Lúcio Wagner

Lúcio Wagner Freitas de Souza (born 15 June 1976), known simply as Lúcio Wagner, is a retired Brazilian-born Bulgarian international footballer who played as a left-back.

Lúcio Wagner
Personal information
Full name Lúcio Wagner Freitas de Souza
Date of birth (1976-06-15) 15 June 1976
Place of birth Río de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Left-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994 Náutico 1 (0)
1995–1998 Corinthians Alagoano 16 (1)
1996 → Alverca (loan) 2 (0)
1997 → Benfica (loan) 2 (0)
1997–1998 → Sevilla (loan) 9 (0)
1998 Botafogo 19 (0)
1999 Rio Branco
2000–2002 CA Juventus 39 (2)
2002–2010 Levski Sofia 118 (1)
2002–2003 → Cherno More (loan) 20 (0)
Total 226 (4)
National team
2006–2008 Bulgaria 15 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Achieving mild success in Bulgaria, where he won eight major titles during a seven year span with Levski Sofia, he would receive Bulgarian citizenship in 2006 and play for their national team on 15 occasions.

Club career

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Wagner started at Náutico, a club competing in the Campeonato Pernambucano. During his time there, the club was runner-up in the 1994 Pernambucano State Championship. In 1995, he signed with Corinthians Alagoano, who loans him to Benfica in 1997, together with Marcos Alemão, Cáju and Deco.[1] After spending time at the farm team, he moved to Benfica in March 1997, making three appearances during his time in Da Luz, making his league debut on 12 April 1997 against Boavista.[2] After the failed stint in Portugal, Corinthians loaned him to Sevilla, at the time playing in the second tier.[3]

In 2000, Wagner joined CA Juventus in the Campeonato Paulista, playing 39 matches, scoring two goals during the two seasons there.[3] In 2002, he moved to Cherno More in the Bulgarian league, racking up twenty league appearances in 2002–03 season, which led to a move to the larger Levski Sofia in 2003. Appearing for the first time on 8 August 2003, he would assume regular starter role, winning three league titles in 2005-06, 2006–07, 2008–09 and helping Levski reach the quarter-finals of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup where they were stopped by Schalke 04, and the group stage of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, after eliminating Sioni Bolnisi and Chievo, being the first Bulgarian team to do so. In 2010, the 34 year-old was released by Levski Sofia after 173 appearances for the Bulgarians.[4]

International career

In 2006, Wagner was granted Bulgarian nationality, and made his debut for the national team on 9 May, in a Kirin Cup match against Japan.[5] He would represent Bulgaria five times during the qualifying stages of UEFA Euro 2008, and once in the qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Career statistics

[4]

Club Season League Cup Europe Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Benfica 1996–97 20100030
Total 20100030
Levski Sofia 2003–04 2105050310
2004–05 1806212254
2005–06 23020140390
2006–07 1912080291
2007–08 1400020160
2008–09 1604040240
2009–10 70002090
Total 11811923621735
Career total 11811923621735

Honours
Levski Sofia

References
  1. "Toni descobriu Deco: "Erro histórico do Benfica"" [Toni found Deco: "Historic mistake from Benfica"]. Maisfutebol (in Portuguese). 26 August 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  2. Tovar, Rui Miguel (2012). Almanaque do Benfica. Portugal: Lua de Papel. p. 552–555. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.
  3. "Lúcio Wágner". Finalball.com. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  4. "Lucio Wagner at Levski Sofia". Levski Sofia.info.
  5. "Bulgaria stun Japan with late win". BBC Sport. 10 May 2006. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
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