Leonardo Lourenço Bastos

Léo
Personal information
Full name Leonardo Lourenço Bastos
Date of birth 6 July 1975 (1975-07-06) (age 36)
Place of birth Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6 12 in)
Playing position Left back
Club information
Current club Santos
Number 3
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996 Americano 32 (5)
1997–1998 União São João 40 (1)
1999–2000 Palmeiras 0 (0)
2000–2005 Santos 133 (9)
2005–2009 Benfica 82 (1)
2009– Santos 64 (2)
National team
2001–2005 Brazil 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 December 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).

Leonardo Lourenço Bastos (born 6 July 1975 in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro), commonly known as Léo, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Santos FC as a left defender.

Contents

Club career

Brazil

Rio de Janeiro-based Americano Futebol Clube gave Léo his professional debut in 1996, and the next year he moved to São Paulo with União São João Esporte Clube. Two seasons later, he was bought by Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras but, within six months, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari released him after he had made one single appearance.

Subsequently, Léo joined Santos FC, quickly becoming an integral part of the team: in 2002, playing alongside the likes of Diego, Elano, Renato and Robinho, he won his first national championship, losing the following year's Libertadores Cup.

Benfica

After having appeared in 201 official games for Santos, aged 30, Léo signed for S.L. Benfica from Portugal for an undisclosed fee, on a three-year contract. He made his top division debut on 18 September 2005, in a 4–0 home win against U.D. Leiria, and played in an average of 27 league games in his first three seasons, but the club came out empty on major silverware.

In 2005–06, Léo appeared 36 in official matches (all starts) as the Reds reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

Return to Santos

In the 2008–09 season, Léo began suffering stiff competition for the left-back position from compatriot David Luiz. On 14 January 2009, he left Benfica and returned to Santos,[1] continuing to display solid performances in spite of his age, winning four major titles, including the 2011 Libertadores; also in that season, he was voted the São Paulo State League's best left-back.[2]

International career

Léo earned his first cap for Brazil on 31 May 2001, in the first game of the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, against Cameroon (3–0 win). He appeared in five games during the tournament, with the national team finishing in fourth position.

Léo was also selected for the 2005 Confederations Cup, in Germany. As Gilberto's backup, he only featured against Japan (2–2 group stage draw) as the Seleção went on to win the tournament.

Honours

Club

Country

Individual

References

External links