Wendel Geraldo Maurício e Silva, commonly known as Wendel, (born 8 April 1982) is a Brazilian former 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 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 ...

Club career

Wendel started his career with

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Cruzeiro Esporte Clube () is a Brazilian professional football club, based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Cruzeiro is the greatest team of Minas Gerais. Although competing in a number of different sports, Cruzeiro is mostly known for its as ...

in 1998 with the youth team. By 2000 he began featuring in some matches for the senior side. In 2005, he was loaned out to Santos on an 18-month deal. After a successful spell there, Wendel secured a move to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

from Cruzeiro in August 2006.

Bordeaux

Soon after he signed for Bordeaux, he broke into the first team and by the end of his first season he had played a total of 29 league games with five goals. He was much more active in his second season, scoring 12 league goals to go along with seven assists in 36 league games. The 2008–09 started brightly for Wendel as he started every game. In the season opener against Caen he had a free-kick on target in the early minutes, had an open shot on target and then set up

Yoann Gourcuff Yoann Miguel Gourcuff (born 11 July 1986) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder. He could also be utilized as a Second striker, withdrawn striker; he was described as a "pla ...

to score from outside the area. Then against Nantes he set up a goal. After four games he finally opened his account by scoring against Nice, following this up by scoring again three days later against

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

in a 2–2 draw. Bordeaux went on to win

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

, the club's first title triumph since 1999 and added the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

trophy in 2009 under the management of

Laurent Blanc Laurent Robert Blanc (; born 19 November 1965) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back and is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad Club (J ...

. In the Coupe de la Ligue Final, Wendel opened the scoring in the third minute against

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

side

Vannes OC Vannes Olympique Club (; commonly referred to as simply Vannes) is a professional French football club based in Vannes. The club was formed in 1998 as a result of the merger of ''Véloce vannetais'' founded in 1911 and ''FC Vannes'' known before ...

in an eventual 4–0 triumph for his side. Wendel appeared in 29 games that season, starting 25 of them, and added four goals and nine assists. The 2009–10 campaign for Bordeaux would prove to be less successful, as they could not retain their league or league cup trophies. However, Wendel was very productive in the league from his wide position, scoring 11 goals and adding six assists. The following season proved even more difficult after the departures of

Marouane Chamakh Marouane Chamakh (; ; born 10 January 1984) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is described as a prototypical Forward (association football)#Target forward, targ ...

and Gourcuff. Wendel's last appearance for the club came on 29 May 2011, in the final match of the

2010–11 Ligue 1 The 2010–11 Ligue 1 season was the 73rd since its establishment. Entering the season, Marseille were the defending champions. The fixtures were announced on 21 May 2010 and the season began on 7 August and ended on 29 May 2011. The winter brea ...

season. He capped his final performance with a goal in a 2–0 victory over

Montpellier HSC Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (; ), commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC, is a French professional association football, football club based in the city of Montpellier in Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie. The original club was ...

which ensured that Bordeaux finished the season in 7th place.

Al-Ittihad

After five seasons in the southwest of France, Wendel moved on in August 2011. During his time with ''Les Girondins'' he scored 35 goals in 156 Ligue 1 appearances, scoring hat tricks against

Toulouse FC Toulouse Football Club () is a French professional association football, football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division of Football in France, French football. Toulouse plays it ...

and PSG. After his departure, he signed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad.

International career

Wendel was first capped for Brazil at the

2004 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament The 2004 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament began on 7 January 2004, and is the 12th CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament. This was the 4th tournament is open to players under the age of 23 without any other restriction. There is no qualification stage and ...

. Wendel received

French nationality French nationality law is historically based on the principles of ''jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and ''jus sanguinis'', (Latin for "right of blood") according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nat ...

in 2011 and it was reported that he desired to play for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

,. However, in fact, he is ineligible to play for a national team other than his native Brazil because he only held Brazilian nationality when he represented Brazil.

Career statistics

Correct as of 7 March 2010

Honours

Cruzeiro * Brazil Cup:

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 ...

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 ...

* South-Minas Cup:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Campeonato Mineiro The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is run by the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: bef ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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 ...

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), ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Bordeaux *

: 2008–09 *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Al-Shabab *

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

: 2011-12 Sport Recife *

Copa 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 ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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 ...

Goiás *

Campeonato Goiano The Campeonato Goiano is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders th ...

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 ...

References

External links

* *
Portuguese Liga stats
at LPFP.pt
Brazilian League stats. at Futpedia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wendel 1982 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Primeira Liga players Ligue 1 players Saudi Pro League players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players C.D. Nacional players Santos FC players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players Al Shabab FC (Riyadh) players CR Vasco da Gama players Sport Club do Recife players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia People from Mariana, Minas Gerais Footballers from Minas Gerais 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen