Name Joao da Position Forward 1997–1998 Ceara Weight 73 kg | Years Team Height 1.77 m Playing position Role Football player | |
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Full name Joao Soares da Mota Neto Date of birth (1980-11-21) 21 November 1980 (age 35) | ||
Place of birth Fortaleza-CE, Brazil Current team Clube Atletico Bragantino | ||
João Soares da Mota Neto (born 21 November 1980 in Fortaleza), also known as Mota, is a Brazilian football striker who last played for Ceará Sporting Club.
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Career
Mota began his career with Ceará Sporting Club in 1998, then went to play for La Liga side RCD Mallorca B from 1999 to 2000. However, in 2000, Mota went back to Brazil and played for Cruzeiro Esporte Clube scoring 32 goals in the league. In 2004, he went to the Far East where he played for South Korean professional league, K-League side Chunnam Dragons, finishing as the league's top scorer with 14 goals. In early 2005, Portuguese giant Sporting Lisbon loaned out Mota for his service. However, he could not make the same impact, and Mota returned to K-League in July. He now plays for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. His agent, since his move from Ceará to Cruzeiro in 2003, is Emerson Damasceno, from Brazil.
As soon as he moved on to Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma he became the best player for his club, scoring 7 goals in 19 matches. However, he suffered from a broken left ankle in the match against Gyeongnam FC in 2006, which forced him to be out of the pitch for several months. He then came back from injury at the time of Play-off season, and scored the winning goal against FC Seoul in semi-final, and two goals in the final against Suwon Samsung Bluewings.
Mota is considered the best striker in K-League. He is nicknamed "Motasin" (in Korean "Mota the god") by his fans.
From 2007 he consistently announced that he wants to be naturalized to become Korean citizen.
On 26 March 2009, Mota signed with Ceará until the end of the season, helping Ceará to be promoted to first division in Brazil.
On 28 December 2009, Mota came back to South Korea and joined Pohang Steelers. After spending a two-year at Pohang, he returned to Brazil for his family, whereas Pohang coaches and many fans persuaded him to stay.
In January 2012, Mota signed with Ceará Sporting Club, where he played for the third time in his career.