Cristiano dos Santos Rodrigues
 |
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cristiano dos Santos Rodrigues | ||
| Date of birth | 3 June 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2002 | NAC | 70 | (18) |
| 2002–2006 | Roda JC | 99 | (34) |
| 2006–2007 | Basel | 7 | (1) |
| 2007 | → Willem II (loan) | 12 | (5) |
| 2007–2008 | Willem II | 13 | (1) |
| 2008–2010 | Adelaide United | 49 | (11) |
| 2010–2011 | Tarxien Rainbows | 27 | (8) |
| 2011–2012 | White City | 7 | (4) |
| 2012–2013 | C.D. Olimpia | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 March 2012. |
|||
Cristiano dos Santos Rodrigues (born 3 June 1981), commonly known as Cristiano, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a striker.
Cristiano began his club career with Dutch club NAC Breda. He signed his first professional contract with Breda at age 16. Cristiano was impressive, without being a prolific goal scorer and spent four years with Breda before moving to fellow Dutch side Roda JC.
Cristiano's performances with Breda impressed Roda manager Wiljan Vloet who was desperate to bring the Brazilian to the club. Cristiano averaged 0.34 goals a game in his four-year stint with Roda.
After eight seasons in the Netherlands, Cristiano sought a new challenge in a foreign country and jumped at the opportunity to join Swiss giants FC Basel. He played his team debut on 10 September 2006 as Basel won 2:1 at home against FC Zürich in the St. Jakob-Park. Cristiano struggled to command a regular starting spot in to the side (though did win the Swiss Cup), and eventually went on loan back to the Netherlands with Willem II of Tilburg. His loan spell with Willem II was very successful, scoring 5 goals in 12 appearances. Willem II made Cristiano's move permanent at the end of the 2006–07 season.
Cristiano was unable to capture his form from his loan spell the previous season. Despite being well known in the Netherlands, he received tentative interest from other Dutch clubs due to his non-EU status requiring a high minimum salary, and began seeking options of regular football elsewhere.
Cristiano moved to Australia to join A-League side Adelaide United at the start of the 2008–09 season. Adelaide had lost Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite in the off-season and were in desperate need for a permanent striker. After scoring on his debut in a pre-season match, Cristiano made his A-League debut in a 1–0 victory over Perth Glory. Cristiano was impressive in his debut, setting up the winning goal scored by Travis Dodd.
...
Wikipedia