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Marcelo Martins Moreno facts for kids

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal family name is Martins and the second or maternal family name is Moreno.
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Marcelo Moreno
MarceloMorenoFlamengo (cropped).jpg
Moreno playing for Flamengo in 2013
Personal information
Full name Marcelo Martins Moreno
Date of birth (1987-06-18) 18 June 1987 (age 38)
Place of birth Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
2003–2004 Oriente Petrolero
2004–2005 Vitória
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2004 Oriente Petrolero 20 (2)
2005–2007 Vitória 30 (12)
2007–2008 Cruzeiro 14 (7)
2008–2011 Shakhtar Donetsk 32 (7)
2009 → Werder Bremen (loan) 5 (0)
2010 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 12 (0)
2012–2015 Grêmio 28 (10)
2013–2014 → Flamengo (loan) 16 (2)
2014–2015 → Cruzeiro (loan) 32 (15)
2015–2016 Changchun Yatai 53 (22)
2017–2018 Wuhan Zall 34 (25)
2019 Shijiazhuang Ever Bright 12 (7)
2020–2021 Cruzeiro 43 (8)
2022–2023 Cerro Porteño 30 (6)
2023 Independiente del Valle 20 (4)
2024 Cruzeiro 0 (0)
International career‡
2005 Brazil U18 8 (6)
2006 Brazil U20 7 (5)
2007–2023 Bolivia 108 (31)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 Feb 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Marcelo Martins Moreno, born on June 18, 1987, is a famous former footballer from Bolivia. In Bolivia, people often call him Marcelo Martins, but in other countries, he is known as Marcelo Moreno. Many consider him one of the best Bolivian football players ever. He played for his country's national team 108 times and scored 31 goals. This makes him Bolivia's player with the most games played and their top goal scorer of all time!

Playing for Clubs

Marcelo Moreno was born in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. He started his football journey at a club called Oriente Petrolero. In 2003, when he was just 16 years old, Marcelo played his first professional game in Bolivia's top league.

Early Career in Brazil

Later, he moved to Brazil and joined Vitória. By 2006, he became a key player for them. He scored 12 goals in a competition called the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C. In mid-2007, he moved to Cruzeiro. The next year, he really shined, scoring 8 goals in the 2008 Copa Libertadores. He was the top scorer in that tournament!

Moving to Europe

On May 27, 2008, Marcelo signed a five-year contract with Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine. The club paid a lot of money for him. He scored two goals in a game on November 1, helping his team win 3-1. Even though he won the 2008–09 UEFA Cup with Shakhtar, he found it hard to get a regular spot on the team. So, in May 2009, he went on loan to a German club, Werder Bremen.

Marcelo once said that he didn't really want to go to Ukraine at first. But he learned to adapt to the new style of football there. He also mentioned that when he spoke Portuguese with his teammates, he felt Brazilian because he lived in Brazil for half his life.

In August 2009, he scored two goals for Werder Bremen in a cup match. In January 2010, his loan ended, and he returned to Shakhtar Donetsk. He then went on another loan, this time to Wigan Athletic in England, to play in the Premier League. After returning to Shakhtar, he scored 7 goals in 23 games.

Back to South America and China

In late 2011, Marcelo joined Grêmio in Brazil. He signed a five-year contract with them. During his time at Grêmio, he was loaned to Flamengo in 2013 and then to Cruzeiro again in 2014.

In February 2015, Marcelo moved to China to play for Changchun Yatai. He had a great first season there, scoring more than 20 goals in 53 games. In 2017, he joined Wuhan Zall. He was the top scorer in the 2017 China League One with 23 goals. In 2019, Marcelo signed with Shijiazhuang Ever Bright, scoring 7 goals in 12 games.

Returning to Cruzeiro and Paraguay

On February 19, 2020, Marcelo Moreno returned to his former club, Cruzeiro, for three seasons.

In January 2022, it was announced that Marcelo would join Primera División Paraguaya team Cerro Porteño. He officially joined them on February 9, 2022, and signed a two-year contract. He was given the number 9 shirt. Marcelo spoke with the coach, Francisco Arce, before joining, which helped him decide to move to Paraguay.

Playing for His Country

Marcelo Moreno has a Brazilian father and a Bolivian mother. He played for Brazil's under-18 and under-20 teams when he was younger. He was the first foreign player to be part of Brazil's youth teams. However, when he became a professional, he chose to play for the senior Bolivian national team.

First Games and Big Goals

Because he played so well for Cruzeiro, Marcelo was called up to the Bolivian national team in September 2007. He scored his first two goals for Bolivia in November 2007 during a World Cup qualifier. On October 14, 2008, he scored both of Bolivia's goals in a 2-2 draw against Uruguay.

He also scored the first goal in Bolivia's amazing 6-1 win against Argentina in April 2009. A few months later, in October, he scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory against Brazil.

Copa América and Retirement

Marcelo was part of the Bolivia team for the 2015 Copa América in Chile. On June 15, he scored the winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Ecuador. This was Bolivia's first win at the Copa América since 1997! He was Bolivia's top scorer in that tournament with two goals.

In September 2015, Marcelo announced he was leaving the national team. But he returned in 2016 after a new coach took over.

