 Alex in 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexsandro de Souza | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1977-09-14)14 September 1977 (age 48) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Curitiba,Paraná, Brazil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Coritiba | 24 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Palmeiras | 37 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Parma | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | →Flamengo (loan) | 12 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | →Palmeiras (loan) | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | →Cruzeiro (loan) | 29 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | →Palmeiras (loan) | 16 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Cruzeiro | 55 | (27) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2012 | Fenerbahçe | 245 | (136) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Coritiba | 55 | (18) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 499 | (221) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Brazil U20 | 15 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2005 | Brazil | 49 | (12) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | São Paulo U20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Avaí | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Antalyaspor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025–2026 | Operário Ferroviário | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alexsandro de Souza (born 14 September 1977), commonly known asAlex de Souza or justAlex, is a Brazilian footballmanager,pundit and formerattacking midfielder.
Alex is best known for his time atFenerbahçe, where he was a long-timecaptain and became thehighest-scoring foreign player of all time in theSüper Lig. Throughout his career, he also played forCoritiba,Palmeiras,Flamengo andCruzeiro inBrazil, as well asParma in the ItalianSerie A.
Internationally, Alex earned 48 caps and scored 12 goals forBrazil from 1998 to 2005. He was part of their squads at threeCopa América tournaments, winning in1999 and2004, the latter as captain. He additionally went to the2000 Olympics and twoFIFA Confederations Cups, but never was chosen for theFIFA World Cup.[1]
Born inCuritiba, Alex first played professionally for his hometown clubCoritiba, where he stayed from1995 until97, when he was sold toPalmeiras, fromSão Paulo. He won theParque Antárctica club aLibertadores da América cup title, in1999, aRio-São Paulo cup title in 2000 and aCopa do Brasil title and aMercosul cup title in1998. He leftPalmeiras and signed withFlamengo, ofRio de Janeiro in 2000.
In 2000, he returned toPalmeiras for a few months and then signed withCruzeiro, where he stayed until 2002, when he returned to Palmeiras. Alex was sold toParma of Italy. He returned toCruzeiro, after playing only friendly matches for the Italian team. Made team captain and wearing jersey number 10, he led his team to winning the Brazilian triple crown (that is the State Championship, theBrasileirão and the Brazilian Cup).Cruzeiro won theBrazilian League (Brasileirão) with a record-breaking 100 points, 13 ahead of the second place,Santos, with more than 100 goals scored in 46 games.
Alex was then sold byCruzeiro in 2004 for 5 million euro toFenerbahçe.[2] He becameFenerbahçe captain after the team's captainÜmit Özat's transfer toKöln and vice-captainsTuncay's transfer toMiddlesbrough andRüştü Reçber's transfer to rivalBeşiktaş.[3] Alex scored his 100th goal in theSüper Lig forFenerbahçe on 13 November 2010 againstGaziantepspor when they lost 2–1.[4] At 33 years of age Alex scored ahat-trick against Bucaspor in the first 35 minutes of the game. Fenerbahçe won the match 5–2.[5] His first goal in this game wa Fenerbahçe's 3000th goal in theSüper Lig, so his kit and shoes used in the Bucaspor match are now shown in the club's museum.[6] On 9 February 2011, he signed another two-year contract with Fenerbahçe.[7][8]
On 15 May 2011, he scored five goals, including three penalties and a free-kick, in a 6–0 win againstAnkaragücü.[9]
After Fenerbahçe's league title for the year2010–11, Alex won the golden boot award with 28 goals for the season, nine more than second placeBurak Yılmaz.[10] He made his 900th career appearance on 12 September 2011 in the opening match of the Super Lig season, a 1–0 victory againstOrduspor.[11] In the2012 Turkish Cup final on 16 May 2012 againstBursaspor, Alex netted Fenerbahçe's fourth and final goal of a 4–0 victory and was named the game's "Man of the Match".[12]
On 15 September 2012, while Alex was still under contract with Fenerbahçe, a fan-funded statue of the player was unveiled in Kadıköy Yoğurtçu park.[13] Alex's last goal for Fenerbahçe came on 20 September in theEuropa League, scoring Fenerbahçe's second goal in a 2–2 draw withMarseille.[14] Alex's last appearance for the club came on 29 September, playing the first half of a 2–0 defeat toKasımpaşa in the2012–13 Süper Lig.[15] After a rift with coachAykut Kocaman over the team's system, his contract with Fenerbahçe was terminated on 1 October.[16][17] With Fenerbahçe he has concluded his impressive career in Turkey with 136 assists and 171 goals in 341 games. He left just five goals shy of matching the club record for league goals with 136 goals, held by former strikerAykut Kocaman.[18] He scored Fenerbahçe's 3000th goal.
