Kerlon Moura Souza

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Personal information
Kerlon

Full name	Kerlon Moura Souza
Date of birth	January 27, 1988
Place of birth	Ipatinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Nickname	Foca (Seal) Foquinha (Little Seal)
Position	Attacking Midfielder / Forward
Club information
Current club	Cruzeiro E.C.
Number	20
Youth clubs
2001-2005	Cruzeiro E.C.
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
2005-	Cruzeiro E.C.	26 (0)
National team**
2002-2003 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-	Brazil U15 Brazil U16 Brazil U17 Brazil U20
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of December 04, 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of December 04, 2006.

Kerlon Moura Souza (born January 27, 1988 in Ipatinga, Brazil) is a Brazilian football player, who currently plays for Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. He was the top scorer and best player at the 2005 Venezuela U17 South American Youth Championship.

1 Early career
- 1.1 Europe
2 Awards & Honors
- 2.1 Personal distinctions
3 Footnotes
4 External links

[edit] Early career

He is a center forward known for his ability to flick the ball up onto his head and run with it during matches. It is known as the seal dribble, and is very hard for the defending team to challenge legally. Flicking the ball up from the turf onto his head, Kerlon then proceeds to run past opponents, whilst bouncing the ball on top of his forehead. The speed at which he travels when doing this, coupled with his ability to change direction as he runs with the ball above his head, often makes opponents resort to simply pushing him over and fouling him. He is said to have learned the move from his father, Silvinho, who was stunned when Kerlon mastered the move.^[1]

It's just a skill I have, though it's not meant to be a mark of disrespect for my opponents. Opponents say they will snap me. But this doesn’t scare me it just motivates me even more.
—Kerlon^[1]

Although established as his trademark, the player has other talents up his sleeve. Able to operate in an advanced midfield position, or as a forward, the 18-year-old is a proficient dribbler and possesses the ability to slip weighted passes in behind defenses. He also takes free-kicks.

This South American Championships came to change my life, my destiny. I am more mature and I want to be used in the Brazilian Championship. I’m just waiting for the call from Levir (head coach of Cruzeiro EC at the time).
—Kerlon^[2]

Kerlon has created a lot of noise, he has already been called by many the next Ronaldinho, so as expected he has been linked with a number of clubs all across Europe. Curious enough he also wears the number 10 jersey for Brazil on the youth level^[1]. For the time being he has a contract with Cruzeiro which he extended on May 25, 2005 until the year 2009.^[3]

Kerlon while performing the "Seal dribble"

[edit] Europe

Manchester United were said to be pursuing the young star who could bring the 'seal dribble' to the Premiership. Sir Alex Ferguson supposedly discovered Kerlon during the South American Championships, which he was named top scorer and best player. However, both clubs later downplayed this rumor and insisted that neither sides were in contact with each other about the proposed transfer.^[4]

Manchester United have long been thought to have interest in the South American youngster in the British press, but Kerlon has been linked with Italian football clubs as of late, especially Inter and Milan.

His manager was quoted saying, "all of the world knows that Kerlon is the rising star of Brazilian football," "all the main Italian and Spanish clubs are on him," during an interview with www.calciomercato.com where he discusses Kerlon's future and European possibilities. He also stated that it was possible for Kerlon to arrive in Europe, in the January transfer window or in June. In the interview his manager, Mino Raiola, said that the starting bid for him was €10 million. His manager also compared him to Messi of Barcelona saying he will be "better than Barcelona's Argentine" ^[5]. It should be noted that even though Kerlon has had 26 appearances with Cruzeiro he did not scored a single goal in the Brazilian Série A as of 2006^[6]. His move to Europe has been doubted because of recent comments where he has stated himself "not yet ready" to play European football and that he would like to play the 2007 season with Cruzeiro ^[7]. It has also been confirmed that if he does indeed move to Europe it will be on a permanent basis and under no condition would it be on loan.^[7]