Willian (footballer)

This article is about the Brazilian footballer born 1988. For other uses, see Willian (disambiguation).

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Borges and the second or paternal family name is da Silva.

Willian

Willian with Brazil in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Willian Borges da Silva
Date of birth	(1988-08-09) 9 August 1988
Place of birth	Ribeirão Pires, Brazil
Height
Position(s)	Winger / Attacking Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Chelsea
Number	22
Youth career
1998–2006	Corinthians
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2007	Corinthians	20	(2)
2007–2013	Shakhtar Donetsk	140	(20)
2013	Anzhi Makhachkala	11	(1)
2013–	Chelsea	80	(9)
International career‡
2007	Brazil U20	11	(0)
2011–	Brazil	30	(6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 January 2016 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 October 2015

Willian Borges da Silva (born 9 August 1988), commonly known as Willian (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈwiliã]), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for English club Chelsea and the Brazil national team.

He started his career at Corinthians, before joining Shakhtar in August 2007 for a fee of €14 million. In his six years at the club, he won honours including four Ukrainian Premier League titles and the UEFA Cup in 2009. In 2013, he briefly signed for Anzhi Makhachkala before joining Chelsea for £32 million, winning the Premier League and Football League Cup in his second season in England. Willian made his debut for Brazil in 2011 and represented the country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 Copa América.

Club career

Corinthians

In 2007, after coming through their youth system, Willian started playing for the Corinthians first team, where he wore the number 10. He made five league appearances during his first season with the senior side as Corinthians finished mid-table. He made his breakthrough with Corinthians in the following campaign, featuring in eleven league matches, scoring twice, and made twenty-nine appearances in all competitions for the club, as they finished seventeenth in the Série A and were relegated.

Shakhtar Donetsk

2007–08 season

On 23 August 2007, he signed a five-year contract with Shakhtar Donetsk for a transfer of €14 million. Willian's debut for the club came in a 2–1 league victory over Chornomorets Odesa on 15 September. He came on as a 57th-minute substitute, replacing fellow Brazilian Jádson. His first goal for the club came on 31 October in a 4–1 victory over Arsenal Kyiv in the Ukrainian Cup. He made his European debut in a 3–0 Champions League defeat to Italian side A.C. Milan on 6 November, coming on as a 73rd minute replacement for Răzvan Raț. He ended his first season with 28 total appearances, 20 of which came in the league, and 1 goal. He helped Shakhtar to a Premier League and Ukrainian Cup double. They won the league by three points over Dynamo Kyiv and also beat them 2–0 in the Ukrainian Cup Final.

2008–09 season

Willian playing for Shakhtar in 2009

He played in the Super Cup Final penalty shoot-out victory over Dynamo Kyiv on 15 July, being replaced by Brandão after 46 minutes. On 27 August, he scored a goal in a 3–1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. On 1 November, he scored his first league goal for Shakhtar in a 3–1 win against Zorya Luhansk. On 16 November, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv. He scored the goal of the match in a 1–0 victory against Chornomorets Odesa on 25 April. He played in Shakhtar's UEFA Cup Final 2–1 extra time defeat to Werder Bremen. He helped Shakhtar to lift the last UEFA Cup title before it was reformatted and renamed as the UEFA Europa League. He made 52 appearances in the 2008–09 season, scoring eight goals. He appeared in all but one league match, scoring five goals. He also netted a goal in a Ukrainian Cup round of 16 tie against Zakarpattia Uzhhorod which Shakhtar won 4–1.

2009–10 season

Willian's first goal of the season came in a 6–1 Ukrainian Cup round of 32 victory against Dniester Ovidiopol on 15 August. He made an appearance in Shakhtar's 1–0 extra time defeat to Spanish side Barcelona in the UEFA Super Cup on 28 August, being replaced by Julius Aghahowa in the 90th minute of the match. On 17 September, he netted the second goal in a 4–1 win against Belgian side Club Brugge in a group stage match in the Europa League. He ended the season with seven goals in 39 appearances, including 22 appearances and five goals in the league. He helped Shakhtar to victory in the Premier League. They finished the league with 77 points, six ahead of nearest rivals Dynamo Kyiv.

