Name Vanderlei Silva Years Team Height 1.75 m Role Footballer | 1997–1998 Guarani 1994–1997 America-RN | |
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Full name Vanderlei Fernandes Silva Date of birth (1975-07-14) 14 July 1975 (age 40) Place of birth Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil | ||
Vanderlei Fernandes Silva (born 14 July 1975), known as Derlei, is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a striker.
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He spent most of his 16-year professional career in Portugal (one full decade), having represented all three most important clubs in the country and amassing Primeira Liga totals of 187 games and 70 goals.
With Porto, Derlei won eight major titles including two leagues, one Champions League and one UEFA Cup.
Club career
Born in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Derlei started playing in the lower levels of football in Brazil, but joined Portugal's U.D. Leiria in 1999, going on to appear in 91 Primeira Liga games with the club and score 42 goals. In his last season, as they overachieved for a final seventh place led by young manager José Mourinho, he netted 21 times.
Derlei signed with FC Porto in the summer of 2002, playing an important part in a successful squad that was also managed by Mourinho. He was one of the top scorers in a side that conquered the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League in consecutive seasons – he scored twice in the 2003 UEFA Cup final against Celtic (adding another brace in the 4–1 semi-final win over S.S. Lazio) – being nicknamed "Ninja" while playing for the northern side; the following campaign, as he was leading the domestic goalscoring chart, he suffered a severe knee injury which rendered him unavailable for several months.
In January 2005, after disciplinary problems related to his lateness in arriving from the winter break, Derlei was sold to FC Dynamo Moscow for €7 million, being granted Portuguese citizenship shortly thereafter. After two years of Russian football where he was always one of the top five best goalscorers, he moved to S.L. Benfica on loan in January 2007; on 2 February he played his first league match for the club, a 0–0 home draw against Boavista FC.
In June 2007, Derlei left Benfica for Lisbon rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal, signing a contract until 2009 after being freed from his two-year contract with Dynamo Moscow – he was, therefore, one of the few players to have represented the Big Three of Portugal. He would, however, spend most of 2007–08 on the sidelines, with another serious knee injury.
Derlei made a comeback to competition when, on 16 April 2008, he entered the field for Leandro Romagnoli in the 61st minute during the semi-final of the Taça de Portugal against previous team Benfica, managing to score only 18 minutes later to make it 3–2 to Sporting, in a match which eventually ended with a 5–3 win as the Lions went on to win the tournament against another former club of the player, Porto.
In his second season, Derlei fought with Hélder Postiga for a chance to play alongside Liédson, and scored some goals, including an important one in a 1–0 home triumph over FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, which sealed Sporting's group stage qualification on 4 November 2008. At the end of the campaign he refused to accept the club's offer to renew the link, on the grounds the figures offered were not convincing, thus being made a free agent.
After some consideration, 34-year-old Derlei joined Esporte Clube Vitória on 27 August 2009, in a one-year deal. He made his competitive debut on 13 September in a match against league leader Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras: having taken the pitch in the second half, he scored the 3–2 winner. Shortly after he switched to modest Madureira Esporte Clube, returning to a team he had represented more than one decade ago.