André Bahia

Football player infobox
playername= André Bahia
fullname = André Luiz Bahia dos Santos Viana
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1983|11|24
cityofbirth = Rio de Janeiro
countryofbirth = Brazil
height =
currentclub = Feyenoord
clubnumber = 4
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs = Escolinha Júlio César
Flamengo
years = 2001–2004
2004-2004
2004–
clubs = Flamengo
→ Palmeiras (loan)
Feyenoord
caps(goals) = 83 (5)
0 (0)
72 (7)
nationalyears =
nationalteam = Brazil
nationalcaps(goals) = 0 (0)
pcupdate = August 19, 2007
ntupdate = August 19, 2007

André Luiz Bahia dos Santos Viana (born 24 November 1983 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a central defender for Feyenoord in the Eredivisie.

Biography

André Bahia was born and raised in the Tijuca area of Rio de Janeiro. He has four brothers from his father's side from a previous marriage and one sister. [http://www.feyenoord.nl/pages/datapresenter/s2/playerinfo.aspx?dataid=10010000020705 André Bahia spelers info] , feyenoord.nl] His father was a professional boxer in one of the lightest classes available. He was a six time Rio State champion. Bahia started his football career at the Escolinha Júlio César, a football school run by the former Flamengo player. After daily visiting the escolinha for two years he was asked to do a trial at Flamengo in 1994. At the time he joined Flamengo he played as a left winger, only later he became a left defender and eventually he was positioned in central defence.

It was this central defence position that meant his breakthrough in professional football. In 2000 he was called up by Mário Zagallo to represent Brazil at the under 20 level, and some time later he even became the captain of this team. In 2001 he made his professional debut for Flamengo and became a first team regular shortly after. In the first half of the 2004 season he lost his position in the first team at Flamengo and was sent on loan to Palmeiras for 1.5 months, where he did not play any games. With his return at Flamengo after the loan period things improved and he fought himself back into the team. During that period in a Fla-Flu derby Feyenoord director Mark Wotte got interested in the player and shortly after Flamengo allowed him to have a trial in Rotterdam.

At Feyenoord during his trial he impressed the staff members and he was offered a contract in October 2004. Feyenoord and Bahia both agreed on the terms in the contract and Bahia already posed in his new Feyenoord jersey, something that was not appreciated by all members at Flamengo. When he returned in Brazil he was punished and was told to train just with the fitness coach for several weeks. He was only allowed back into the team when they ran out of central defenders due to injuries and suspensions. The Flamengo fans had always supported Bahia even in these darker days at the club. In his final match for the club he scored two goals against Cruzeiro. The goals were important because Flamengo was in relegation trouble and due to these goals the club remained in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

After the Brazilian season he joined his new club Feyenoord and played five matches during the second half of the 2004-05 season. He made his Eredivisie debut on March 13, 2005 in a 4-1 home win over Roda JC. From then on, at the start of the 2005-06 season he became a first team regular and played all matches that season. Also in the disappointing 2006-07 season in which Feyenoord became seventh in the Eredivisie, Bahia almost played every match.

In the 2007-08 season, Andre lost his starting place to Kevin Hofland, who was signed from VfL Wolfsburg. However, due to the injury of Ron Vlaar, Bahia returned in Feyenoord's central defence for the rest of the season. His excellent defending sparked the interest of FC Porto. [ [http://www.vi.nl/NieuwsItem/FCPortoHeeftBijFeyenoordGenformeerdNaarBahia.htm|FC Porto informs about possible transfer Bahia] ]

tatistics

External links

*nl icon [http://www.vi.nl/vi/show/id=40053/dbid=48944/typeofpage=40054/sc=f1d4fb Voetbal International profile]
*nl icon [http://www.feyenoord.nl/pages/datapresenter/s2/playerinfo.aspx?dataid=10010000020705 Official Feyenoord profile]

References

* [http://www.vi.nl Voetbal International website and 2007/2008 presentation magazine]