Breaking Records

On November 12, 2020, Marcelo scored his 20th goal for Bolivia. This tied the record for Bolivia's all-time top goal scorer. On March 28, 2023, he played his 100th game for Bolivia. In that game, he also scored a goal, helping Bolivia win 2-1 against Saudi Arabia.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Oriente Petrolero 2003 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano 8 0 – – – 8 0
2004 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano 12 2 – – – 12 2
Total 20 2 – – – 20 2
Vitória 2005 Série B – – – – –
2006 Série C 30 12 4 0 0 0 16 4 50 16
2007 Série B 0 0 4 1 0 0 10 1 14 2
Total 30 12 8 1 0 0 26 5 64 16
Cruzeiro 2007 Série A 13 6 – 1 0 – 14 6
2008 Série A 1 1 0 0 10 8 11 6 22 15
Total 14 7 0 0 11 8 11 6 36 21
Shakhtar 2008–09 Ukrainian Premier League 14 2 1 1 6 0 – 21 3
2010–11 Ukrainian Premier League 18 5 2 2 3 0 – 23 7
2011–12 Ukrainian Premier League 0 0 1 1 1 0 – 2 1
Total 32 7 4 4 10 0 – 46 11
Werder Bremen (loan) 2009–10 Bundesliga 5 0 3 2 4 1 – 12 3
Wigan Athletic (loan) 2009–10 Premier League 12 0 0 0 – – 12 0
Grêmio 2012 Série A 28 10 8 3 5 1 15 8 56 22
2013 Série A – – 3 0 2 0 5 0
2015 Série A 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2 6 2
Total 28 10 8 3 8 1 17 8 67 24
Flamengo (loan) 2013 Série A 16 2 4 2 0 0 1 1 21 5
Cruzeiro (loan) 2014 Série A 32 15 7 4 4 0 14 5 57 24
Changchun Yatai 2015 Chinese Super League 24 9 0 0 – – 24 9
2016 Chinese Super League 29 13 0 0 – – 29 13
Total 53 22 0 0 – – 53 22
Wuhan Zall 2017 China League One 29 23 0 0 – – 29 23
2018 China League One 5 2 0 0 – – 5 2
Total 34 25 0 0 – – 34 25
Shijiazhuang Ever Bright 2019 China League One 12 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 13 8
Cruzeiro 2020 Série B 26 3 2 0 0 0 4 0 32 3
2021 Série B 17 5 1 0 0 0 4 1 22 6
Total 43 8 3 0 0 0 8 1 54 9
Career total 331 117 38 17 37 10 83 28 489 172

International Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Bolivia 2007 4 2
2008 8 3
2009 6 2
2010 1 1
2011 12 2
2012 6 0
2013 9 2
2014 3 0
2015 6 2
2016 6 0
2017 6 1
2018 5 2
2019 4 1
2020 3 3
2021 13 7
2022 6 2
2023 10 1
Total 108 31
Scores and results list Bolivia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Moreno goal.
List of international goals scored by Marcelo Moreno
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 20 November 2007 Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal, Venezuela  Venezuela 1–0 3–5 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 3–2
3 18 June 2008 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Paraguay 4–1 4–2
4 14 October 2008  Uruguay 1–0 2–2
5 2–0
6 1 April 2009  Argentina 1–0 6–1
7 11 October 2009  Brazil 2–0 2–1
8 7 October 2010 Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia  Venezuela 1–3 1–3 Friendly
9 7 October 2011 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay  Uruguay 2–4 2–4 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 11 November 2011 Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina  Argentina 1–0 1–1
11 26 March 2013 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia 1–0 1–1
12 11 June 2013 Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago, Chile  Chile 1–2 1–3
13 15 June 2015 Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, Valparaíso, Chile  Ecuador 3–0 3–2 2015 Copa América
14 25 June 2015 Estadio Municipal Germán Becker, Temuco, Chile  Peru 1–3 1–3
15 28 March 2017 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Argentina 2–0 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
16 10 September 2018 Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  Saudi Arabia 2–2 2–2 Friendly
17 13 October 2018 Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar  Myanmar 2–0 3–0
18 18 June 2019 Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  Peru 1–0 1–3 2019 Copa América
19 13 October 2020 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Argentina 1–0 1–2 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
20 12 November 2020  Ecuador 2–2 2–3
21 17 November 2020 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay  Paraguay 1–1 2–2
22 26 March 2021 Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua, Chile  Chile 1–1 1–2 Friendly
23 3 June 2021 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Venezuela 1–0 3–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
24 3–1
25 8 June 2021 Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo, Santiago, Chile  Chile 1–1 1–1
26 5 September 2021 Estadio Campeón del Siglo, Montevideo, Uruguay  Uruguay 1–3 2–4
27 2–4
28 16 November 2021 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia 2–0 3–0
29 21 January 2022 Estadio Olímpico Patria, Sucre, Bolivia  Trinidad and Tobago 3–0 5–0 Friendly
30 1 February 2022 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Chile 2–3 2–3 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
31 28 March 2023 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia  Saudi Arabia 1–0 2–1 Friendly

Awards and Trophies

Marcelo Moreno won many awards and trophies during his career:

  • Vitória
    • Campeonato Baiano: 2005, 2007

More to Explore

  • List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Marcelo Martins para niños

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