- Cristiano dos Santos Rodrigues
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"Cristiano" redirects here. For the Portuguese football player, see Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano 
Personal information Full name Cristiano dos Santos Rodrigues Date of birth 3 June 1981 Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Playing position Striker Club information Current club White City Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1998–2002 NAC 70 (18) 2002–2006 Roda JC 99 (34) 2006–2007 Basel 17 (13) 2007 → Willem II (loan) 12 (5) 2007–2008 Willem II 13 (10) 2008–2010 Adelaide United 49 (11) 2010–2011 Tarxien Rainbows 20 (18) 2011– White City 7 (4) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 June 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).Cristiano dos Santos Rodrigues (born 3 June 1981), commonly known as Cristiano, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a striker for South Australian Premier League side White City FC.
Contents
Biography
Early career
Cristiano began his club career with Dutch club NAC Breda. He signed his first professional contract with Breda at age 16. Cristiano was impressive, without being a prolific goal scorer and spent four reasonably successful years with Breda before moving to fellow Dutch side Roda JC.
Cristiano's performances with Breda impressed Roda manager Wiljan Vloet who was desperate to bring the Brazilian to the club. Cristiano had a fairly successful time with Roda and averaged 0.34 goals a game in his four year stint.
FC Basel
After eight seasons in the Netherlands, Cristiano sought a new challenge in a foreign country and jumped at the opportunity to join Swiss giants FC Basel. Cristiano struggled to command a regular starting spot in to the side (though did win the Swiss Cup), and eventually went on loan back to Holland with Willem II. His loan spell with Willem II was very successful, scoring 5 goals in 12 appearances. Willem II made Cristiano's move permanent at the end of the 2006–07 season.
Willem II
Cristiano was unable to capture his form from his loan spell the previous season. Despite being well known in Holland, he received tentative interest from other Dutch clubs due to his non-EU status requiring a high minimum salary, and began seeking options of regular football elsewhere.
Adelaide United
Cristiano moved to Australia to join A-League side Adelaide United at the start of the 2008–09 season. Adelaide had lost Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite in the off-season and were in desperate need for a permanent striker. After scoring on his debut in a pre-season match, Cristiano made his A-League debut in a 1–0 victory over Perth Glory. Cristiano was impressive in his debut, setting up the winning goal scored by Travis Dodd.[1]
Cristiano scored his first competitive goal for Adelaide United in Round three against Wellington Phoenix at Hindmarsh Stadium. Cristiano finished with a brace in a 3–0 victory.[2] After helping Adelaide United become the first Australian side to reach the Semi Finals of the AFC Champions League, he scored a brace days later to help the Reds to a 2–0 victory over reigning premiers Newcastle Jets.[3]
Cristiano scored his fifth goal in seven A-League matches by getting on the score sheet in a 3–3 draw against Central Coast.[4] He scored the only goal of the Club World Cup fifth place play off against Egyptian club Al-Ahly the impressive twenty yard strike was awarded 'goal of the tournament'.[5][6]
In the 2008–09 Grand Final against Melbourne Victory, Cristiano was controversially red carded in the 10th minute.[7][8] However, this red card was rescinded from his record.
He was released from Adelaide after their 2010 Asian Champions League campaign after they were knocked out of the round of 16.
Tarxien Rainbows
During the 2010–11 summer transfer window he signed a two-year contract until 2011–12, with Maltese Premier League club Tarxien Rainbows.
White City
It was announced on 7 June 2011 that Cristiano would move back to Adelaide and sign with South Australian Premier League side White City FC with an aim to further his career in coaching and to aim for re-signing with his former A-League club, Adelaide United.[9]
Cristiano made his debut for White City FC in a 3-2 loss to Enfield City. He also scored from a header and was later sent off.[10]
Career statistics
(Correct as of 1 January 2009)
Club Season League1 Cup International2 Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals NAC Breda 1998–99 4 1 1 0 0 0 5 1 1999–00 13 3 2 1 0 0 15 4 2000–01 24 5 0 0 0 0 24 5 2001–02 29 9 3 1 0 0 32 10 Total 70 18 6 2 0 0 76 20 Roda JC 2002–03 25 6 2 0 0 0 27 6 2003–04 28 9 2 2 0 0 30 11 2004–05 16 6 1 0 0 0 17 6 2005–06 30 13 3 1 0 0 33 14 Total 99 34 8 3 0 0 107 37 FC Basel 2006–07 7 1 1 1 3 0 8 2 Total 7 1 1 1 3 0 11 2 Willem II Tilburg 2006–07 12 5 0 0 0 0 12 5 2007–08 13 1 2 0 0 0 15 1 Total 25 6 2 0 0 0 27 6 Adelaide United 2008–09 25 8 3 2 9 2 37 12 2009–10 24 3 - - 0 0 24 3 Total 49 11 3 2 9 2 61 15 Total 250 70 20 8 12 2 282 81 1 - includes A-League final series statistics
2 - includes FIFA Club World Cup statistics; AFC Champions League statistics are included in season commencing after group stages (i.e. 2008 ACL in 2008-09 A-League season etc.)References
- ^ "Dodd scores winner in 100th appearance for Reds". Adelaide United. 2008-08-17. http://www.adelaideunited.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=23249. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ "Cristiano inspires Adelaide to victory against Wellington". Adelaide United. 2008-08-30. http://www.adelaideunited.com.au/default.aspx?s=aleague_newsdisplay&id=23420. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ "Cristiano double shoots down wounded Jets". Adelaide United. 2008-09-27. http://www.adelaideunited.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=23872. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ "Reds let it slip against Mariners". Adelaide United. 2008-03-10. http://www.adelaideunited.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=24013. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ "Adelaide get one-two for 'Goal of the Tournament'". Adelaide United. 2009-01-09. http://adelaideunited.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=25981. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "FIFA Match Report Al Ahly - Adelaide United". FIFA. 2008-12-18. http://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/matches/round=252221/match=300073126/report.html. Retrieved 2009-01-01.[dead link]
- ^ "Vidmar fury after ref turns decider". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2009-03-01. http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/a-league/victory-aleague-champions-after-controversial-decider/2009/02/28/1235237988974.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1.
- ^ http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,25125232-5000940,00.html
- ^ Gagliardi, Lee (2011-06-07). "White City sign Cristiano". Devine Premier League (Football Federation South Australia). http://www.ffsa.com.au/home/news-archive/news/article/2011/june/white-city-sign-cristiano/. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
- ^ [1]
External links
Categories:- 1981 births
- Living people
- Brazilian people of Black African descent
- Brazilian footballers
- NAC Breda players
- Roda JC players
- FC Basel players
- Willem II Tilburg players
- People from Rio de Janeiro (city)
- Eredivisie players
- Brazilian expatriate footballers
- Swiss Super League players
- Adelaide United players
- Expatriate soccer players in Australia
- Expatriate footballers in Switzerland
- A-League players
- Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands
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