Yuri de Souza Fonseca (born 8 August 1982), known simply as Yuri, is a Brazilian former
footballer who played as a
forward.
He also held
Portuguese citizenship, and spent the majority of his professional career in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and Spain, mainly with
Ponferradina. Over ten seasons in the latter country, he achieved
Segunda División figures of 323 games and 116 goals.
Club career
Born in
Maceió,
Alagoas, Yuri arrived in Portugal still in his teens, joining
F.C. Maia in the
Segunda Liga. His performances there attracted the attention of another club in the north,
Primeira Liga's
Boavista FC, for which he signed in January 2003.
However, Yuri could never impose himself at the side, going on to serve two loans in the process: he helped
Gil Vicente F.C. to
avoid top-flight relegation in his five-month spell, not being able to repeat it with
G.D. Estoril Praia in
the following season.
In summer 2005, Yuri moved to
Iberian neighbours
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, representing lowly
Pontevedra CF. He also had a loan spell at
UD Las Palmas in
Segunda División, but only appeared in 12 matches out of 42 without scoring.
Yuri signed for
SD Ponferradina in 2009, going on to achieve two promotions to the second tier during his spell– to which he contributed a total of 26 goals – and eventually becoming
captain. In the
2012–13 campaign he ranked third in the second division scorers' list at 21, helping his team to the seventh position.
On 15 January 2017, following a brief spell in the
China League One, Yuri returned to the
Estadio El Toralín aged 34. He scored in double digits in division two in
2019–20 (18 goals),
2020–21 (11) and
2021–22 (14).
Yuri totalled an all-time best for Ponferradina 511 appearances and 197 goals. He retired in August 2024 at 42, with the club now in the
Primera Federación; he remained connected to it in directorial capacities.
Personal life
Yuri's older brother,
Igor, was also a footballer and a forward. They shared teams at Maia (where they arrived at a young age) and Pontevedra.
His
cousin,
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
, also played several seasons in Spain and also represented Pontevedra.
La ‘familia Gol’ (The 'Goal family')
El País, 15 December 2012 (in Spanish)
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuri (footballer 1982)
1982 births
Living people
21st-century Brazilian sportsmen
Brazilian men's footballers
Footballers from Maceió
Men's association football forwards
Primeira Liga players
Liga Portugal 2 players
F.C. Maia players
Boavista F.C. players
Gil Vicente F.C. players
G.D. Estoril Praia players
Segunda División players
Segunda División B players
Primera Federación players
Pontevedra CF footballers
UD Las Palmas players
SD Ponferradina players
China League One players
Qingdao F.C. players
Brazilian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
Expatriate men's footballers in China
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China