The career of superstar Grafite

A former door-to-door salesman who hawked rubbish bags in his native São Paulo, to becoming one of the most successful Brazilian players.

Grafite started his professional career in his early twenties with Matonese. He had spells at many clubs including Brazillian side Santa Cruz where he had the most prolific season, scoring five goals in 22 appearances.

He developed his career signing for Goias and become the league’s top scorer with 31 goals and was awarded as best player award helping his side finish in ninth, which was considered a success for the Brazilian side.

The 41-year-old signed for Sao Paulo soon after, who are considered one of the most successful clubs in Brazil. He scored 17 times and won his first ever Championship title with the club.

Before the end of his spell, Grafite won the Copa Libertadores and the Club World Championship with Sao Paulo, which included a 1-0 win against a Liverpool side that stunned AC Milan in the Miracle of Istanbul.

The forward spent one season at French side Le Mans scoring 17 times, before finding his way to Wolfsburg. He netted in 11 goals in his first season, helping his side to a fifth place finish.

He continued his playing stages with the German Club and contributed to 28 goals in 25 matches. Grafite had a great partnership with ex-Manchester City man Edin Dzeko who went on to score 26 goals.

One of the Brazilian’s goals included a piece of individual brilliance against Bayern Munich which was considered the goal of the season and third in the FIFA Puskas Award, as they marched to the Bundesliga title. It is the only league title Wolfsburg have one since.

Grafite- Wolfsburg vs Bayern, 2009. pic.twitter.com/sSaw60LWCz

— Classic goals (@GoalsClassic) June 21, 2016

Grafite was rewarded with the German Footballer of the year, becoming only the third foreigner to achieve this and dominated headlines for his achievements.

The German side found themselves in the Champions League the following season and Grafite made history when he scored a hat-trick in his first ever game. However, Wolfsburg ended up finishing third in the group stages and we’re knocked out.

The following season, Grafite ended his four year stay with the club on a magnificent 59 goals in 107 Bundesliga games and made his move to the middle east.

The 41-year-old signed for Dubai based outfit Al-Ahli signing a two year contract with the club. During his time with the Red Knights, Grafite went on to score 63 goals in 79 league games and played a key role in the 2012-13 Arabian Gulf League triumph. He also won the UAE President’s Cup final, UAE Super Cup and two Arabian Gulf Cups.

The Brazilian International was named 2012/13 Arabian Gulf League player of the year ahead of former Al Ain striker Asamoah Gyan.

Grafite ended his astonishing career back to where it started with Santa Cruz. He arrived halfway through the competition, due to having a short spell in Qatar with Al Sadd. The forward went on to make more of an impact than he did during his first time at the club, scoring seven times in 15 matches as the Brazilian side went back to the first division after 10 years.

The Sao Paulo man ended his career with at Atletico Paranaense but having made no impact, Graifte announced his retirement in 2018.