Liédson

Liédson da Silva Muniz (born 17 December 1977), known simply as Liédson, is a former footballer who played as a striker.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is da Silva and the second or paternal family name is Muniz.

Liédson
Liédson playing for Sporting in 2007
Personal information
Full name Liédson da Silva Muniz
Date of birth (1977-12-17) 17 December 1977
Place of birth Cairu, Brazil
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s) 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)
National team
2009–2010 Portugal 15 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Nicknamed Levezinho ("Slender one") due to his light frame (63 kg),[1] he spent the bulk of his professional career in Portugal representing Sporting CP, scoring nearly 200 goals in more than 300 competitive matches, winning four major titles with the club and helping it to four Champions League participations.

Born in Brazil, Liédson became a Portuguese citizen in 2009 and appeared with the national team at the 2010 World Cup, already in his 30s.

Club career

Early years

Born in Cairu, Bahia, Liédson started his professional career at Coritiba 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 at Clube de Regatas do Flamengo and Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, traditional big clubs at Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo respectively, with relative individual success.

Sporting

Liédson was signed by Sporting CP for €2 million on 31 August 2003, giving manager Fernando 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 the Primeira Liga in his second season, scoring 25 goals[1] while also netting nine in 14 games as his team reached the final of the UEFA Cup – this included a hat-trick in a 4–0 win at FC Dinamo Tbilisi in the 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 in 2006–07, but the Lions only conquered one domestic cup during that timeframe.

Considered by many as one of the greatest strikers in Sporting history since the early performances of Fernando Peyroteo, Héctor Yazalde, Manuel Fernandes, Rui Jordão, Fernando Gomes, Alberto Acosta and Mário Jardel, Liédson was also regarded as the club's top trademark player since the departures of Luís Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Ricardo Quaresma. He also ranked team top scorer in the UEFA Champions League, after scoring the lonely goal in the 2008–09 group stage contest against FC Shakhtar Donetsk on 22 October 2008.[5] In the last group stage match, he also found the net – in a 2–5 home loss to FC Barcelona – for the 19th time in European 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 came from the bench to score twice, helping Sporting overcome C.D. Nacional 3–2 at home.[7] On 7 March, all of the game's goals were his as his team beat last-placed C.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 a 5–1 home win against K.A.A. Gent for the Europa League.[9]

Return to Brazil

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 the Lions the following Friday, starting and scoring twice against Associação Naval 1º de Maio, in a 3–3 home draw.[11]

Liédson contributed with ten games in the 2012 Copa Libertadores campaign, scoring once in the 6–0 group stage home win against Deportivo Táchira of Venezuela (immediately after missing a penalty kick)[12] as the Timão won the continental 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, joining FC Porto on a loan until the end of the season.[15] On 11 May, he was involved in the goal that clinched the title for the Dragons against rivals S.L. Benfica in O Clássico; put on as a substitute by manager Vítor Pereira alongside Kelvin, he assisted the youngster's added-time winner.[16][17]

International career

Liédson expressed interest in playing for the Portuguese 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 striker Pauleta, Liédson was one of the main candidates in line for succession, especially after countrymen Deco and Pepe's previous switches. Liédson's naturalization process created some controversy, as the Portuguese Football Players' Union in August 2009 publicly objected Portuguese Football Federation's (FPF) plans of expediting his citizenship.[18]

After six years of residence in the country, Liédson received Portuguese nationality, being eligible to play for the country.[19] On 26 August 2009, he was called up by national coach Carlos Queiroz for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Denmark and Hungary, and made his debut against the former on 5 September, coming on as a substitute for Tiago at half-time: after having been booked, he scored the final 1–1 in the 85th minute with a header from a corner.[20]

Liédson started the first game in the final stages in South Africa, a 0–0 against Ivory Coast.[21] He lost his place to Hugo Almeida for the following match, but both found the net in the 7–0 routing of North Korea on 21 June 2010, in Cape Town.[10][22]

