| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rodrigo Pereira Possebon | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-02-13)13 February 1989 (age 36) | ||
| Place of birth | Sapucaia do Sul, Brazil | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Athletico Paranaense (director of football) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2008 | Internacional | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2010 | Manchester United | 3 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | →Braga (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Santos | 11 | (0) |
| 2012 | Vicenza | 0 | (0) |
| 2012 | Criciúma | 9 | (0) |
| 2013 | Mirassol | 0 | (0) |
| 2013 | Juventude | 7 | (0) |
| 2014 | Náutico | 7 | (0) |
| 2016 | URT | 0 | (0) |
| 2017 | Passo Fundo | 0 | (0) |
| 2018 | Athletico Sports Club | 0 | (0) |
| 2018 | Ho Chi Minh City | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009 | Italy U20 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:30, 15 April 2018 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:16, 30 June 2009 (UTC)[1] | |||
Rodrigo Pereira Possebon (born 13 February 1989) is a professionalfootball executive and former player who played as amidfielder. He is the currentdirector of football ofAthletico Paranaense.
Abox-to-box midfielder, as a youth, he played forInternacional in Brazil. He was spotted and signed byManchester United in 2008. After two unsuccessful years with Manchester United which saw him only making 3 league appearances, he went on loan toBraga of Portugal for the first half of the 2009–10 season. He has since joined various clubs before joining Hồ Chí Minh City in 2018. Due to his ancestry, he was chosen to play for theItaly under-20s, playing one match for them in 2009.
Born inSapucaia do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Possebon began his football career playing forInternacional in a defensive midfield role. Possebon was spotted byManchester United's Brazil-based scout, John Calvert-Toulmin, while following up the club's interest in twin full backs,Fabio andRafael da Silva.[2]
Manchester United signed Possebon in January 2008, and since his father is of Italian descent, Possebon qualified for an Italian passport, and so was not subject toEuropean Union legislation regarding non-Europeans working in Europe.[3] Possebon was allocated the number 34 shirt, which was vacated byRyan Shawcross, for the remainder of the2007–08 Premier League season.[4] He made his professional debut for the club as a substitute, coming on forRyan Giggs during the second half of the 1–1 draw withNewcastle United on 17 August.[5]
On 23 September 2008, during aFootball League Cup match, he was injured in a challenge byMiddlesbrough captainEmanuel Pogatetz, for which the Austrian player received a straight red card.[6] It was initially feared that he had broken his leg, but Manchester United later confirmed otherwise.[7] Possebon made his return from injury on 22 October 2008, scoring in the Manchester United Reserves' 3–0 win overManchester City.[8]
Possebon made his FA Cup debut on 13 February 2009, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute forCristiano Ronaldo in a Fifth Round fixture withDerby County.[9] On 1 March 2009, Possebon won his second trophy in English football after he was part of the Manchester United squad that beatTottenham Hotspur 4–1 on penalties after the2009 League Cup final finished goalless.[10] He had previously been part of the team that captured the2008 FA Community Shield.
Possebon joinedBraga on loan, initially for the entire duration of the2009–10 season.[11] However, after falling out of favour, he returned to Old Trafford in January, after making just one appearance for the club.[12]
On 19 August 2010,Santos announced that they had agreed terms with Possebon for his transfer from Manchester United. The two teams were still negotiating the fee for the transfer, but an announcement by Manchester United indicated that the transfer would be completed by the following day.[13]
Possebon made his Santos debut in an away draw againstAtlético Mineiro.[14]
After leaving Santos, Possebon had unsuccessful spells with five different clubs in two years before taking a further two years out of the game. He followed his departure from Santos with a short spell with Italian clubVicenza, he didn't make an appearance before returning to Brazil to joinCriciúma where he made 9 appearances. After a stint withMirassol, Possebon joinedJuventude and made just 7 appearances for the team before leaving. Before his break from football, he played seven times forNáutico in 2014.[15] In 2016, two years later, Possebon officially signed forURT.[16] He made his debut on 14 February in a 2–1 away win againstBoa in the2016 Campeonato Mineiro. He went on to make 7 appearances in total for URT in the Campeonato Mineiro as his side qualified for the semi-finals before being eliminated by Atlético Mineiro.[17]
In 2017, Possebon joinedPasso Fundo. He played eight times for the club during the2017 Campeonato Gaúcho as they were relegated down toSérie A2.[15] On 7 January 2018, Possebon signed a contract withHồ Chí Minh City in Vietnam.[18] He was released a month later, on 22 February 2018, before the league season started after failing to impress.[19]
Although he was born in Brazil, Possebon was eligible for an Italian passport due to his father's ancestry. He applied for an Italian passport when signing for Manchester United, in order to avoid work permit legislation for non-EU citizens working in the United Kingdom.[3] Following a relatively successful first season with Manchester United, Possebon received a call-up from Italy under-20 coachFrancesco Rocca for the penultimate match of the2008–09 Four Nations tournament againstGermany on 22 April 2009.[20]
| Club | Season | League | State League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United | 2008-09[22] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2009-10 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Braga (loan) | 2009-10 | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Santos | 2010 | Série A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2011 | Série A | 8 | 0 | 17[d] | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5[e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 | ||
| Total | 11 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |||
| Vicenza | 2011-12 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Criciúma | 2012 | Série B | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Mirassol | 2013 | — | 4[d] | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||||
| Juventude | 2013 | Série D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Náutico | 2014 | Série B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5[f] | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| URT | 2016 | Série D | 0 | 0 | 7[g] | 1 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||||
| Passo Fundo | 2017 | — | 8[h] | 0 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||||
| Career total | 32 | 0 | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 84 | 2 | ||
Internacional
Manchester United
Santos
