Luisão

Luisão

Luisão before a match with Brazil in 2006
Personal information
Full nameÂnderson Luís da Silva
Date of birth13 February 1981
Place of birthAmparo, Brazil
Height1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionCentre-back
Club information
Current team
Benfica
Number4
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1999Juventus-SP18(1)
2000–2003Cruzeiro62(7)
2003–Benfica280(24)
National team‡
2001–2011Brazil44(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 November 2011

Ânderson Luís da Silva (born 13 February 1981), known as Luisão, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Portuguese club Benfica.

Most of his professional career has been spent with Benfica, for which he has appeared in more than 400 official matches, having won twelve major titles. He is Benfica's longest-serving captain.

A Brazilian international on 44 occasions, Luisão appeared for the country in two World Cups and three Copa América tournaments.

Club career

Brazil

Born in Amparo, São Paulo, Luisão represented Clube Atlético Juventus and Cruzeiro Esporte Clube in his country, scoring a career-best six goals in 24 matches in his third season with the latter.

Benfica

In the 2003 summer Luisão moved to Europe, signing with Benfica of Portugal for £890,000. He faced a tough period of adaptation, during which he performed somewhat below his capabilities and even considered traveling back to his home country; he did manage, however, to score in his league debut, a thrilling 3–3 home draw against C.F. Os Belenenses on 14 September, and ended his first season with the Portuguese Cup conquest, helping defeat FC Porto 2–1.

In 2004–05 Luisão featured regularly in Benfica's central defense, alongside Ricardo Rocha, appearing in 29 games and contributing heavily for the Reds' first league title in 11 years: on 24 April 2005, in a 2–1 away victory over G.D. Estoril-Praia, he netted his first goal of the season, the game's equaliser. On 14 May he found the net with his head against city rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal, scoring the game's only goal and ousting the opponents from the title race.

Luisão and Tarik Sektioui in a Benfica vs Porto match in 2007

The 2005–06 season finished without silverware for Benfica, with Luisão again as an automatic first-choice. The team, however, reached the season's UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, with the defender playing all the matches and minutes in the competition: on 21 February 2006 he scored in his side's 1–0 home win against holders Liverpool, which had lost just one of 13 European games the previous year, and five of 41 away from home;[1] he also started in the second leg, a 2–0 win at Anfield.[2]

Luisão playing in the UEFA Champions League in 2014

In 2006–07, Luisão was named club captain in some matches, due to injuries to Nuno Gomes and Petit, but the club again failed to secure any major honours. At the end of the season, his agent said "Luisão wants to leave", but he eventually stayed.[3]

During the following season, in January 2008, Luisão was involved in an on-field argument with Greek teammate Kostas Katsouranis, during a league match against Vitória de Setúbal. The argument arose after Katsouranis' misplaced pass, which forced the Brazilian to commit a foul in order to stop play, after receiving a yellow card, Luisão criticized Katsouranis, who responded in a similar manner. The two players were on the point of breaking into violence before teammates separated them. Both players were then quickly substituted and given suspensions by the club, and later apologised to each other;[4][5] again, he dealt with some injuries and inconsistent play, also addressing rumours of another possible move.[6]

Luisão's start to the 2008–09 season got off in scoring fashion, netting a goal in the 59th minute of the UEFA Cup first round match at S.S.C. Napoli, in a 2–3 loss. It was his first game of the season in European competitions, and his first goal of the season in all competitions. In the following season he would enjoy his best season as a professional, appearing in a total of 45 official games (4,050 minutes, with six goals) as Benfica won the league and renewed its Portuguese League Cup supremacy, also reaching the last eight in the Europa League.

On 28 August 2010 Luisão scored – through a header – against Setúbal at home, as 10-men Benfica eventually won it 3–0.[7] On 14 September, he entered the Champions League's history books, after opening the scoresheet against Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. in the competition's group stage.[8]

On 11 August 2012, in the last minutes of the first half of a friendly with Fortuna Düsseldorf, Luisão pushed referee Christian Fischer to the ground as he was about to send off teammate Javi García for two reckless challenges on Oliver Fink; the referee refused to resume the game and suspended it,[9][10] proceeding to announce he would take legal action against the player.[11]

On 14 September 2012 Luisão was initially suspended for two months for his actions, also being fined €2,550. The ruling of the Portuguese Football Federation was still subject to the approval of FIFA,[12][13] which was confirmed shortly after, causing the player to miss 11 games, including the Champions League matches against Celtic and FC Barcelona.[14]

On 13 March 2014, whilst appearing in his 117th match in European competition, Luisão grabbed a brace to help Benfica to a 3–1 away win against Tottenham Hotspur for the Europa League round-of-16's first leg.[15]

On 18 January 2015, Luisão equalized Eusébio with a total of 440 official appearances at Benfica, in a 0–4 win at Marítimo in Primeira Liga.[16] On 21 February, he scored the tying goal in a victory at Moreirense (1–3) counting for the league.[17] On 28 February, he equalized António Simões as the seventh player with the most appearances (447).[18]

On 26 April 2015, Luisão surpassed Mário Coluna as the longest-serving captain at Benfica with a total of 229 matches.[19]

International career

Luisão in a game against Switzerland in 2006

Luisão made his debut for Brazil in July 2001.[20] He represented the nation in its 2004 Copa América win, playing in all six matches, including a 1–2 loss against Paraguay – where he was team captain – and the final against Argentina where the scored his first international goal.[21]

In the next year, Luisão was named in the Brazilian squad for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, but did not play a single second, meeting the same fate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After the latter tournament, when Dunga was hired as the new coach, he began to play more often.