Career statistics

Club

[23][24]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League State League National Cup Other1 Continental Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Prudentópolis 2000 00155–––155
Total 00155000000155
Coritiba 2001 95––––95
2002 –181520––2015
Total 9518152000002920
Flamengo 2002 2414––––2414
Total 2414000000002414
Corinthians 2003 1410116––863322
Total 14101160000863322
Sporting 2003–04 3015–21–433619
2004–05 3125–21–1494735
2005–06 3115–52–203817
2006–07 2815–66–503921
2007–08 2611–43641164724
2008–09 2617–2234423525
2009–10 2813–33221344622
2010–11 145–3221622510
Total 21411600272013115926313173
Corinthians 2011 28121611–––4423
2012 61112––111284
Total 3413271300001117227
Flamengo 2012 17400–––174
Porto 2012–13 60––00100070
Career total 3181626839292014117833601266

1Includes the Taça da Liga and Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

International goals
# 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 PR 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

Honours

Club

Corinthians

Sporting

Porto

Individual
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References
  1. Liedson, cameras, action!; UEFA, 17 May 2005
  2. Sporting snare Liedson; UEFA, 31 August 2003
  3. "Liedson com nome bem escrito na camisola" [Liedson with name spelt correctly on his shirt]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 5 September 2009. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  4. Ravdin, Eugene (25 November 2004). "Liedson leads Sporting rout". UEFA. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  5. Liedson lauds Sporting spirit; UEFA, 23 October 2008
  6. Liedson happy to settle at Sporting; UEFA, 10 July 2009
  7. "Liedson bisa no regresso" [Liedson grabs brace in return] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 17 January 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  8. Liedson hits four for Sporting; Benfica go three points clear at table top Archived 19 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine; PortuGOAL, 7 March 2010
  9. "Sporting goleia Gent por 5–1 e fica com um 'pé' na fase seguinte" [Sporting rout Gent 5–1 and is all but qualified to next stage] (in Portuguese). DNotícias. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  10. "Sporting striker Liedson returns to Corinthians". The Guardian. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  11. "Liedson until the bitter end". PortuGOAL. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  12. "Após erro, Liedson conclui: "Não sei bater pênalti mesmo"" [After mistake, Liedson concludes: "I'm hopeless at penalties"] (in Portuguese). Gazeta Esportiva. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  13. "Obrigado, Liédson!" [Thanks, Liédson] (in Portuguese). SC Corinthians. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  14. "Flamengo acerta a contratação de Liédson até o fim de 2013" [Flamengo complete signing of Liédson until the end of 2013] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  15. "Liedson completes FC Porto move". PortuGOAL. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  16. Ruela, João (11 May 2013). "Kelvin, o "herói" do Dragão derruba Benfica no fim" [Kelvin, the Dragão's hero, sinks Benfica at the end]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  17. Frias, Rui (10 June 2017). ""Ainda hoje não sei explicar por que meti o Liedson e o Kelvin"" ["Even today I don't know how to explain why I put Liedson and Kelvin on"]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  18. Santos Lourenço, Eduardo (28 August 2009). "Football Union contest Liedson's naturalisation". Smashing English. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  19. "FIFA Status (2009 Edition): Regulations governing the application of the statutes Article 17" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  20. Liedson pulls Portugal from brink; UEFA, 5 September 2009
  21. "Ivory Coast outplays Portugal, but earns scoreless draw in opener". ESPN Soccernet. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  22. "Portugal pours it on in second half". The New York Times. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  23. Liédson at ForaDeJogo
  24. "Liédson". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  25. "Liedson recebe nesta sexta-feira prémio "Jogador do Mês" de Janeiro" [Liedson receives this friday the January «Player of the Month» award] (in Portuguese). SJPF. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  26. "Liedson recebeu "Troféu Mazda/Jogador do Mês"" [Liedson received "Mazda Trophy/Player of the Month"] (in Portuguese). SJPF. 10 May 2007. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  27. "Liedson (Sporting) ganha Prémio KIA / Jogador do Mês" [Liedson (Sporting) wins KIA / Player of the Month award] (in Portuguese). SJPF. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  28. "Liedson (Sporting) recebeu Prémio KIA / Jogador do Mês" [Liedson (Sporting) wins KIA / Player of the Month award] (in Portuguese). SJPF. 22 May 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  29. "Liedson ganha prémio "Melhor Jogador do Mês/Betclic"" [Liedson wins "Player of the Month / BetClic" award] (in Portuguese). SJPF. 12 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
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