 Léo playing forSantos in the second leg of the2011 Copa Libertadores finals | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leonardo Lourenço Bastos[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1975-07-06)6 July 1975 (age 50)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Left-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Americano | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1996 | Americano | 32 | (3) |
| 1997–2000 | União São João | 88 | (3) |
| 1999 | →Palmeiras (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2000–2005 | Santos | 198 | (15) |
| 2005–2009 | Benfica | 82 | (1) |
| 2009–2014 | Santos | 144 | (5) |
| Total | 545 | (27) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001–2005 | Brazil | 7 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Leonardo Lourenço Bastos (born 6 July 1975), commonly known asLéo, is a Brazilian retired professionalfootballer who played as aleft-back.
He spent most of his professional career withSantos andBenfica, arriving at the latter at the age of 25 and winning eight major titles, winning the same amount with the former during his two spells.
Léo representedBrazil in twoConfederations Cups.
Léo was born inCampos dos Goytacazes,Rio de Janeiro.Local-basedAmericano Futebol Clube gave him his professional debut in 1995, and in 1997 he moved toSão Paulo withUnião São João Esporte Clube. Two seasons later he was bought bySociedade Esportiva Palmeiras but, within six months, he was shown the door by coachLuiz Felipe Scolari.
Subsequently, Léo joinedSantos FC forR$1.6 million fee,[2] quickly becoming an integral part of the team: in2002, playing alongside the likes ofDiego,Elano,Renato andRobinho, he won his firstSérie A championship, losingthe following year'sCopa Libertadores.
After having appeared in 201 official games for Santos, aged 30, Léo signed forS.L. Benfica from Portugal for an undisclosed fee, on a three-year contract. He made hisPrimeira Liga debut on 18 September 2005 in a 4–0 home win againstU.D. Leiria, and played in an average of 27 league matches in his first three seasons, but the club came out empty on major silverware.
In the2005–06 campaign, Léo appeared 36 in official games (all starts) as the teamreached the quarter-finals of theUEFA Champions League.
In2008–09, Léo began suffering stiff competition for the left-back position from compatriotDavid Luiz. On 14 January 2009 he left Benfica and returned to Santos,[3] continuing to display solid performances in spite of his age.
Léo was an important defensive unit during2011 Campeonato Paulista, being also elected the best left-back ofthe tournament.[4] He also featured in all 12 matches for the club inLibertadores winning campaign, as well appearing in the2011 FIFA Club World Cup Final loss toFC Barcelona.
Léo featured only in four games during the2012 Campeonato Paulista which was won by Santos, mostly due to the club'sparticipation in the Libertadores – he also appeared 17 times inthe national league. In September, he suffered a knee injury.[5]
After acting as a starter during the2013 Paulista, Léo lost his left-back starting position to newly signedEugenio Mena, and changed his position tomidfielder in August 2013.[6] On 3 October he scored the last goal in a 3–0 home win overSão Paulo FC, after coming on as asubstitute forThiago Ribeiro; however, later in the same month he again injured his knee, being sidelined for the remainder of the season.[7]
Léo returned to action on 3 April 2014, playing 16 minutes in a 0–0 draw atMixto Esporte Clube forthat year'sCopa do Brasil. On the 24th, he was told that his contract (which was due to expire in six days) would not be renewed, and he later announced his retirement viaFacebook, stating that "even though I feel I can still play, I can not see myself wearing another club's shirt";[8] additionally, he also sent a "special thanks to the great nation of Santos's supporters", saying: "It was for them I fought for every ball, celebrated every win and each one of the greatest titles".[9]
Léo played 455 games for Santos all competitions comprised, entering the club's history books as the player with more titles won after thePelé era and also ranking tenth in the list of total appearances.
Léo earned his firstcap forBrazil on 31 May 2001, in the first game of the2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, againstCameroon (2–0 win). He made five appearances during the tournament, with the national team finishing in fourth position.
Léo was also selected for the2005 Confederations Cup, in Germany. AsGilberto's backup, he only featured againstJapan (2–2 group stage draw) as theSeleção went on to win the competition.
Léo's career was often surrounded by controversy. In late 2010, after São Paulo failed to qualify to the2011 Copa Libertadores, he said its supporters should be content "to watch" the competition on television.[10]
The following year, when Santos won the continental tournament, he doubted of the capacity of its opponent inthat year'sFIFA Club World Cup,Barcelona,[11] who went on to win it 4–0, however. In 2012, whenCorinthians won the Libertadores and qualified tothe following Club World Cup, he displayed irony while describing the trouble caused by the club's fans at theSão Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport, saying "he who is accustomed to train stations, should not go to airports".[12]
In March 2013, Léo regretted having made the comments about Corinthians, stating: "I am already 37 years old. I'll be quiet from now on. I won't speak what I'm thinking anymore (laughs). [...] Controversies are over".[13]
| Club | Season | League | State league[a] | National cup[b] | League cup[c] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Americano | 1995 | Série B | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| 1996 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 3 | ||||||
| Total | 12 | 3 | 20 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 32 | 3 | ||||||
| União São João | 1997[15][16] | Série A | 21 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 29 | 1 | ||||
| 1998[17][18] | 13 | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||||||
| 1999[19][20][21][22][23] | 20 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 0 | |||||||
| 2000[24][25] | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 55 | 1 | 34 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 88 | 3 | ||||||
| Santos | 2000 | Série A | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||||
| 2001 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 6[d] | 1 | 41 | 2 | ||||
| 2002 | 29 | 6 | — | 4 | 0 | — | — | 14[d] | 1 | 47 | 6 | |||||
| 2003 | 43 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 20[e] | 3 | — | 69 | 6 | |||||
| 2004 | 44 | 2 | 13 | 2 | — | — | 12[f] | 0 | — | 69 | 4 | |||||
| 2005 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 1 | — | — | 8[g] | 1 | — | 24 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 155 | 11 | 43 | 4 | 8 | 0 | — | 40 | 4 | 20 | 2 | 266 | 21 | |||
| Benfica | 2005–06 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 9[h] | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | |||
| 2006–07 | 27 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 12[i] | 1 | — | 42 | 2 | |||||
| 2007–08 | 27 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12[j] | 0 | — | 42 | 0 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[k] | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 82 | 1 | — | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | — | 127 | 2 | ||||
| Santos | 2009 | Série A | 24 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 30 | 1 | ||||
| 2010 | 18 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 2[l] | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | ||||
| 2011 | 22 | 1 | 15 | 1 | — | — | 12[g] | 0 | 1[m] | 0 | 50 | 2 | ||||
| 2012 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 2[g] | 0 | 1[n] | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||||
| 2013 | 14 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 30 | 1 | |||||
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 95 | 3 | 49 | 2 | 10 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 172 | 5 | |||
| Career total | 399 | 19 | 146 | 8 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 5 | 22 | 2 | 686 | 34 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2001 | 5 | 0 |
| 2005 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | |
Santos
Brazil
Individual
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