After he rarely featured for Fenerbahçe throughout the early part of the 2012–13 campaign, managing just five league appearances through October, Alex joined Brazilian sideCoritiba on 18 October 2012 for an undisclosed fee.[19] He made his debut for his boyhood club on 31 January 2013, playing the full ninety in a 1–0 defeat ofJ. Malucelli inCampeonato Paranaense play.[20] His first goal for his new club came on 9 February in a 1–1 draw withArapongas, scoring the equalizing goal three minutes afterWellington Indio's opener in the 47th minute.[21] Alex scored the solitary goal of the game againstLondrina on 3 March,[22] starting a run of nine straight matches where the player scored, netting 12 goals.[23] Included in this goal-scoring run was a brace in a 6–0 defeat ofRio Branco on 13 April.[24] Alex finished the Campeonato Paranaense campaign by scoring a brace in Coritiba's 3–1 defeat ofAtlético Paranaense on 12 May, securing a 5–3 aggregate win in the final as Coritiba claimed a record 37th state title.[25]In October 2014, Alex announced his retirement from football.[26] His last game was a 3–2 win against Bahia, on 7 December 2014.
Alex made his senior international debut for Brazil on 23 September 1998 in a 1–1 friendly draw withFR Yugoslavia inSão Luís, Maranhão, as an 82nd-minute substitute forDenílson in Brazil's first match since defeat in the1998 FIFA World Cup.[27] He scored his first goal in his third appearance, opening a 3–0 win overLatvia in his hometown the following 26 June.[28]
At the1999 Copa América in Paraguay, Alex scored the decisive goal in a 2–1 group win overMexico with a 25-yard strike.[29] Brazil won the tournament under managerVanderlei Luxemburgo, with Alex andRonaldinho being young replacements forEdílson andLeonardo who were dropped for disciplinary reasons.[30] Days later at the1999 FIFA Confederations Cup in Mexico, he scored twice in a 4–0 opening win overGermany and twice again in an 8–2 semi-final rout ofSaudi Arabia,[31][32] though his team lost the final to thehosts.[33]
Alex also went with theBrazilian Olympic team to the2000 tournament in Australia, concluding a 3–1 opening win over Slovakia and scoring the only goal of a group win againstJapan; quarter-final defeat toCameroon led to Luxemburgo's resignation.[34][35] At the2001 Copa América in Colombia, Alex equalised in a 3–1 group win overParaguay[36] as the team were again eliminated in a quarter-final shock, this time toHonduras.[37] Inqualification for the2002 FIFA World Cup, he scored once to open a 3–1 home win over rivalsArgentina.[38] He was not chosen for the final tournament, which Brazil won under managerLuiz Felipe Scolari, and confessed in his autobiography that he drank heavily to distract himself from the event, while his wifemiscarried upon hearing thatRicardinho had been called up as a replacement for the injuredEmerson and not her husband.[39]
Alex scored an added-time equaliser at the2003 FIFA Confederations Cup in France as Brazil drew 2–2 withTurkey in their final group game inSaint-Étienne, but were eliminated nonetheless.[40] Brazil won the2004 Copa América in Peru, in whichcaptain Alex scored in a 4–0 quarter-final win against Mexico; he was then overlooked for the2006 FIFA World Cup as well.[1]
A talented and creativeplaymaker, with an eye for goal, Alex usually played in a free role as an attacking midfielder. Although he lacked significant pace and physical power, and was not particularly hard-working defensively, he was known for his passing, technical skills, control, low centre of gravity, vision, reading of the game, and ability to provide many assists for his teammates, in addition to being capable of scoring himself, in particular fromset pieces. In addition to his usual role as a number ten, he was also deployed as asecond striker on occasion throughout his career, or even on theleft flank.[41][42][43][44]
On 5 April 2021, Alex joinedSão Paulo after being appointed the head coach of the under-20 team.[45] On 28 October 2022, he left the club.[46]
On 16 November 2022, Alex was appointed head coach ofAvaí,freshly relegated from the top tier.[47] He was dismissed the following 3 May.[48]
On 18 May 2024, Alex was appointed head coach ofAntalyaspor. On 13 January 2025, he mutually agreed with the club to part ways.[49]
On 16 June 2025, Alex was appointed as head coach ofOperário Ferroviário in the second division, replacingBruno Pivetti.[50] He was sacked the following 18 January, after three losses in four matches into the new season.[51]
Alex married Daianne in 2000.[52] The couple have two daughters and one son: Maria Eduarda, born in 2004, Antonia, born in 2006, and Felipe, born in 2010.[53] He features prominently inPuma advertising and also has a modeling contract withArmani.[54] Alex's father-in-law is the former president of Coritiba.[55]After his retirement, Alex started to work onESPN Brasil as a pundit and presenter for interview show Papo Cabeça.[56][57]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Coritiba | 1995 | Série B | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 25[b] | 2 | 52 | 6 | |
