 Liédson playing forSporting in 2007 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Liédson da Silva Muniz | ||
| Date of birth | (1977-12-17)17 December 1977 (age 47) | ||
| Place of birth | Cairu, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1999 | Poções | ||
| 2000 | Prudentópolis | 15 | (5) |
| 2001–2002 | Coritiba | 9 | (5) |
| 2002–2003 | Flamengo | 24 | (14) |
| 2003 | Corinthians | 18 | (10) |
| 2003–2011 | Sporting CP | 214 | (116) |
| 2011–2012 | Corinthians | 34 | (13) |
| 2012–2013 | Flamengo | 17 | (4) |
| 2013 | →Porto (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| Total | 337 | (167) | |
| International career | |||
| 2009–2010 | Portugal | 15 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Liédson da Silva Muniz (born 17 December 1977), known simply asLiédson, is a former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
NicknamedLevezinho ("Slender one") due to his light frame (63 kg),[1] he spent the bulk of his professional career in Portugal representingSporting CP, scoring nearly 120 goals in more than 200 competitive matches, winning four major titles with the club and helping it to fourChampions League participations.
Born in Brazil, Liédson became a Portuguese citizen in 2009 and appeared with thenational team at the2010 World Cup, already in his 30s.
Born inCairu,Bahia, Liédson started his professional career atCoritiba Foot Ball Club, aged 22. Before that he played amateur football on weekends, working at a supermarket during the week.[1]
Liédson continued his career atClube de Regatas do Flamengo andSport Club Corinthians Paulista, traditional big clubs atRio de Janeiro andSão Paulo respectively, with relative individual success.
Liédson was signed bySporting CP for€2 million on 31 August 2003, giving managerFernando Santos a new option following injuries and sales.[2] On his debut, the "S" in his name was printed in reverse, which he took as a good omen and maintained it like that for the rest of his career.[3]
Liédson was crowned top scorer in thePrimeira Liga inhis second season, scoring 25 goals[1] while also netting nine in 14 games as his team reachedthe final of theUEFA Cup – this included ahat-trick in a 4–0 win atFC Dinamo Tbilisi inthe group stage.[4]The following year he finished second in the scoring race, scoring 15 times from 31 appearances (28 of which he played the full 90 minutes) with an impressive mark of 2,899 minutes played; he was top scorer again in2006–07, but theLions only conquered onedomestic cup during that timeframe.
Considered by many as one of the greatest strikers in Sporting history since the early performances ofFernando Peyroteo,Héctor Yazalde,Manuel Fernandes,Rui Jordão,Fernando Gomes,Alberto Acosta andMário Jardel, Liédson was also regarded as the club's top trademark player since the departures ofLuís Figo,Cristiano Ronaldo,Nani andRicardo Quaresma. He also ranked team top scorer in theUEFA Champions League, after scoring the lonely goal in the2008–09 group stage contest againstFC Shakhtar Donetsk on 22 October 2008.[5] In the last group stage match, he also found the net – in a 2–5 home loss toFC Barcelona – for the 19th time inEuropean competition, another club best;[6] on 1 November he appeared in his 150th league match with the green-and-white striped jersey, 213 overall.
