França was born inCodó,Maranhão. After his senior beginnings with lowlyNacional Futebol Clube andEsporte Clube XV de Novembro (Jaú), he moved in 1996 to national powerhouseSão Paulo FC, where he proceeded to net eight goals overall in his debut year – even though he did not start regularly – and 182 goals in 323 games during his six-year stay (fourth all-time at the time of his departure); in 1998 and 2000, as the club won theCampeonato Paulista, the player was crowned the league's best scorer, respectively at 12 and 18.
In2003–04, although the pair remained at theBayArena, França received much more playing time, and finished just two goals short of the Bulgarian (14 to 16, in as many matches), adding to this a league-best 13assists. Additionally, Neuville left the following summer.
França collected eightcaps forBrazil during two years, but was never selected to any major tournament. He scored once for the national team; his only goal coming in a friendly againstEngland in May 2000.[3]