Serginho (footballer, born 1971)

For other people named Serginho, see Serginho.
Serginho

Serginho with Milan in 2007
Personal information
Full name Sérgio Cláudio dos Santos
Date of birth (1971-06-27) June 27, 1971
Place of birth Nilópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Left back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1992–1993 Itaperuna 7 (0)
1993–1994 Bahia 11 (1)
1994–1995 Flamengo 17 (3)
1995–1996 Cruzeiro 23 (8)
1996–1999 São Paulo 58 (21)
1999–2008 Milan 185 (18)
Total 301 (51)
National team
1998–2001 Brazil 10 (1[1])

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Sérgio Cláudio dos Santos (Serginho for short; born June 27, 1971 in Nilópolis, Brazil) is a former association footballer, who last played as a left winger and left back for A.C. Milan, winning the Champions League twice with the club, in 2003 and 2007. He also represented Brazil at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, and was part of the team that won the 1999 Copa América.

Style of play

Serginho was an incredibly fast and hard-working, offensive-minded player, who could play either as left back, or on the left wing. He maintained his extraordinary pace and stamina well into his mid-late 30's. He was also an excellent crosser of the ball, which allowed him to regularly contribute to his team's offence with several assists. His nickname throughout his career was Il Concorde (The Concorde), due to his quick and tireless runs down the left flank of the pitch.[2][3]

Career

He played for Cruzeiro EC and Bahia, and moved to AC Milan from São Paulo FC in 1999. At Milan, Serginho was always a fringe player, starting on the bench but often being the first substitute. He contributed to Milan's 2003 UEFA Champions League victory over Juventus, scoring the first of Milan's three penalty scores in the shootout. 2005 was a reversal of fortune as Milan made the Champions League final again but lost on penalties to Liverpool, with Serginho whistling his shot over the crossbar.

The apex of Serginho's Milan career was when he scored a goal and contributed three assists in a 6–0 thrashing of crosstown rivals Internazionale on May 11, 2001.

He earned ten caps with the Brazilian national team, scoring one goal. He would undoubtedly have won more caps, if not for the ever-present Roberto Carlos as left-back during Serginho's whole career.

On May 16, 2008 it was announced that Serginho and compatriot Cafu would be leaving Milan at the end of the season. Serginho also immediately announced his retirement at the end of the season. On May 18 he played the final minutes of the match against Udinese and appeared quite moved at the end of the game.

After retirement

On September 4, 2011, Serginho played for Milan Glorie (combination of former AC Milan players) in an exhibition match against Indonesia All-Star Legend (combination of former Indonesian football players) at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium where he netted four times in a 5-1 victory. Another Milan Glorie's goal was scored by Dida who was re-deployed as striker. Indonesia All-Star Legend's consolation goal was scored by Ricky Yacobi.

Honours

Club

Bahia
Cruzeiro
São Paulo
A.C. Milan

International

Brazil

References

  1. ↑ 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup Final
  2. ↑ Giancarla Ghisi; Roberto Perrone; Giorgio Rondelli (13 September 1999). "Corre il Milan a trazione brasiliana" (in Italian). Il Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  3. ↑ Fabio Bianchi; Andrea Masala (9 February 2000). "Super Serginho" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.