Welliton

Welliton
Personal information
Full nameWelliton Soares de Morais
Date of birth22 October 1986
Place of birthConceição do Araguaia, Brazil
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current team
Mersin İdmanyurdu
Number73
Youth career
Goiás
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2005–2007Goiás41(16)
2006→ Ituano (loan)32(10)
2007–2014Spartak Moscow132(61)
2013→ Grêmio (loan)10(0)
2013→ São Paulo (loan)19(4)
2014→ Celta de Vigo (loan)1(0)
2014–Mersin İdmanyurdu26(8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 February 2015.
† Appearances (Goals).

Welliton Soares de Morais, or simply Welliton, (born 22 October 1986) is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Mersin İdmanyurdu in Turkey, as a forward.

Club career

Welliton started his career playing for the Brazilian side Goiás. In July 2007 he moved to Russian club Spartak Moscow, signing a five year contract. He has been a very prolific scorer and won the top scorer title in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

To begin the 2008 season, Welliton scored six times in his first nine matches.[1] Former Russia midfielder Aleksandr Mostovoi heaped praise on the young striker after his performance in a 3–0 away win, stating "He has overcome all problems with passage into a new country. He is young, fast, technical, an ideal artist who acts along the entire front line of attack, not just along the flanks as this past season."[2] Unfortunately, his stellar start was cut short due to a muscle tear that forced him out of action for 10 months.[3]

After a successful return in 2009, Welliton helped Spartak Moscow early to a prime position to qualify for the UEFA Champions League after finishing a dismal 8th place in 2008. He scored his first career hat-trick on 8 August 2009 at Spartak Nalchik.[4] He scored six goals in the final seven matches to secure the scoring title and a berth in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage for Moscow.

His excellent form has continued into the 2010 Russian Premier League Season as he again became the top scorer, this time with 19 goals.

In August 2010, Welliton scored two consecutive hat-tricks. On 15 August he netted three goals in an away game against Russian rivals Lokomotiv Moscow, which ended 2–3. On 21 August 2010, he scored another hat-trick, this time against FC Tom Tomsk in a 4–2 win at home. The latter was scored just in 6 minutes and became the fastest hat-trick in the entire history of Russia.[5]

On 6 February 2013, Welliton was loaned to Brazilian club Grêmio.[6] He moved to São Paulo FC later. With a few players available on transfer market, Paulo Autuori praised Welliton as a new hiring for his club. According to Autuori, Welliton "has the profile what we are looking for, with balance and presence to score goals. He can play as a winger or a center forward."[7] To carry out the transfer, São Paulo managed to reach a complex agreement with Grêmio. It involved some benefits for Grêmio on Rhodolfo's loan contract,[8] and stipulated that the side from São Paulo would pay half of his salary (R$200,000), the rest went to the side from Porto Alegre.[9]

On 31 January 2014 he was loaned to Celta de Vigo in La Liga until the end of the season.[10]

On 20 August 2014, Welliton moved to the Turkish side Mersin İdman Yurdu. Spartak Moscow reportedly received around €1 million from the transfer.[11]

International

Welliton has not been called up by Brazil and has expressed interest in representing Russia, in November 2011 Spartak Moscow announced they were in the process of helping Welliton acquire a Russian passport.[12]

Honours

Goiás

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "2008 Player Statistics – Welliton" (in Russian). Sports.ru. 11 May 2008.
  2. ↑ Александр Мостовой: "Абсолютно точно "Спартак" не станет чемпионом в этом году" (in Russian). Sports.ru. 1 April 2008.
  3. ↑ Веллитон: "После тренировки не испытываю никакого дискомфорта" (in Russian). Sports.ru. 16 December 2008.
  4. ↑ "Match Statistics: 8 August 2009 Spartak Nalchik 2–4 Spartak Moscow" (in Russian). Sports.ru. 8 August 2009.
  5. ↑ ВЕЛЛИТОН СОТВОРИЛ САМЫЙ БЫСТРЫЙ ХЕТ-ТРИК В ИСТОРИИ "СПАРТАКА" (in Russian). FC Spartak Moscow. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
  6. ↑ "Spartak to Loan Welliton Back to Brazil". R-Sport. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ "Welliton, un acreditado goleador para la delantera celeste". Celta de Vigo. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  11. ↑ «Спартак» заработает на трансфере Веллитона порядка € 1 млн. Championat (in Russian). 20 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "Spartak Moscow's Brazilian Striker Welliton Eager To Represent Russia". goal.com. 1 December 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

External links