The arrival of Dimitri Payet revolutionizes Vasco da Gama. From the moment the club announced his hiring, the Admiral showed its enthusiasm through social networks and planned a historic reception for the former international with the French team.
The 36-year-old attacking midfielder, who has just excelled in Europe with West Ham and Olympique de Marseille, among others, was received by a crowd of Vascao fans in Rio de Janeiro. Expectations are high, since it’s not every day that a European player arrives at the Brasileirão. However, there is some background.
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The Europeans who went through Brazilian football
Without counting Diego Costa, who despite having represented Spain was born in Lagarto/Sergipe, in the northeast of the country, there have been several footballers born in Europe who played in Brazil. In 2019, Flamengo signed Spanish defender Pablo Marí, while São Paulo brought in compatriot Juanfran.
But if we talk about those who left their mark, we must go back a few years. Dejan Petkovic of Serbia is probably the most successful European in the Brazilian league. He stood out with the colors of Vitória, Flamengo, Vasco, Fluminense and Atlético Mineiro, in addition to wearing the uniforms of Santos and Goiás. During his stay in Brazil, Petkovic won two Bahia Championships, one Northeast Cup, three Cariocas and one Brasileirão.
Other of his compatriots also passed through the South American country but without much success. Goalkeeper Zeljko Tadic went through XV de Piracicaba, Londrina, Bragantino, Uberaba, Guarani de Divinópolis and Vasco; while Andjelkovic and Nikola Damjanac played for Fluminense.
Athletico Paranaense had quite a few players born in the Old Continent in its ranks. In the 1990s, they hired the Polish midfielders Krzysztof Nowak and Mariusz Piekarski, who later defended the shirts of Flamengo and Mogi Mirim. Furacão also had Spanish midfielder Fran Mérida in 2013 and Portuguese striker Pereirinha between 2015 and 2017.
The Portuguese country, precisely, exported several players to Brazil: Casemiro do Amaral (1913 to 1920-Corinthians), Laurentino de Mello (1933-Corinthians), Arouca (70’s-Palmeiras), Azambuja (1946 to 50-Sao Paulo), Fernandes (1966-San Pablo), Mello (1936-San Pablo), José Dominguez (2005-Basque).
Clarence Seedorf, for his part, was one of the best-known Europeans to stand out in the Brasileirão. The Dutchman who shone at Real Madrid, Ajax and Inter Milan joined Botafogo in 2012. During his time in Rio de Janeiro, the midfielder scored 16 goals in 58 appearances and won a Carioca Championship before leaving in 2014.
Striker Kazim, who was born in England but represented Turkey internationally, excelled at Coritiba but went unnoticed by Corinthians. Alexander Baumjohann, a German with a past at Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich, also played for Coxa before moving to Vitória.
Another European country with representatives in Brazil was Italy. Luiz Fabbi was part of Corinthians between 1910 and 1915, while Avelino Gabrielli, known as “Nino”, was part of Fluminense in the 50’s. Later, in 1995, Marco Osio joined Palmeiras.
Other Europeans who played in Brazilian football were:
- Fernando Carazo Castro (Spain – Cruzeiro and Palmeiras)
- José Armando Ufarte (Spain – Flamengo and Corinthians)
- Henry Welfare (England – Fluminense)
- Anderson Williams Waterman (England – Fluminense)
- Cawood Robinson (England – Fluminense)
- Charles Roberts Hargreaves (England – Fluminense)
- Ryan Williams (England – Paysandu)
- Igor Jovicevic (Croatia – Guarani)
- Timur Khadzhimuradov (Russia – Vitória)
- Aymen Soudá (France – Paraná Clube)
- Waldemar Zaclis (Romania – São Paulo)
- José Lengyel (Hungary – Corinthians)
- Josef Strauss (Hungary – Santos)
