André Neles

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André Neles
Personal information
Full name André Moreira Neles
Date of birth (1978-01-04) 4 January 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Patrocínio (MG), Brazil
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Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1996–1997 Uberlândia
1998 Anápolis
1998–1999 Villa Nova
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 Atlético Mineiro 12 (3)
2000–2004 Benfica 9 (1)
2001 → Marítimo (loan) 12 (2)
2002 → Vitória (loan) 20 (10)
2003 → Internacional (loan) 5 (3)
2003 → Palmeiras (loan) 5 (1)
2004 Marítimo 5 (0)
2004 Atlético Mineiro 1 (0)
2004 Figueirense 5 (1)
2005–2007 Fortaleza 1 (0)
2006–2007 → Al-Ettifaq (loan) 11 (8)
2007 → Ipatinga (loan) 3 (0)
2008–2009 Grêmio Barueri 1 (0)
2009 → Botafogo-SP (loan) 10 (4)
2009 → Ceará (loan) 2 (0)
2010 Botafogo-SP 22 (5)
2010 → Oeste (loan) 3 (1)
2010 → Icasa (loan) 11 (4)
2011 América-RN 9 (2)
2012 Marcílio Dias 5 (0)
2012 Uberlândia 8 (1)
2012 Icasa 5 (0)
2013 São Carlos 11 (1)
2014 Operário
2015 Rio Branco-SP
International career‡
2007–2011 Equatorial Guinea 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 October 2015
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 October 2015

André Moreira Neles (born 4 January 1978), known as André Neles, is an Equatoguinean professional footballer who plays as a striker. His last club was Rio Branco-SP.

He started at Uberlândia, but only gained recognition at Atlético Mineiro. After compelling performances, he signed with Benfica in 2000, but could never break into the starting eleven, spending the following four years on multiple loan deals, which included Vitória, Internacional and Palmeiras. In 2004, he signed with Marítimo but only stayed there for a few months, moving from club to club on almost a yearly basis, mainly in the Brazilian lower divisions. In 2007, he was granted Equatorial Guinea nationality and won 3 international caps for their national team between 2007 and 2011.

Club career

Early career and Benfica

Born in Patrocínio in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, Neles started at Uberlândia in 1996 and spent there two seasons.[1] In 1998, he moved to Anápolis for a brief stint, before joining Villa Nova, where he attracted the attention of Atlético Mineiro, who signed him in early 1999.[1] He made his debut on 18 July 1999 against a team from Itaúna and after displaying good performances in the Campeonato Mineiro, he gained recognition amongst the fans.[1][2] On 11 May 2000, in the Round of 16 of the 2000 Copa Libertadores, Neles created a crucial goal for Marques, that allow Atlético Mineiro to take the game to penalty kicks.[1] In December 2000, he signed with Benfica for a transfer fee reported by Record to be €2.5M for just half of his economic rights.[2] He made his debut in a friendly match against CSKA Sofia on 10 January 2001, scoring the opening goal in a 1–1 draw.[3] However, in competitive matches, Neles was only a reserve player and he struggled with the lack of playing time.[4] With stiff competition from Pierre van Hooijdonk and João Tomás, he netted just once in nine appearances.[5]

In July 2001, Neles was sent on his first loan at Benfica, joining Marítimo for one year.[6] He commented his dismissal by Toni saying: "I think I did not had a real opportunity at Benfica. Not even a league match in the starting line-up; only as an option from the bench. From the start of a game, only in friendlies. Of course it is difficult to perform like this."[6] He also confess that he chose Marítimo because they had qualified for the UEFA Cup, refusing offers from Atlético Paranaense, Internacional and Portuguesa de Desportos.[6] His spell there was only mildly successful, with two goals in 12 matches; a winner against Boavista on 10 December and an equalizer against Varzim on 23 December.[7][8] In January 2002, André returned to Benfica and went on a second loan deal, now in Brazil, at Vitória.[9]

There he won the Campeonato Baiano and scored 31 goals in all competitions, 10 of them in the Série A, which included a decisive goal against Palmeiras on 17 November, that guaranteed their relegation.[10][11][12] In early 2003, he was sent on a third loan deal, joining Internacional until December.[12] From his previous loan he acknowledged that returning to Brazil was good for him; he matured significantly and was hopeful of returning to Benfica.[12] He started well at Internacional, with three goals in five appearances in the Brasileirão, but shortly after, a knee injury broke his momentum.[12] Only a few months after joining Internacional, he moved to Palmeiras, at the time playing in the second tier.[13] His spell there was unsuccessful, as he scored only one time, on 9 August against Portuguesa, and spent most of the time as back-up due to 19-year old, Vágner Love.[10][14]

Post-Benfica

In January 2004, Neles ended his connection with Benfica and signed with Marítimo for one and half seasons.[15] However, problems outside football led to his quick departure.[16] In June, he was back to Brazil, playing for Atlético Mineiro in the Série A.[17] In mid-2004, he changed teams for a third time in the year, signing with Figueirense, scoring one goal in five matches.[18] In 2005, he joined Fortaleza and played only once for them, spending a year in the Saudi Premier League with Ettifaq FC, and having a two-month stint with Ipatinga.[19] In 2008, Neles moved to Grêmio Barueri, where he played just one league game for them, before going on subsequent loans to Botafogo-SP and Ceará.[19] He would return to Botafogo-SP in 2010, playing in the Campeonato Paulista do Interior and being the team top scorer with five goals and winning the league.[20] In the same season, he would play for Oeste in the Série D and for Icasa in the Série B.[21][22] In February 2011, the 33-year old signed with América-RN and had good performances in the state league, remaining with América for the entire season.[23][24]

In December 2011, he signed with Marcílio Dias in the Campeonato Catarinense,[25] but only two months later, he returned to his childhood club, Uberlândia.[26] In August, he had a second spell at Icasa, now competing in the Série C.[27] Neles signed with São Carlos Futebol Clube in January 2013, playing for them in the second tier of the Campeonato Paulista.[28] In 2014, he played at Operário, helping them to a runner-up finish in the Campeonato Mato-Grossense and in May 2015, joined Rio Branco in the Campeonato Paulista Série A2.[29]

International career

In 2007, Neles was offered two-hundred thousand dollars, plus an additional ten thousand per game, to change passport and represent Equatorial Guinea.[30] He had prior connections with Equatorial Guinea, having a great-grandmother born there.[4][30] He made his debut in 2007 and according to him, played in 10 games and scored four goals.[30] Two of those games were for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.[30] In February 2011, he returned to the national team after two and half years of international absence, for a friendly match against Chad.[4]

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 25 March 2007 Estadio Internacional, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea  Rwanda
1 – 0
3 - 1
 Africa Cup of Nations 2008 Qualifying

Honours

Atlético Mineiro
Vitória
Fortaleza
Grémio Barueri
Botafogo-SP

Personal life

Neles has a younger brother, Átila Neles, who is also a footballer – and a forward. He too spent most of his professional career in Brazil, where he played for Uberlândia.[31]

He confessed to drug use during his time at Palmeiras.[30] His flamboyant lifestyle earn him the nickname, "André Baladas".[30] Since then, he entered the Presbyterian faith to overcome his problems. In his incursion in the religion, André Neles recorded a disc of gospel music, sung by himself.[30][32]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 30.5 30.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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