Luisão facts for kids
Luisão before a match with Brazil in 2006
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ânderson Luís da Silva | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 13 February 1981 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Amparo, São Paulo, Brazil | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.94 m | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Centre back | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Juventus-SP | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2003 | Cruzeiro | 62 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2018 | Benfica | 337 | (26) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 399 | (33) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Brazil U20 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2011 | Brazil | 44 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Ânderson Luís da Silva (born 13 February 1981), known as Luisão, is a Brazilian former professional footballer. He played as a centre back, which is a defender who plays in the middle of the field.
Luisão started his football journey at Juventus-SP in 1999. A year later, he moved to Cruzeiro, where he played for three seasons. From 2003 until he retired in 2018, he played for the Portuguese club Benfica. He played in 538 official matches for Benfica. He holds club records for playing the most international matches (127), winning the most major titles (20), and being the longest-serving captain (414 matches).
Luisão also played for the Brazilian national team 44 times. He played in two World Cups and three Copa América tournaments, scoring three goals for his country.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting in Brazil
Luisão was born in Amparo, São Paulo, Brazil. He played for Clube Atlético Juventus and Cruzeiro Esporte Clube in his home country. In his third season with Cruzeiro, he scored 6 goals in 24 matches, which was his best scoring record there.
Becoming a Benfica Legend
In the summer of 2003, Luisão moved to Europe. He joined the Portuguese club Benfica for about £890,000. It was tough for him to get used to the new country and team at first. He even thought about going back to Brazil. However, he scored in his very first league game, a 3–3 draw against C.F. Os Belenenses on 14 September. He finished his first season (2003–04) by winning the Taça de Portugal cup. Benfica beat their big rivals FC Porto 2–1 in the final.
During the 2004–05 season, Luisão played regularly as a central defender for Benfica. He played in 29 matches and helped Benfica win their first league title in 11 years. On 24 April 2005, he scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 win against G.D. Estoril Praia. On 14 May, he scored the only goal in a game against Sporting CP, which helped Benfica win the league.
Benfica did not win any trophies in the 2005–06 season. However, the team reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Luisão played in all the matches in this competition. On 21 February 2006, he scored in a 1–0 home win against Liverpool, who were the champions at the time. He also played in the second game, which Benfica won 2–0 at Anfield.
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In the 2006–07 season, Luisão sometimes became the club captain when other captains like Nuno Gomes and Petit were injured. The club did not win any major trophies that season. At one point, his agent said Luisão wanted to leave, but he ended up staying.
In January 2008, Luisão had an argument with his teammate Kostas Katsouranis during a league match. They were quickly taken out of the game and later apologized to each other. Luisão also had some injuries and played inconsistently that season.
Luisão started the 2008–09 season by scoring a goal in a UEFA Cup match against S.S.C. Napoli. In the 2009–10 season, he had his best year as a professional. He played in 45 official matches and scored six goals. Benfica won the league title and the Taça da Liga cup. They also reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League.
On 28 August 2010, Luisão scored a goal with a header against Vitória de Setúbal. On 14 September, he made history in the Champions League by scoring the first goal against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the group stage.
In August 2012, Luisão was involved in an incident with a referee during a friendly game. This led to him being suspended for two months and fined. He missed 11 matches, including important Champions League games.
On 13 March 2014, Luisão played his 117th European match. He scored two goals to help Benfica win 3–1 against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League. In the next season, on 18 January 2015, Luisão played his 440th official game for Benfica. This meant he had played as many games as the legendary player Eusébio.
On 26 April 2015, Luisão became the longest-serving captain at Benfica, having captained 229 matches. A day after his 36th birthday, on 14 February 2017, he played his 500th game for Benfica in a Champions League win against Borussia Dortmund. Only three other players had reached this milestone for Benfica before him. By winning the 2017 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira cup, he became the Benfica player with the most titles won for the club, with 20 trophies.
On 25 September 2018, Luisão announced his retirement from professional football at the Estádio da Luz, Benfica's home stadium.
International Career with Brazil
Luisão was part of the Brazilian Under-20 team for the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship. However, they lost to Ghana in the quarter-finals.
He made his debut for the senior Brazil national team on 23 July 2001, against Honduras. This was in the quarter-finals of the 2001 Copa América.
In 2003, Luisão was selected for the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Brazil, playing with their Under-23 team, finished second to Mexico. He was also called up for the Olympic qualification tournament in 2003, but Benfica did not let him go because of an important derby match.
Luisão played in all six matches when Brazil won the 2004 Copa América. He was captain in one game and scored his first international goal in the final against Argentina.
He was part of the Brazilian squad for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but he did not play in either tournament. After the 2006 World Cup, when Dunga became the new coach, Luisão started playing more often for Brazil.
Luisão played in four of Brazil's five matches in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. This included the semi-final win against South Africa and the final win against the United States. He played alongside FC Bayern Munich's Lúcio in defense.
He was also chosen for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa after a strong season with his club. He was a reserve player and did not play in any matches as Brazil was knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Personal Life
Luisão has two younger brothers, Alex Silva and Andrei Silva, who are also football defenders. Luisão is a member of Atletas de Cristo (Athletes of Christ). This is a group of Brazilian Christian footballers that includes famous players like Kaká.
Honours
Club
Cruzeiro
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2003
- Copa do Brasil: 2000, 2003
- Campeonato Mineiro: 2003
Benfica
- Primeira Liga: 2004–05, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
- Taça de Portugal: 2003–04, 2013–14, 2016–17
- Taça da Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2005, 2014, 2016, 2017
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2012–13, 2013–14
International
Brazil
- Copa América: 2004
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005, 2009
- CONCACAF Gold Cup: Silver medal 2003
Individual
- Cosme Damião Awards – Footballer of the Year: 2009
Images for kids
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Luisão in a game against Switzerland in 2006
See also
In Spanish: Luisão para niños
