-League club Brisbane Roar, and previously with the Australian national team. McKay currently holds the club's record ...

. He scored another seven goals helping the Roar onto its maiden A-League Finals campaign. After an indifferent season for Reinaldo which included the club's Golden Boot Award with nine goals, he then went into the

and

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's football pyramid. When Queensland Lions F.C. were ...

history books when he scored what is said to be one of the greatest goals in the

's history. He received a Craig Moore cross on the half-way line and dribbled the ball at pace down the left flank, beating

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

defender Mark Milligan with a neat turn and slotting the ball into the top right hand corner of the net from an acute angle. The amazing finish helped the Roar advance to the preliminary final.

Departure and return

Reinaldo was sold to Korean

K-League K League () is South Korea's professional football league. It includes the first division K League 1 and the second division K League 2. Clubs competing in the K League have won a record total of twelve AFC Champions League titles, the top conti ...

side

Busan I'Park Busan IPark FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Busan that competes in K League 2, the second tier of the South Korean football pyramid. They play their home games at the Busan Gudeok Stadium. Busan IPark was founded as ...

following the end of the 2007/08 A-League Season, due to his desire to develop his football in Asia. A fee was agreed between

and QLD Roar and Reinaldo agreed a two-year contract with the Korean Club. However, for personal reasons, Reinaldo left

on a mutual termination agreement and returned to

for the 2008/09 A-League Season. He signed a 3-year contract with the club and was unveiled again on 31 July 2008. He played his 50th game for the Roar in the 4–2 loss against the

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mar ...

in Round 3 at

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...

in the 2008–09 season. He last played in Round 9 that season and missed the rest of the season due to a severe bout of

osteitis pubis Osteitis pubis is a noninfectious inflammation of the pubic symphysis (also known as the pubis symphysis, symphysis pubis, or symphysis pubica), causing varying degrees of lower abdominal and pelvic pain. Osteitis pubis was first described in pat ...

. In September 2010 Reinaldo became an

Australian citizen The primary law governing nationality of Australia is the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which came into force on 1 July 2007 and is applicable in all states and territories of Australia. All persons born in Australia before 20 August 198 ...

Arab clubs

It was reported that Reinaldo would leave the Roar and go play in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

for Al-Wakra on a two-year deal worth almost $2 million. He made 10 appearances, scoring 6 goals before moving to Saudi Arabia with Al-Raed.

China

During the 2012 January transfer window, it was announced that

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

club

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club (), known in AFC competitions as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in . Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang Distr ...

had bought the striker from Saudi Club Al-Raed for a reported $2 million over two years. In January 2013, it was reported that Reinaldo was loaned to

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

side Chengdu Blades for one year. However, he eventually stayed in Beijing for the 2013 season.

Brazil

Reinaldo was signed to

Campeonato Brasileiro Série D The Campeonato Brasileiro Série D (English: Brazilian Championship Serie D), commonly known as the Série D or the Brazilian Série D to distinguish it from the Italian Serie D, is the fourth division of the Brazilian football league system, and ...

side

Operário Ferroviário Esporte Clube Operário Ferroviário Esporte Clube, more commonly referred to as Operário Ferroviário, Operário de Ponta Grossa or simply Operário-PR, is a Brazilian professional association football club in Ponta Grossa, Paraná which currently plays in ...

on 8 March 2013.

Playing style

Reinaldo is primarily a target man, holding up the ball to bring others into play. However, he possesses more flair than the typical target man and frequently dribbles and runs at defenders. He is well known for his trade-mark back flip celebrations and his

Robinho Robson de Souza (; born 25 January 1984), known as Robinho (), is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer and convicted rapist who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In 1997, at 12 years of age, Robin ...

-like thumb sucking celebration.

Personal life

Reinaldo has dual citizenship, having gained an Australian passport.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reinaldo 1984 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Australian men's soccer players Brazilian emigrants to Australia Brazilian expatriate men's footballers América Futebol Clube (MG) players Sport Club Corinthians Alagoano players Brisbane Roar FC players Busan IPark players Al-Wakrah SC players Al Raed FC players Beijing Guoan F.C. players Operário Ferroviário Esporte Clube players Sociedade Esportiva e Recreativa Caxias do Sul players Sime Darby F.C. players PSM Makassar players Persija Jakarta players A-League Men players K League 1 players Qatar Stars League players Saudi Pro League players Chinese Super League players Malaysia Super League players Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Australian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Australian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Australian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in China Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China Australian expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate men's footballers in Malaysia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Australian expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Expatriate men's footballers in Indonesia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia Australian expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia Footballers from Minas Gerais Men's association football forwards 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen 21st-century Australian sportsmen