Antonio Naelson

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Personal information
Antonio Naelson
Full name	Antonio Naelson Matias
Date of birth	May 23, 1976 (age 30)
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	163 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Nickname	Zinha
Playing position	Centre Attacking Midfielder Centre Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Club Toluca
Number	10
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1995-1997 1998-99 1999-	América MG CF Monterrey Club Toluca	0 (0) 17 (1) 268 (26)
National team²
2004-	Mexico	36 (5)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 June, 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of 2 June, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Antônio Naelson Matias (born May 23, 1976 in São Paulo), also known simply as Zinha, is a Brazilian-Mexican football player, who is currently playing as midfielder for Club Toluca, where he is often called "El Toñito".

Naelson stands at 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) and weighs 67 kg (147 lb) and is often the shortest player on the football field. He was part of the Mexican 2004 Olympic football team, who exited in the first round, having finished third in group A, below group winners Mali and South Korea.

He has also been called up to play for the Mexican national team, although he is a Brazilian-born player, he became a naturalized Mexican citizen, after settling in Mexico for several years. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Naelson became the first foreign-born player to score a goal for Mexico in a World Cup tournament.

In 2005, he played in the Confederations Cup scoring a spectacular goal against Japan that helped Mexico win the match. Mexico finished in fourth place in the tournament. He was also called up for the national team to play in the Gold Cup. Naelson represented Mexico in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, scoring a goal in his first World Cup match against Iran.

[edit] External links

Antonio Naelson Article (In Spanish)
Football Database.com provides Antonio Naelson's profile and stats
Profile and Statistics (In Spanish)

	Mexico squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Sánchez \| 2 Suárez \| 3 Salcido \| 4 Márquez \| 5 Osorio \| 6 Torrado \| 7 Naelson \| 8 Pardo \| 9 Borgetti \| 10 Franco \| 11 Morales \| 12 Corona \| 13 Ochoa \| 14 Pineda \| 15 Castro \| 16 Méndez \| 17 Fonseca \| 18 Guardado \| 19 Bravo \| 20 García \| 21 Arellano \| 22 Rodríguez \| 23 Pérez \| Coach: Lavolpe