On 17 January 2010, after having missed one month due to injury, Liédson camefrom the bench to score twice, helping Sporting overcomeC.D. Nacional 3–2 at home.[7] On 7 March, all of the game's goals were his as his team beatlast-placedC.F. Os Belenenses 4–0 away.[8]
Liédson entered Sporting's history books on 21 October 2010 as he scored the club's 200th goal in European competitions, netting twice in a5–1 home win againstK.A.A. Gent for the Europa League.[9]
On 31 January 2011, after having appeared in 310 official matches with Sporting, scoring 174 goals, 33-year-old Liédson returned to his homeland, signing with former club Corinthians.[10] He was still allowed to play with theLions the following Friday, starting and scoring twice againstAssociação Naval 1º de Maio, in a 3–3 home draw.[11]
Liédson contributed with ten games in the2012 Copa Libertadores campaign, scoring once in the 6–0 group stage home win againstDeportivo Táchira ofVenezuela (immediately after missing apenalty kick)[12] as theTimão won thecontinental competition for the first time in its history. On 31 July, he left Corinthians after both club and player decided not to renew his contract.[13]
On 2 August 2012, Liédson agreed on a return to Flamengo, signing until December of the following year.[14] In late January of the following year he came back to Portugal, joiningFC Porto on a loan until the end ofthe season.[15] On 11 May, he was involved in the goal that clinched the title for theDragons against rivalsS.L. Benfica inO Clássico; put on as a substitute by managerVítor Pereira alongsideKelvin, he assisted the youngster's added-time winner.[16][17]
Liédson expressed interest in playing for thePortugal national team despite being Brazilian-born. He stated: "If one day I was called up to play, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second, as I feel right at home in Portugal." After the retirement of strikerPauleta, Liédson was one of the main candidates in line for succession, especially after countrymenDeco andPepe's previous switches. Liédson'snaturalisation process created some controversy, as the Portuguese Footballers' Union in August 2009 publicly objected thePortuguese Football Federation's (FPF) plans of expediting his citizenship.[18]
After six years of residence in Portugal, Liédson receivedcitizenship, being eligible to play for the country.[19] On 26 August 2009, he was called up byCarlos Queiroz for the2010 FIFA World Cupqualifiers againstDenmark andHungary and made his debut against the former on 5 September, coming on as a substitute forTiago at half-time. After having beenbooked, Liédson scored the equaliser in the 85th minute, heading the ball in from acorner.[20]
Liédson started in Portugal's World Cup opener, a 0–0 draw againstIvory Coast.[21] He lost his place toHugo Almeida for the following match, but found the net twice in a 7–0 routing ofNorth Korea on 21 June.[10][22]
| Club | Season | League | State League | National cup | Other[a] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Prudentópolis | 2000 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 5 | – | – | – | 15 | 5 | |||
| Coritiba | 2001 | 9 | 5 | – | – | – | – | 9 | 5 | ||||
| 2002 | – | 18 | 15 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 15 | ||||
| Total | 9 | 5 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 20 | |
| Flamengo | 2002 | 24 | 14 | – | – | – | – | 24 | 14 | ||||
| Corinthians | 2003 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 6 | – | – | 8 | 6 | 33 | 22 | ||
| Sporting | 2003–04 | 30 | 15 | – | 2 | 1 | – | 4 | 3 | 36 | 19 | ||
| 2004–05 | 31 | 25 | – | 2 | 1 | – | 14 | 9 | 47 | 35 | |||
| 2005–06 | 31 | 15 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 2 | 0 | 38 | 17 | |||
| 2006–07 | 28 | 15 | – | 6 | 6 | – | 5 | 0 | 39 | 21 | |||
| 2007–08 | 26 | 11 | – | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 47 | 24 | ||
| 2008–09 | 26 | 17 | – | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 35 | 25 | ||
| 2009–10 | 28 | 13 | – | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 46 | 22 | ||
| 2010–11 | 14 | 5 | – | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 25 | 10 | ||
| Total | 214 | 116 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 20 | 13 | 11 | 59 | 26 | 313 | 173 | |
| Corinthians | 2011 | 28 | 12 | 16 | 11 | – | – | – | 44 | 23 | |||
| 2012 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 2 | – | – | 11 | 1 | 28 | 4 | |||
| Total | 34 | 13 | 27 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 72 | 27 | |
| Flamengo | 2012 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 17 | 4 | |||
| Porto (loan) | 2012–13 | 6 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Career total | 318 | 162 | 68 | 39 | 29 | 20 | 14 | 11 | 78 | 33 | 601 | 266 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 September 2009 | Parken Stadium,Copenhagen, Denmark |  Denmark | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2010 World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 10 October 2009 | Estádio da Luz,Lisbon, Portugal |  Hungary | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2010 World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 3 March 2010 | Estádio Cidade de Coimbra,Coimbra, Portugal |  China | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 21 June 2010 | Cape Town Stadium,Cape Town,South Africa |  North Korea | 5–0 | 7–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
Corinthians
Sporting
Porto
Individual
