Liédson

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is da Silva and the second or paternal family name is Muniz.

Liédson da Silva Muniz (born 17 December 1977), known simply as Liédson, is a former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Liédson

Liédson playing for Sporting in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Liédson da Silva Muniz
Date of birth	(1977-12-17) 17 December 1977 (age 46)
Place of birth	Cairu, Brazil
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–1999	Poções
2000	Prudentópolis	15	(5)
2001–2002	Coritiba	9	(5)
2002–2003	Flamengo	24	(14)
2003	Corinthians	18	(10)
2003–2011	Sporting CP	214	(116)
2011–2012	Corinthians	34	(13)
2012–2013	Flamengo	17	(4)
2013	→ Porto (loan)	6	(0)
Total		337	(167)
International career
2009–2010	Portugal	15	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nicknamed Levezinho ("Slender one") due to his light frame (63 kg),^[1] he spent the bulk of his professional career in Portugal representing Sporting CP, scoring nearly 120 goals in more than 200 competitive matches, winning four major titles with the club and helping it to four Champions League participations.

Born in Brazil, Liédson became a Portuguese citizen in 2009 and appeared with the national team at the 2010 World Cup, already in his 30s.

Club career

Early years

Born in Cairu, Bahia, Liédson started his professional career at Coritiba Foot Ball Club, aged 22. Before that he played amateur football on weekends, working at a supermarket during the week.^[1]

Liédson continued his career at Clube de Regatas do Flamengo and Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, traditional big clubs at Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo respectively, with relative individual success.

Sporting

Liédson was signed by Sporting CP for €2 million on 31 August 2003, giving manager Fernando Santos a new option following injuries and sales.^[2] On his debut, the "S" in his name was printed in reverse, which he took as a good omen and maintained it like that for the rest of his career.^[3]

Liédson was crowned top scorer in the Primeira Liga in his second season, scoring 25 goals^[1] while also netting nine in 14 games as his team reached the final of the UEFA Cup – this included a hat-trick in a 4–0 win at FC Dinamo Tbilisi in the group stage.^[4] The following year he finished second in the scoring race, scoring 15 times from 31 appearances (28 of which he played the full 90 minutes) with an impressive mark of 2,899 minutes played; he was top scorer again in 2006–07, but the Lions only conquered one domestic cup during that timeframe.

Considered by many as one of the greatest strikers in Sporting history since the early performances of Fernando Peyroteo, Héctor Yazalde, Manuel Fernandes, Rui Jordão, Fernando Gomes, Alberto Acosta and Mário Jardel, Liédson was also regarded as the club's top trademark player since the departures of Luís Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Ricardo Quaresma. He also ranked team top scorer in the UEFA Champions League, after scoring the lonely goal in the 2008–09 group stage contest against FC Shakhtar Donetsk on 22 October 2008.^[5] In the last group stage match, he also found the net – in a 2–5 home loss to FC Barcelona – for the 19th time in European competition, another club best;^[6] on 1 November he appeared in his 150th league match with the green-and-white striped jersey, 213 overall.

On 17 January 2010, after having missed one month due to injury, Liédson came from the bench to score twice, helping Sporting overcome C.D. Nacional 3–2 at home.^[7] On 7 March, all of the game's goals were his as his team beat last-placed C.F. Os Belenenses 4–0 away.^[8]

Liédson entered Sporting's history books on 21 October 2010 as he scored the club's 200th goal in European competitions, netting twice in a 5–1 home win against K.A.A. Gent for the Europa League.^[9]

Return to Brazil

On 31 January 2011, after having appeared in 310 official matches with Sporting, scoring 174 goals, 33-year-old Liédson returned to his homeland, signing with former club Corinthians.^[10] He was still allowed to play with the Lions the following Friday, starting and scoring twice against Associação Naval 1º de Maio, in a 3–3 home draw.^[11]

Liédson contributed with ten games in the 2012 Copa Libertadores campaign, scoring once in the 6–0 group stage home win against Deportivo Táchira of Venezuela (immediately after missing a penalty kick)^[12] as the Timão won the continental competition for the first time in its history. On 31 July, he left Corinthians after both club and player decided not to renew his contract.^[13]

On 2 August 2012, Liédson agreed on a return to Flamengo, signing until December of the following year.^[14] In late January of the following year he came back to Portugal, joining FC Porto on a loan until the end of the season.^[15] On 11 May, he was involved in the goal that clinched the title for the Dragons against rivals S.L. Benfica in O Clássico; put on as a substitute by manager Vítor Pereira alongside Kelvin, he assisted the youngster's added-time winner.^[16][17]

International career

Liédson expressed interest in playing for the Portugal national team despite being Brazilian-born. He stated: "If one day I was called up to play, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second, as I feel right at home in Portugal." After the retirement of striker Pauleta, Liédson was one of the main candidates in line for succession, especially after countrymen Deco and Pepe's previous switches. Liédson's naturalisation process created some controversy, as the Portuguese Footballers' Union in August 2009 publicly objected the Portuguese Football Federation's (FPF) plans of expediting his citizenship.^[18]

After six years of residence in Portugal, Liédson received citizenship, being eligible to play for the country.^[19] On 26 August 2009, he was called up by Carlos Queiroz for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Denmark and Hungary and made his debut against the former on 5 September, coming on as a substitute for Tiago at half-time. After having been booked, Liédson scored the equaliser in the 85th minute, heading the ball in from a corner.^[20]

Liédson started in Portugal's World Cup opener, a 0–0 draw against Ivory Coast.^[21] He lost his place to Hugo Almeida for the following match, but found the net twice in a 7–0 routing of North Korea on 21 June.^[10][22]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[23][24]

Club	Season	League		State League		National cup		Other[lower-alpha 1]		Continental		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Prudentópolis	2000	0	0	15	5	–		–		–		15	5
Coritiba	2001	9	5	–		–		–		–		9	5
	2002	–		18	15	2	0	–		–		20	15
	Total	9	5	18	15	2	0	0	0	0	0	29	20
Flamengo	2002	24	14	–		–		–		–		24	14
Corinthians	2003	14	10	11	6	–		–		8	6	33	22
Sporting	2003–04	30	15	–		2	1	–		4	3	36	19
	2004–05	31	25	–		2	1	–		14	9	47	35
	2005–06	31	15	–		5	2	–		2	0	38	17
	2006–07	28	15	–		6	6	–		5	0	39	21
	2007–08	26	11	–		4	3	6	4	11	6	47	24
	2008–09	26	17	–		2	2	3	4	4	2	35	25
	2009–10	28	13	–		3	3	2	2	13	4	46	22
	2010–11	14	5	–		3	2	2	1	6	2	25	10
	Total	214	116	0	0	27	20	13	11	59	26	313	173
Corinthians	2011	28	12	16	11	–		–		–		44	23
	2012	6	1	11	2	–		–		11	1	28	4
	Total	34	13	27	13	0	0	0	0	11	1	72	27
Flamengo	2012	17	4	0	0	–		–		–		17	4
Porto (loan)	2012–13	6	0	–		0	0	1	0	0	0	7	0
Career total		318	162	68	39	29	20	14	11	78	33	601	266

1. Includes the Taça da Liga and Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

International

Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Liédson goal.

List of international goals scored by Liédson

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	5 September 2009	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	Denmark	1–1	1–1	2010 World Cup qualification
2	10 October 2009	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal	Hungary	2–0	3–0	2010 World Cup qualification
3	3 March 2010	Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal	China	2–0	2–0	Friendly
4	21 June 2010	Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa	North Korea	5–0	7–0	2010 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Corinthians

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2011
• Campeonato Paulista: 2003
• Copa Libertadores: 2012

Sporting

• Taça de Portugal: 2006–07, 2007–08
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2007, 2008
• Taça da Liga: runner-up 2007–08, 2008–09
• UEFA Cup: runner-up 2004–05

Porto

• Primeira Liga: 2012–13
• Taça da Liga: runner-up 2012–13

Individual

• Copa Sul-Minas top scorer: 2002
• Bola de Prata: 2004–05, 2006–07
• SJPF Player of the Month: January 2006,^[25] April 2007,^[26] January 2009,^[27] April 2009,^[28] March 2010^[29] (record)
• Campeonato Paulista top scorer: 2011

References

1. Liedson, cameras, action!; UEFA, 17 May 2005
2. Sporting snare Liedson; UEFA, 31 August 2003
3. "Liedson com nome bem escrito na camisola" [Liedson with name spelt correctly on his shirt]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 5 September 2009. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
4. Ravdin, Eugene (25 November 2004). "Liedson leads Sporting rout". UEFA. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
5. Liedson lauds Sporting spirit; UEFA, 23 October 2008
6. Liedson happy to settle at Sporting; UEFA, 10 July 2009
7. "Liedson bisa no regresso" [Liedson grabs brace in return] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 17 January 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
8. Liedson hits four for Sporting; Benfica go three points clear at table top Archived 19 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine; PortuGOAL, 7 March 2010
9. "Sporting goleia Gent por 5–1 e fica com um 'pé' na fase seguinte" [Sporting rout Gent 5–1 and is all but qualified to next stage] (in Portuguese). DNotícias. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
10. "Sporting striker Liedson returns to Corinthians". The Guardian. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
11. "Liedson until the bitter end". PortuGOAL. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
12. "Após erro, Liedson conclui: "Não sei bater pênalti mesmo"" [After mistake, Liedson concludes: "I'm hopeless at penalties"] (in Portuguese). Gazeta Esportiva. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
13. "Obrigado, Liédson!" [Thanks, Liédson] (in Portuguese). SC Corinthians. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
14. "Flamengo acerta a contratação de Liédson até o fim de 2013" [Flamengo complete signing of Liédson until the end of 2013] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
15. "Liedson completes FC Porto move". PortuGOAL. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
16. Ruela, João (11 May 2013). "Kelvin, o "herói" do Dragão derruba Benfica no fim" [Kelvin, the Dragão's hero, sinks Benfica at the end]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 October 2019.
17. Frias, Rui (10 June 2017). ""Ainda hoje não sei explicar por que meti o Liedson e o Kelvin"" ["Even today I don't know how to explain why I put Liedson and Kelvin on"]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 October 2019.
18. Santos Lourenço, Eduardo (28 August 2009). "Football Union contest Liedson's naturalisation". Smashing English. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
19. "FIFA Status (2009 Edition): Regulations governing the application of the statutes Article 17" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
20. Liedson pulls Portugal from brink; UEFA, 5 September 2009
21. "Ivory Coast outplays Portugal, but earns scoreless draw in opener". ESPN Soccernet. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
22. "Portugal pours it on in second half". The New York Times. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
23. Liédson at ForaDeJogo (archived)
24. "Liédson". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
25. "Liedson recebe nesta sexta-feira prémio "Jogador do Mês" de Janeiro" [Liedson receives this friday the January «Player of the Month» award] (in Portuguese). SJPF. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
26. "Liedson recebeu "Troféu Mazda/Jogador do Mês"" [Liedson received "Mazda Trophy/Player of the Month"] (in Portuguese). SJPF. 10 May 2007. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
27. "Liedson (Sporting) ganha Prémio KIA / Jogador do Mês" [Liedson (Sporting) wins KIA / Player of the Month award] (in Portuguese). SJPF. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
28. "Liedson (Sporting) recebeu Prémio KIA / Jogador do Mês" [Liedson (Sporting) wins KIA / Player of the Month award] (in Portuguese). SJPF. 22 May 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
29. "Liedson ganha prémio "Melhor Jogador do Mês/Betclic"" [Liedson wins "Player of the Month / BetClic" award] (in Portuguese). SJPF. 12 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.

External links

• Liédson at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Liédson at National-Football-Teams.com
• Liédson – FIFA competition record (archived)