Name Ednilson Mendes Role Footballer 1999–2000 Roma | Height 1.71 m | |
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Full name Ednilson Pedro Rocha Andrade Mendes Date of birth (1982-09-25) 25 September 1982 (age 33) | ||
Playing position | ||
Ednilson Pedro Rocha Andrade Mendes (born 25 September 1982), known simply as Ednilson, is a Bissau-Guinean former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Club career
Ednilson was born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, moving to Portugal at an early age. Not yet 17, he was bought by Italy's A.S. Roma, but in January 2001 moved to F.C. Alverca for 618 million lire, after he refused to extend his initial contract. Without no official appearances, he was sold to S.L. Benfica.
With the Lisbon club, Ednilson was relatively used during two seasons, after which he was loaned to fellow Primeira Liga sides Vitória S.C. and Gil Vicente FC, playing with the latter precisely as Benfica won the national league after 11 years. After almost two years at OFI Crete (only 17 matches combined) he spent some months without a club, after which he rejoined countryman Almami Moreira at FK Partizan – both were youth graduates at Boavista FC – helping the Belgrade team to the double in his short spell.
Ednilson then played one year in Cyprus with AEK Larnaca FC. On 27 November 2009, he signed a 1½ year contract with FC Dinamo Tbilisi.
On 21 February 2012, Ednilson changed clubs and countries once again, signing for Vasas SC in Budapest for five months. He was released at the end of the campaign (which ended in relegation), with no official appearances to his credit.