Name Wenderson Said Playing position Role Footballer | Years Team Height 1.74 m 1994 Sport Position Forward | |
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Full name Wenderson de Arruda Said Date of birth (1975-04-17) 17 April 1975 (age 40) | ||
Place of birth Guiratinga, Brazil | ||
Wenderson de Arruda Said (born 17 April 1975), commonly known as Wender, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a forward.
He spent the vast majority of his professional career in Portugal, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 190 games and 41 goals over the course of seven seasons and representing in the competition Braga, Sporting and Belenenses.
Wender retired in 2013 at the age of 38, after spending four years in Cyprus with three teams.
Football career
Born in Guiratinga, Mato Grosso of Lebanese descent, Wender started playing professionally with Sport Club do Recife, then moved to Portugal with Associação Naval 1º de Maio after signing in 1999 from modest Esporte Clube Democrata. He spent three additional seasons at S.C. Braga, being an instrumental attacking figure in the Minho team's Primeira Liga and UEFA Cup consolidation.
Wender joined Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal for the 2005–06 campaign. Although he appeared scarcely for the Lisbon side, he scored in both legs of a UEFA Cup tie against Halmstads BK (2–1 away win, 2–3 home loss, subsequent elimination).
However, in January 2006, Wender was involved in a two-way loan deal as right-back Abel moved to Sporting and he returned for a second Braga spell. The loan was made permanent in 2006–07, and he went on to net eight league goals in an eventual fourth-place finish.
In July 2008, Wender signed with C.F. Os Belenenses' Brazilian contingent on a season-long loan. In the following year, after the capital-based club initially dropped down a level – later reinstated – Braga sold the 34-year-old to Ermis Aradippou in the Cypriot First Division, and he remained in that country several years.