Leandro Donizete

Leandro Donizete Gonçalves da Silva (born 18 May 1982) is a former Brazilian footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Leandro Donizete
Personal information
Full nameLeandro Donizete Gonçalves da Silva[1]
Date of birth (1982-05-18) 18 May 1982 (age 42)
Place of birthAraraquara, Brazil
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)Defensive midfielder
Youth career
Ferroviária
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2003–2007Ferroviária87(4)
2008–2011Coritiba100(0)
2012–2016Atlético Mineiro119(2)
2017–2019Santos9(0)
2018–2019América Mineiro (loan)26(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 November 2018

Club career

Ferroviária

Born in Araraquara, São Paulo, Donizete started his career in hometown club Ferroviária, making his senior debut in 2003. He subsequently became an undisputed starter for the side, helping in their promotion from Campeonato Paulista Série B1 in 2004 and in their Copa Paulista title in 2006.

Donizete left Ferroviária in the end of the 2007 season, with 141 matches and eight goals.[2]

Coritiba

In January 2008, Donizete signed for Série A club Coritiba.[3] He made his debut for the club on 13 February, starting in a 0–0 Copa do Brasil away draw against Tuna Luso.[4]

Donizete scored his first goal for Coxa on 17 February 2008, netting the game's only in a home success over Cianorte for the Campeonato Paranaense championship.[5] He made his debut in the main category of Brazilian football on 1 June, coming on as a half-time substitute in a 1–1 home draw against Cruzeiro.

Donizete soon established himself as a first-choice, and completed his 100th match for the club on 28 February 2010 in a 4–1 home routing of Nacional-PR.[6] The following 29 January, he signed a new three-year contract.[7]

Donizete's 150th match came on 10 April 2011, in a 1–0 home win against Corinthians-PR.[8]

Atlético Mineiro

On 14 December 2011, Donizete signed a three-year deal with Atlético Mineiro, also in the first division; Coritiba also retained 70% of his federative rights and Renan Oliveira moved to the opposite direction on loan.[9] He made his debut for the club the following 29 January, starting in a 2–0 Campeonato Mineiro home win against Boa Esporte.

Donizete immediately became a regular starter at Galo, being an important defensive unit during the club's 2013 Copa Libertadores winning campaign. On 9 December 2014, he renewed his contract for two further years.[10]

Donizete scored his first Série A goal on 19 June 2016, netting the first in a 3–0 home win against Ponte Preta; he also assisted Carlos in the last goal. He ended his spell at the club with 231 matches and four goals.[11]

Santos

On 28 December 2016, Donizete agreed to a three-year contract with fellow top tier club Santos after the expiration of his contract with Atlético.[12] He made his debut for the club on 12 February, starting in the place of injured Renato in a 3–2 Campeonato Paulista away win against Red Bull Brasil.

On 11 April 2018, after being rarely used, Donizete was loaned to fellow top tier club América Mineiro until December.[13] After a knee injury, América decided to renew his loan until the end of his treatment.[14]

Career statistics

As of 4 December 2018[15]
ClubSeasonLeagueState LeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ferroviária2003[16]Paulista B1120120
2004[17]181181
2005[18]Paulista A318016[a]0340
2006[19]18020[a]2382
2007[20]2141012[a]0344
Subtotal874104821366
Coritiba2008Série A18013140351
2009340150501[b]0550
2010Série B28017140491
2011Série A20010190391
Subtotal1000553220101783
Atlético Mineiro2012Série A30011020430
201315013210[c]02[d]0402
2014220100607[c]02[e]0470
2015310100207[c]0500
201621280609[c]01[f]0452
Subtotal1192522160330502254
Santos2017Série A9070204[c]0220
2018001010
Subtotal90802040230
América Mineiro (loan)2018Série A26020280
Career total2542202943038053259013

Honours

Club

Ferroviária
Coritiba
Atlético Mineiro

Individual

References