Role Footballer Number 84 Height 1.77 m | 2001–2002 Rio Negro Weight 66 kg Name Marcelo da Date joined 2011 | |
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Full name Marcelo Nascimento da Costa Date of birth (1984-08-24) 24 August 1984 (age 31) Place of birth Manacapuru, Amazonas, Brazil Current team PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (#84 / Midfielder) Similar People Virgil Misidjan, Juninho Quixada, Vladislav Stoyanov, Mihail Aleksandrov, Svetoslav Dyakov | ||
Playing position | ||
Marcelo Nascimento da Costa (born 24 August 1984 in Manacapuru, Amazonas) commonly known as Marcelinho, is a Brazilian-born naturalized Bulgarian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad and the Bulgaria national team.
Contents
- Early career
- Mogi Mirim
- Bragantino
- Ludogorets Razgrad
- International career
- Club
- International goals
- Inidividual
- References
Early career
Marcelinho joined São Paulo as a seventeen-year-old, but he failed to break into the first-team. Since leaving São Paulo in early 2005 he has played for Cascavel, Santacruzense, São Caetano and Catanduvense. In 2008, Marcelinho joined Al Nasr in Dubai.
Mogi Mirim
After one season, Marcelinho left the UAE League side Al Nasr and signed for Mogi Mirim. In the first half of 2010 he earned 15 appearances in the Campeonato Paulista. Marcelinho made his debut in a 5–1 away loss against Palmeiras on 16 January 2010.
Bragantino
In July 2010, Marcelinho signed with Clube Atlético Bragantino, where he played 24 matches and scored four goals to the end of the season in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B. Marcelinho made his first-team debut in a 2–0 home defeat at Ponte Preta on 31 July. In 2011, he appeared 17 times for Bragantino in the Campeonato Paulista, scoring one goal. Marcelinho netted his first goal of 2011 as he scored the winning strike in a 2–1 home victory over Santos on 19 March.
Ludogorets Razgrad
On 12 May 2011, Marcelinho joined Bulgarian team Ludogorets Razgrad on a three-year deal and was assigned the number 84 jersey. Marcelinho's debut came in Ludogorets's opening match in the 2011–12 season, at home to Lokomotiv Plovdiv on 6 August. Two weeks later, on 20 August, he scored his first competitive goals for Ludogorets, netting twice in a 4–0 win over Vidima-Rakovski. On 16 May 2012, Marcelinho was named "Man of the match" in a 2–1 win against Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the 2012 Bulgarian Cup Final. He scored both Ludogorets goals late in the match to turn around what had appeared to be a certain defeat for Ludogorets at the hands of Lokomotiv. In the league, Marcelinho scored 9 goals and collected his first A Group title winner's medal at the end of the his first season in Bulgaria.
Marcelinho started the 2012–13 season by scoring the third goal in Ludogorets 3–1 win against Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the 2012 Bulgarian Supercup on 11 July. A week later, he scored his first-ever Champions League goal, opening the scoring in a 1–1 home draw against Dinamo Zagreb in their second qualifying round first leg tie. He ended the campaign with 9 goals in all competitions.
On 19 December 2013, Marcelinho was named the Best foreign player in the Bulgarian league.
On 1 October 2014, Marcelinho scored a stunning goal in the 6th minute during Ludogorets' home debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase against the current Champions League champion Real Madrid, but in an eventual 1–2 loss. A few days later, he signed a one-year contract extension, keeping him at Ludogorets until 2016. On 19 April 2015, Marcelinho made his 100th league appearance for Ludogorets in a 3–1 home win over Litex Lovech.
International career
On 24 January 2013, Marcelinho received a Bulgarian passport from the local authorities and became eligible to play for Bulgaria. He later stated in an interview that he would be happy to represent Bulgaria at international level.
On 7 March 2016, Marcelinho was called up for the first time to the Bulgarian national team for the friendly matches against Portugal and Macedonia. He scored on his international debut at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa against Portugal on 25 March, scoring the only goal for a 1–0 win.
Club
As of 22 September 2017