Walace Souza Silva (born 4 April 1995), or simply Walace (), 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 plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

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 ...

club Cruzeiro.

Club career

Grêmio

Born in

Salvador, Bahia Salvador () is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality and capital city of the Federative units of Brazil, state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognize ...

, Walace started his youth career with the academy of amateur Simões Filho Futebol Clube. While playing in a cup, he caught the eye of a scout of

Avaí Futebol Clube Avaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 5,436 (2020 est.) in an area of 540 km2. Media In telecommunications, the city was served by Companhia Telefônica Brasileira until 1973, when it began to be serve ...

and subsequently joined the club in the next year. However, he was soon loaned to the under-23 team of

Esporte Clube Bahia Esporte Clube Bahia () is a Brazilian professional association football club based in Salvador, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Bahia. Known mainly as the ''Esquadrão de Aço'' (Steel Squadron), the club competes in the Campeo ...

in the same year. In 2013, Walace joined the under-18 team of Grêmio. Walace was promoted to the senior squad of the club in 2014 by manager

Enderson Moreira Enderson Alves Moreira (born 28 September 1971) is a Brazilian football coach, currently the head coach of América Mineiro. Managerial career Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Moreira had a Physical Education graduation before joining Amér ...

. On 27 April, he made his first team debut against

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

. In August, he made his first start for the club in a 2–0 defeat against

Sport Club Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional, Inter de Porto Alegre, a cidade do Grêmio or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional Association football, football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Campeonato Bras ...

, where he was assigned to mark Andrés D'Alessandro. At the end of the season, media reports suggested that Italian club

SSC Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli (), commonly known as SSC Napoli or simply Napoli, is an Italian professional football club based in Naples, Campania that currently competes in the Serie A, the highest league of Italian football. Napoli are am ...

, Portuguese clubs

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

and

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

expressed their interest to sign him. After the appointment of Roger Machado as the club's manager in 2015, Walace became an undisputed starter for the club. In June, Grêmio rejected an offer from Swiss club

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

to secure his services. On 5 October, his contract was extended till 2018. In July 2016, he scored his first league goal in a 2–1 victory over

Figueirense Futebol Clube Figueirense Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Figueirense, is a Brazilian professional club based in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina founded on 12 June 1921. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, the third tier of Brazilian f ...

Hamburger SV

On 31 January 2017, Walace moved to German club

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

, signing a contract until 2021. Eleven days later, he scored his first goal in a 3–0 victory against

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

Hannover 96

In June 2018, Walace joined league rivals

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

on a four-year contract until 2022. The transfer fee paid to Hamburger SV was estimated at €6 million with 10% of the fee going to former club Grêmio.

International career

In June 2016, Walace was called by

Dunga Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born 31 October 1963), known as Dunga (), is a Brazilian football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. Under his captaincy, Brazil won the 1994 FIFA World Cup and he lifte ...

to the senior international squad for the

2016 Copa America Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number) *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen * ''Sixteen'' (20 ...

as a replacement for

Luiz Gustavo Luiz Gustavo Dias (born 23 July 1987) is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club São Paulo FC, São Paulo. He began his career as a left-back, but has played mostly as a defen ...

(who left the squad citing personal reasons). He featured once in the tournament, in a 7–1 victory 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 ...

. In the next month, Walace was called to the Brazil under-23 squad for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

to be held at the month of August. He came as a replacement for

Fred Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...

, whose club

FC Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

refused to release him for the tournament. He featured four times in the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

, with his side emerging as the winner.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Grêmio *

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, ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

International

Brazil *

Olympic Gold Medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

References

External links

Walace profile
Portal Oficial do Grêmio. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walace 1995 births Living people Footballers from Salvador, Bahia Men's association football midfielders Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazil men's youth international footballers Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Bundesliga players Serie A players Grêmio FBPA players Hamburger SV players Hannover 96 players Udinese Calcio players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Copa América Centenario players Olympic footballers for Brazil Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Brazil Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen