Itaparica (footballer)

Manoel dos Santos Filho

Personal information
Full name	Manoel dos Santos Filho
Date of birth	8 July 1980
Place of birth	Itaparica, Brazil
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder, Forward
Club information
Current team	Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard
Number	10
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1999	Brasília
2000	XV de Caraguatatuba
2001	Fraiburgo
2002	Tupã
2002–2003	Cruzeiro
2004	Portuguesa Santista
2005	Avaí
2006	Anapolina
2006–2007	Paysandu
2007–2008	South China	15	(3)
2008–2012	→ TSW Pegasus (loan)	69	(43)
2012–2013	South China	17	(11)
2013–2014	Eastern Salon	16	(4)
2014–2015	South China	21	(9)
2016–	Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard	5	(0)
National team^‡
2016–	Hong Kong	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 April 2016. † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 March 2016

Manoel dos Santos Filho (born 8 July 1980), commonly known as Itaparica, is a Hong Kong football player who plays for China League One club Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard. He plays as an Attacking midfielder and Forward. Itaparica is dangerous both in-and-outside of the box. In September 2014, Itaparica applied for the HKSAR passport and issued on 4 November 2015, he is able to play for the Hong Kong national team. On 31 December 2015, he got the first cap of Hong Kong in the 38th Guangdong–Hong Kong Cup.

Club career

South China

Itaparica played in Campeonato Brasileiro Série A for several clubs including Cruzeiro, Avai and Portuguesa. He joined South China^[1] and made his debut for the team on the away league game against Lanwa Redbull on 15 September 2007, where the team won by 3–1. He scored his first goal for the team in the league match against Workable on 26 September 2007, where the team won by 6–1.

TSW pegasus

Since the 2009–10 season, Itaparica has been top scorer in Hong Kong three years in a row (currently leading the table). It was an outstanding achievement considering he played most of the time as an attacking midfielder for TSW Pegasus. He is able to score in all competitions he played with an amazing scoring percentage nearly 60%. With such superb and consistence performance he was named 'Hong Kong Best Eleven' in last 3 seasons. This article was not written by his agent.

South China

In the 2012–13 season, Itaparica rejoined South China.^[2]

Eastern

On 11 June 2013, Eastern Salon announced their 22-men squad for the following season. Itaparica joined them after South China opted not to extend his contract.^[3]

South China

Itaparica rejoins South China for the third time in summer 2014.

International career

Itaparica was born and raised in Brazil, but became a naturalized Hong Kong citizen after years of residency. On3 January 2016, Itaparica scored his first goal for Hong Kong in 38th Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup, an unofficial tournament. He made his formal debut for Hong Kong in a FIFA World Cup qualifying 2-0 loss against Qatar.^[4]

Career statistics in Hong Kong

As of 29 December 2015

Club	Season	League		Senior Shield		League Cup		FA Cup		AFC Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
South China	2007–08	13 (2)	3	1 (1)	0	4 (2)	1	2 (0)	1	N/A	N/A	20 (5)	5
TSW Pegasus	2008–09	19 (0)	8	4 (0)	4	4 (0)	1	4 (0)	3	N/A	N/A	31 (0)	16
	2009–10	17 (1)	13	2 (0)	1	0 (0)	0	2 (0)	4	N/A	N/A	21 (1)	18
	2010–11	16 (2)	11	1 (0)	0	3 (0)	2	2 (0)	4	6	2	28 (2)	19
	2011–12	14 (0)	11	6 (0)	4	1 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	N/A	N/A	21 (0)	15
South China	2012–13	17 (0)	11	3 (1)	1	N/A	N/A	2 (1)	1	N/A	N/A	22 (2)	13
Eastern Salon	2013–14	13 (3)	4	3 (0)	0	N/A	N/A	1 (2)	0	N/A	N/A	17 (5)	4
South China	2014–15	14 (1)	4	0 (1)	0	2 (1)	1	2 (0)	0	N/A	N/A	18 (3)	5
	2015–16	4 (2)	3	0 (0)	0	2 (0)	1	0 (0)	0	N/A	N/A	6 (2)	4
All		138	68	23	10	19	6	18	13	6	2	204	99

References

1. Scaafc.com 最新球員陣容 (Chinese)
2. 2012–13 組軍消息 – 足主的話 – STEVEN LO'S BLOG
3. "東方公佈下季大軍名單！". fanpiece.com. 11 June 2013.
4. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=275171/match=300317414/index.html

External links

• Player Information on hkfa.com
• Top Scorer Information on hkfa.com
• Hong Kong Best Eleven on hkfa.com(in Chinese)
• Player Information on tswpegasus.com
• F&Z Sports Brazil: ITAPARICA