Weldon (footballer)

Brazilian footballer

WeldonPersonal information

Full name|  Weldon Santos de Andrade
Date of birth|  (1980-08-06) 6 August 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth|  Santo André, Brazil
Height|  1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Position(s)|  Striker
Youth career
1998|  Guarani
1999|  América-SP
2000|  Santos
Senior career*
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Gls)
1999|  América-SP|  |
2000–2003|  Santos|  11|  (1)
2001–2002|  → Brasiliense (loan)|  48|  (22)
2003|  → Sport Recife (loan)|  47|  (11)
2004|  Ponte Preta|  34|  (10)
2004–2005|  Al Nassr|  36|  (9)
2005–2009|  Cruzeiro|  27|  (5)
2006|  → Sochaux (loan)|  12|  (2)
2006|  → Troyes (loan)|  3|  (0)
2007|  → Sport Recife (loan)|  34|  (6)
2007–2008|  → Belenenses (loan)|  27|  (13)
2009|  → Sport Recife (loan)|  14|  (6)
2009–2011|  Benfica|  16|  (5)
2011–2013|  CFR Cluj|  24|  (9)
2012|  → Changchun Yatai (loan)|  21|  (6)
2013–2014|  Criciúma|  2|  (0)
2014|  Anápolis|  8|  (0)
2014–2015|  Olhanense|  22|  (2)
2016|  Brasiliense|  3|  (1)
2017|  Independente de Limeira|  9|  (4)
2017|  Desportiva Ferroviária|  8|  (0)
2017|  Taboão da Serra|  0|  (0)
2018|  Juventus-SP|  8|  (0)
2019|  Batatais|  0|  (0)
2020|  Santos-AP|  8|  (1)
Total|  |  422|  (113)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Weldon Santos de Andrade (born 6 August 1980), known simply as Weldon, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a striker.

## Club career

[edit]

Weldon was born in Santo André, São Paulo. In his early career, he represented four clubs in quick succession: Santos FC, Brasiliense Futebol Clube, Sport Club do Recife and Associação Atlética Ponte Preta, before moving abroad in 2004 with Al Nassr FC of Saudi Arabia.

In the following year, Weldon signed for Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. He went on to be loaned several times for the duration of his contract, including twice in the French Ligue 1, with FC Sochaux-Montbéliard and Troyes AC, where the player was rarely used – only ten games and one goal in two season halves combined.

After an aborted move to Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas,[1] Weldon agreed to a two-year deal at S.L. Benfica of Portugal (he had already played in the country the previous year, with C.F. Os Belenenses[2]) on 22 July 2009.[3] He made his official debut on 16 August, rescuing a point at home against C.S. Marítimo for the season's opener (1–1);[4] during the team's victorious campaign he served almost exclusively as backup to Óscar Cardozo and Javier Saviola, but made the most of his minutes,[5] for instance scoring twice in a 4–2 win at Associação Naval 1º de Maio on 5 April 2010[6] and adding another brace in another away triumph (3–2 against Académica de Coimbra).[7]

Weldon only appeared in eight official matches in 2010–11, four in the league, totalling less than 100 minutes overall. In the following years he played in Romania and China, returning to his homeland at the age of 33 and continuing his career mainly in the lower leagues and amateur football; this was interspersed with a spell in the Portuguese Segunda Liga, with S.C. Olhanense.[8]

## Honours

[edit]

Sport Recife

* Campeonato Pernambucano: 2003, 2007, 2009

Benfica

* Primeira Liga: 2009–10
* Taça da Liga: 2009–10, 2010–11

CFR Cluj

* Liga I: 2011–12

## References

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1. ^ Acerto com Weldon se complica e Botafogo pode tentar Victor Simões (Deal with Weldon difficult, Botafogo can go for Victor Simões) Archived 21 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine; Sidney Rezende, 7 January 2009 (Portuguese)
2. ^ Weldon assina por 4 anos (Weldon signs for 4 years); Record, 24 August 2007 (in Portuguese)
3. ^ Weldon já cá está (Here is Weldon); Record, 22 July 2009 (in Portuguese)
4. ^ Marítimo vai à Luz impôr empate (Marítimo go to Luz and take draw); Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, 16 August 2009 (in Portuguese)
5. ^ Weldon a titular com Saviola no banco (Weldon starts as Saviola takes the bench); SAPO, 24 April 2010 (in Portuguese)
6. ^ Naval-Benfica, 2–4 (crónica) (Naval-Benfica, 2–4 (match report)); Mais Futebol, 5 April 2010 (in Portuguese)
7. ^ Weldon, o herói improvável (Weldon, the unlikely hero); Público, 18 April 2010 (in Portuguese)
8. ^ Olhanense inicia época com plantel ainda incompleto (Olhanense start season with incomplete squad); SAPO, 7 July 2014 (in Portuguese)

## External links

[edit]

* Association football portal
* Brazil portal

* Weldon at Sambafoot (archived)
* Weldon at ForaDeJogo (archived)
* Weldon at Soccerway

*[Apps]: League appearances
*[Gls]: League goals