Name William de Playing position Role Footballer | Years Team Height 1.79 m 1985–1987 Botafogo | |
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Full name William Amaral de Andrade Date of birth (1967-12-27) 27 December 1967 (age 48) | ||
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ||
William Amaral de Andrade (born 27 December 1967), known simply as William, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a central defender, and a current manager.
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Playing career
William was born in Rio de Janeiro. During his extensive career he played most notably for S.L. Benfica, from where he arrived in 1990 after playing one season apiece with two other Portuguese clubs, C.D. Nacional and Vitória de Guimarães.
During his five-year spell, William helped Benfica to two Primeira Liga championships, forming an efficient partnership with countryman Ricardo Gomes after arriving as a replacement for another Brazilian, Carlos Mozer. In the 1993–94 campaign he did not miss one single game, and still scored four goals.
After one season in France at SC Bastia, William moved to Spain with SD Compostela, being fairly used during four years (although he was never an automatic first-choice), two in La Liga and two in the second division. He then returned to Portugal and Vitória Guimarães, already the bearer of a passport from the country, and retired after two slow years in June 2002, aged nearly 35.
Managerial career
From December 2004 to May 2005 with SC Valenciano, and during one month in 2012 with Vilaverdense FC, William worked in the Portuguese third level. He subsequently had two spells with former club Compostela, who now competed in the regional championships.
In 2016, William was named head coach of newly promoted Gibraltar Premier Division side Mons Calpe, appointing Gibraltar under-19 manager Terrence Jolley as his assistant and overseeing the arrivals of former professionals including Hugo Colace and Michele Di Piedi. On 17 January 2017, following a defeat against Glacis United, he was fired.