2010–11 season

Willian started the season with a goal in Shakhtar's emphatic 7–1 victory against Tavriya Simferopol in the Super Cup on 4 July. He followed that up on 10 July with the second goal in the first league match of the season, a 2–0 victory over Kryvbas. On 15 August, he netted the only goal in a 1–0 victory against Karpaty Lviv, scoring in first half stoppage time. He also scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Illichivets Mariupol on 29 August. On 8 March, he scored two goals in a Champions League last 16 tie against Roma, with Shakhtar winning 3–0 on the night and progressing to the quarter final after winning 6–2 on aggregate. He played in the 2–0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv in the Ukrainian Cup Final on 25 May, being replaced by Alex Teixeira after 77 minutes. He ended the season with eight goals from 43 appearances, including 23 league appearances and three league goals. Shakhtar retained their league title with a score of 72 points, seven points ahead of second placed team, Dynamo Kyiv. They added the Ukrainian Cup and Super Cup titles to clinch a domestic treble.

2011–12 season

Willian playing for Shakhtar in 2012

The following season he played the full 90 minutes in the Super Cup match against Dynamo Kyiv on 5 July, however Shakhtar lost the match 3–1. On 19 October, he scored the opening goal in a 2–2 draw with Russian team Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Champions League. He scored the second goal in a 2–1 win over Illichivets Mariupol on 10 March. On 6 May, he played the full match in a 2–1 extra time victory against Metalurh Donetsk in the Ukrainian Cup Final. He finished the season with six goals, five in the league, from 37 appearances, 27 of which came in the league. Shakhtar secured the Premier League title for the third year in a row and the Ukrainian Cup title for a second time in a row.

2012–13 season

Shakhtar opened the season with a 2–0 win against Metalurh Donetsk in the Super Cup, however Willian failed to make the squad for the match. He had to wait until the fourth league match of the season, on 6 August, before making his first appearance of the season in a 4–0 win against Volyn Lutsk. He replaced goalscorer Alex Teixeira after 46 minutes. On 19 August, he scored his first goal and made two assists in a comprehensive 5–1 victory against Chornomorets Odesa. Willian scored both of Shakhtar's goals in their 3–2 loss over European champions Chelsea in the group stage of the Champions League on 7 November.

Anzhi Makhachkala

On 31 January 2013, Willian moved to Anzhi Makhachkala for a fee thought to be in the region of €35 million. He originally chose to wear the number 10, however due to UEFA restrictions that states a player must wear a number used in the UEFA Champions league for the remainder of the season, he was forced the wear the number 88 he had chosen at Shakhtar Donetsk. After moving to Russia, Willian said he was happy to join Anzhi and wished Shakhtar Donetsk great success in the future. On his debut, Willian was injured against Newcastle United in a Europa League match. He scored his only Anzhi goal on 14 April 2013 in a 3–0 victory against Volga Nizhny Novgorod.

In August 2013, following restructuring at business level, Anzhi chose to transfer list their whole squad, including recent signing Willian.

Chelsea

2013–14 season

Willian and Galatasaray's Yekta Kurtuluş in a Champions League match in February 2014

On 25 August 2013, Premier League club Chelsea agreed a deal to sign Willian for a fee of £30 million, subject to a work permit hearing on 28 August 2013. The deal was made official on 28 August 2013 and Willian signed a five-year contract receiving the number 22 shirt. Although regulations usually state that non-European players must be regular internationals, Willian was given a work permit despite only having two caps at the time, as an FA panel deemed that were he not Brazilian he would be a regular.

He made his debut on 18 September against Basel in the UEFA Champions League in a 1–2 home defeat. After featuring in wins against Swindon Town and Steaua Bucharest in the League Cup and UEFA Champions League respectively, he made his league debut on 6 October away to Norwich City, and scored in a 3–1 win. He scored his second Chelsea goal on 1 January 2014 in a 3–0 victory at Southampton. On 27 April 2014, Willian scored in Chelsea's 2–0 away victory against Liverpool.

2014–15 season

Willian in 2014-15

Willian scored his first goal of the new Premier League season in a 3–0 win over Aston Villa on 27 September. On 25 November, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal for the club in a group stage match against FC Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen.

In extra time in a Football League Cup semi-final against Liverpool on 28 January 2015, he took the free kick which was headed in by Branislav Ivanović to put Chelsea into the final. On 1 March, Willian was selected to start against Tottenham Hotspur in the 2015 Football League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium; a match which Chelsea won 2–0 to win the trophy for the fifth time.

Willian ended the 2014–15 season having appeared in 36 of Chelsea's 38 league matches as the club won its fourth league title.