Luisão was summoned for the 2009 Confederations Cup, playing in four of Brazil's five matches, including the 1–0 victory over South Africa in the semifinals, and the 3–2 win against the United States in the final, partnering with FC Bayern Munich's Lúcio.

Again as a reserve player, Luisão was selected for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, after a solid club season, being an unused squad member as Brazil exited in the quarter-finals.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 January 2015[22]
Club Season League Cup1 League Cup Europe Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Benfica 2003–04 15331—40224
2004–05 29230—90412
2005–06 31140—101452
2006–07 17220—100292
2007–08 193413090354
2008–09 212315041334
2009–10 2840051121456
2010–11 2317220143466
2011–12 2512020121412
2012–13 181501090331
2013–14 2815111153496
2014–15 141201050231
Total 268224062021131044140

1Other tournaments include the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

International

International appearances

National team Year Apps Goals
Brazil 200110
200380
200471
200530
200621
200710
200860
2009111
201030
201120
Total443

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 25 July 2004 Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru  Argentina 2–2 Draw 2004 Copa América
2 15 November 2006 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland   Switzerland 2–1 Win Friendly
3 5 September 2009 Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario, Argentina  Argentina 3–1 Win 2010 World Cup Qualification

Honours

Club

Cruzeiro
Benfica

International

Brazil

Individual

Personal life

Luisão's younger brothers, Alex Silva[24] and Andrei Silva,[25] are also footballers, and defenders.

References

  1. ↑ "Benfica 1–0 Liverpool". ESPN Soccernet. 21 February 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  2. ↑ "Liverpool 0–2 Benfica: Holders crash". ESPN Soccernet. 8 March 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  3. ↑ "Bertolucci: "Luisão tem vontade de sair"" [Bertolucci: "Luisão wants to leave"] (in Portuguese). Record. 23 May 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  4. ↑ "Luisão e Katsouranis suspensos" [Luisão and Katsouranis suspended] (in Portuguese). Record. 6 January 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  5. ↑ "Luisão diz estar ultrapassado caso com Katsouranis" [Luisão says affair with Katsouranis is forgotten] (in Portuguese). TSF. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  6. ↑ "Luisão: "Se tiver de sair, saio sem problemas"" [Luisão: "If i have to leave, i'll leave without problems"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  7. ↑ "Ten-man Benfica bounce back – Roberto redeemed?". PortuGOAL. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  8. ↑ "Benfica break Hapoel resistance in Lisbon". UEFA.com. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  9. ↑ "Luisao pushes over ref in friendly". ESPN Soccernet. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "Fortuna – Benfica interrompido por o árbitro ter abandonado o relvado" [Fortuna – Benfica suspended as referee left pitch] (in Portuguese). Jornal de Notícias. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "Ref to take legal action against Luisao". ESPN Soccernet. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  12. ↑ Benfica's Luisao suspended for pushing over referee; Reuters, 14 September 2012
  13. ↑ Decisão da secção não profissional do Conselho de Disciplina da FPF (Non-professional section of the FPF Discipline Committee's decision); Portuguese Football Federation, 14 September 2012 (Portuguese)
  14. ↑ FIFA extends Luisão ban worldwide; UEFA.com, 18 September 2012
  15. ↑ "Benfica seize control against Tottenham". UEFA.com. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  16. ↑ "Luisão: "Orgulho-me deste Clube, o torcedor joga e o jogador torce!"" [Luisão: I am proud of this club, the supporter supports and the player supports!]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). 18 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "Moreirense - Benfica (Jornada 22 Liga NOS 2014-2015) - Liga Portugal" (in Portuguese). LPFP. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  18. ↑ Guerra, Mara (5 March 2015). "Luisão: Depois de ultrapassar Eusébio, atinge Simões" [Luisão: After surpassing Eusébio, reaches Simões] (in Portuguese). VAVEL. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  19. ↑ Bragança, José (28 April 2015). "Luisão, um capitão para a história" [Luisão, a captain for history] (in Portuguese). zerozero. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  20. ↑ "Brazil – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  21. ↑ "Copa América 2004". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 22.7 22.8 22.9 22.10 "Luisão". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  23. ↑ Gala do 106.º aniversário do Benfica: Premiados (Benfica's 106th anniversary gala: Awards); RedPass Blog, 26 February 2010 (Portuguese)
  24. ↑ Hier kann ich meine Samba-Liebe genießen (Here i can enjoy my love for Samba); Bild, 12 February 2009 (German)
  25. ↑ Andrei Silva vai assinar pelo Benfica (Andrei Silva will join Benfica); Arte do Futebol, 23 September 2009 (Portuguese)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luisão.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Nuno Gomes		 Benfica captain
2011–present 		Incumbent