| 1996 | Série A | 18 | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | 24[b] | 6 | 47 | 27 | ||
| 1997 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | – | 20[b] | 13 | 38 | 11 | |||
| 2013 | 29 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 12[b] | 14 | 47 | 27 | ||
| 2014 | 26 | 6 | 3 | 0 | – | 8[b] | 4 | 38 | 11 | |||
| Total | 102 | 29 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 89 | 39 | 202 | 70 | ||
| Palmeiras | 1997 | Série A | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 28 | 7 | |
| 1998 | 23 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 11[d] | 6 | 21[e] | 5 | 65 | 19 | ||
| 1999 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 22[f] | 7 | 15[g] | 5 | 60 | 19 | ||
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13[h] | 4 | 16[i] | 5 | 31 | 10 | ||
| 2001(loan) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12[h] | 4 | 18[j] | 9 | 30 | 13 | ||
| 2002 (loan) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 13[k] | 5 | 15 | 5 | |||
| Total | 65 | 19 | 21 | 2 | 58 | 21 | 83 | 29 | 229 | 73 | ||
| Flamengo | 2000(loan) | Série A | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| Cruzeiro | 2001(loan) | Série A | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 1[l] | 0 | 19 | 4 | |
| 2002 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | |||
| 2003 | 38 | 23 | 11 | 6 | 1[c] | 0 | 12[m] | 9 | 62 | 38 | ||
| 2004 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7[h] | 3 | 17[m] | 14 | 29 | 19 | ||
| Total | 74 | 31 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 30 | 19 | 123 | 63 | ||
| Fenerbahçe | 2004–05 | Süper Lig | 31 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 8[n] | 1 | – | 44 | 29 | |
| 2005–06 | 31 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 4[o] | 3 | – | 43 | 20 | |||
| 2006–07 | 32 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 12[p] | 1 | – | 47 | 20 | |||
| 2007–08 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 12[o] | 4 | 1[q] | 0 | 43 | 18 | ||
| 2008–09 | 26 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 9[o] | 2 | – | 40 | 17 | |||
| 2009–10 | 26 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 8[r] | 3 | 1[q] | 2 | 43 | 21 | ||
| 2010–11 | 33 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 4[s] | 0 | – | 38 | 28 | |||
| 2011–12 | 33 | 14 | 3 | 3 | – | – | 36 | 17 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[t] | 1 | 1[q] | 1 | 10 | 2 | ||
| Total | 245 | 136 | 35 | 17 | 61 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 344 | 171 | ||
| Career total | 496 | 218 | 77 | 27 | 130 | 39 | 205 | 90 | 910 | 380 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 1998 | 2 | 0 |
| 1999 | 11 | 6 | |
| 2000 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | 1 | |
| Total | 48 | 12 |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 June 1999 | Arena da Baixada,Curitiba, Brazil |  Latvia | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly | [61] |
| 2 | 3 July 1999 | Estadio Antonio Aranda,Ciudad del Este, Paraguay |  Mexico | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1999 Copa América | [62] |
| 3 | 24 July 1999 | Estadio Jalisco,Guadalajara, Mexico |  Germany | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup | [63] |
| 4 | 4–0 | ||||||
| 5 | 1 August 1999 | Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico |  Saudi Arabia | 4–2 | 8–2 | 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup | [64] |
| 6 | 7–2 | ||||||
| 7 | 26 July 2000 | Estádio do Morumbi,São Paulo, Brazil |  Argentina | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | [65] |
| 8 | 18 July 2001 | Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero,Cali, Colombia |  Paraguay | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2001 Copa América | [66] |
| 9 | 9 August 2001 | Arena da Baixada, Curitiba, Brazil |  Panama | 2–0 | 5–0 | Friendly | [67] |
| 10 | 23 June 2003 | Stade Geoffroy-Guichard,Saint-Étienne, France |  Turkey | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup | [68] |
| 11 | 18 July 2004 | Estadio Miguel Grau,Piura, Peru | Mexico | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2004 Copa América | [69] |
| 12 | 9 February 2005 | Hong Kong Stadium,Causeway Bay, Hong Kong |  Hong Kong | 7–0 | 7–1 | Friendly | [70] |
| Team | Nat. | From | To | Record | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Avaí |  | 16 November 2022 | 3 May 2023 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 22 | 25 | −3 | 033.33 | [48] |
| Antalyaspor | | 18 May 2024 | 13 January 2025 | 21 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 40 | −11 | 038.10 | |
| Total | 39 | 14 | 8 | 17 | 51 | 65 | −14 | 035.90 | — | |||
Palmeiras
Cruzeiro
Fenerbahçe
Coritiba
Brazil U20
Brazil U23
Brazil[71]
Individual
Chevalier in theOrder of Rio Branco[83]
{{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Media related toAlexsandro de Souza at Wikimedia Commons
Awards | |
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