2015–16 season

Willian for Chelsea in 2015-16

On 16 September, Willian scored directly from a free kick to open the scoring as Chelsea defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv in the club's first game of the Champions League group stage. He went on to score from free kicks in the team's next three matches; Premier League matches against Newcastle United and Southampton and a 2–1 loss at FC Porto in the Champions League. On 4 November, Willian scored his fifth free kick of the season to give Chelsea a 2–1 win over FC Dynamo Kyiv, and 20 days later he recorded a sixth in a 4–0 triumph at Maccabi, making him Europe's top free-kick scorer of the season.

On 9 December, Willian scored his fifth Champions League goal of the season in a 2-0 victory over FC Porto in Chelsea's final group match, qualifying the team for the knockout stage as group winners.

He was named by UEFA as one of the top XI players of the Champions League group stage.

International career

Willian in action for Brazil in 2014

Willian with Fernandinho and Danilo.

As a member of the U-20 Brazil team, he made his debut in the 2007 South American Youth Championship against Chile on 7 January 2007, which Brazil went on to win. In 2007, he was also selected for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, but Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Spain.

On 10 November 2011, Willian made his senior debut for Brazil in a friendly match against Gabon. On 16 November 2013, he scored his first international goal in a 5–0 win over Honduras in Miami, Florida.

On 7 May 2014, Willian was selected as part of the 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He came on at half-time in extra time of the Round of 16 match against Chile in Belo Horizonte for his Chelsea teammate Oscar, and took a penalty in the shootout which he put wide of the goal, although Brazil advanced nonetheless.

At the 2015 Copa América, Willian assisted Roberto Firmino's decisive goal in the 2–1 win over Venezuela in Santiago, a result which sent Brazil into the quarter-finals as group winners.

Personal life

Willian is married to Vanessa Martins. They have twin daughters called Valentina and Manuella.

Career statistics

Club

As of 3 January 2016.

Club	Season	League		Cups		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Corinthians	2006	5	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	—		8	0
	2007	15	2	4	0	14	0	0	0	—		33	2
	Total	20	2	4	0	17	0	0	0	—		41	2
Shakhtar Donetsk	2007–08	20	0	6	1	—		2	0	—		28	1
	2008–09	29	5	5	1	—		17	2	1	0	52	8
	2009–10	22	5	4	1	—		13	1	0	0	39	7
	2010–11	28	3	4	2	—		10	2	1	1	43	8
	2011–12	27	5	3	0	—		6	1	1	0	37	6
	2012–13	14	2	2	1	—		6	4	0	0	22	7
	Total	140	20	24	6	—		54	10	3	1	221	37
Anzhi Makhachkala	2012–13	7	1	3	0	—		3	0	—		13	1
	2013–14	4	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		4	0
	Total	11	1	3	0	—		3	0	—		17	1
Chelsea	2013–14	25	4	3	0	3	0	11	0	—		42	4
	2014–15	36	2	2	1	4	0	7	1	—		49	4
	2015–16	19	3	0	0	1	0	6	5	1	0	27	8
	Total	80	9	5	1	8	0	24	6	1	0	118	16
Career total		251	32	36	7	25	0	81	16	4	1	397	56

International

As of 13 October 2015

National team	Year	Major competition			Friendlies		Total
		Tournament	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Brazil	2011	-	0	0	2	0	2	0
	2013	-	0	0	2	1	2	1
	2014	2014 World Cup	5	0	9	3	14	3
	2015	2015 Copa América	6	2	6	0	12	2
	Total		11	2	19	4	30	6

International goals

Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first.

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 November 2013	Sun Life Stadium, Miami, United States	Honduras	4–0	5–0	Friendly
2.	3 June 2014	Estádio Serra Dourada, Goiânia, Brazil	Panama	4–0	4–0
3.	9 September 2014	Metlife Stadium, New Jersey, United States	Ecuador	1–0	1–0
4.	12 November 2014	Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Turkey	3–0	4–0
5.	13 October 2015	Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza, Brazil	Venezuela	1–0	3–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.				2–0

Honours

Club

Corinthians

• Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior: 2005

Shakhtar Donetsk

• Ukrainian Premier League: 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
• Ukrainian Cup: 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12
• Ukrainian Super Cup: 2008, 2010, 2012
• UEFA Cup: 2008–09

Chelsea

• Premier League: 2014–15
• Football League Cup: 2014–15

Country

Brazil U20

• South American Youth Championship: 2007

Brazil

• Superclásico de las Américas: 2014

Individual

• UEFA Champions League Team of the Group Stage: 2015

External links

• Official website
• Profile on Shakhtar official website
• Willan at Sambafoot (French)