Place of birth Cuiaba, Brazil Name Vanderson de 1999 Pelotas | 1998 Internacional Height 1.83 m Years Team Role Footballer | |
Full name Vanderson Valter de Almeida Date of birth (1978-01-15) 15 January 1978 (age 37) | ||
Current team Gremio Esportivo Anapolis | ||
Vanderson Válter de Almeida (born 15 January 1978 in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso), known as Vandinho, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a central midfielder.
He spent most of his professional career in Portugal, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 182 games and nine goals over the course of eight seasons.
Football career
After an unsuccessful spell at Sport Club Internacional, Vandinho played mainly with modest clubs in his country: Grêmio Esportivo Brasil, Guarani Futebol Clube, Santa Cruz Futebol Clube, Criciúma Esporte Clube and Grêmio Esportivo Inhumense, moving in 2002–03 to Portugal with Rio Ave F.C. and helping the Vila do Conde team return to the Primeira Liga in his first season.
For the 2004–05 campaign, Vandinho joined S.C. Braga, being an everpresent midfield fixture as the Minho side achieved two consecutive fourth-league places from 2005 to 2007. During his second year he contributed with 31 games and three goals, including in both matches against former team Rio Ave (2–1 away, 5–0 at home).
In February 2010, as he continued to be an automatic first-choice and Braga led the league, Vandinho received a three-month ban for his actions in a scuffle during a 2–0 home win over S.L. Benfica late in the previous year, effectively ending his season as they were eventually surpassed in the table by the opponents in that game.
Vandinho helped Braga reach the UEFA Europa League final in 2010–11, scoring through a header in the semi-finals' first leg, a 1–2 away loss against Benfica (2–2 aggregate win). In late August 2011, after nearly one full decade in the same country, the 33-year-old joined Al-Sharjah SCC in the United Arab Emirates, for an undisclosed fee.