Luisão


Ânderson Luís da Silva, known as Luisão, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
Luisão started his career at Juventus-SP in 1999 before moving to Cruzeiro the year later, where he spent three seasons. Then, from 2003 to 2018, the rest of his professional career was spent with Portuguese club Benfica, for which he appeared in 538 official matches, holding the club record for most international matches, major titles won and longest-serving captain.
A Brazilian international on 44 occasions, Luisão appeared for the country in two World Cups and three Copa América tournaments, scoring three goals.

Club career

Brazil

Born in Amparo, São Paulo, Luisão represented Clube Atlético Juventus and Cruzeiro Esporte Clube in his country, scoring a career-best six goals in 24 matches in his third season with the latter.

Benfica

In the 2003 summer Luisão moved to Europe, signing with Benfica of Portugal for £890,000. He faced a tough period of adaptation, during which he performed somewhat below his capabilities and even considered traveling back to his home country; he did manage, however, to score in his league debut, a thrilling 3–3 home draw against C.F. Os Belenenses on 14 September, and ended his first season with the Portuguese Cup conquest, helping defeat FC Porto 2–1.
In 2004–05 Luisão featured regularly in Benfica's central defence, alongside Ricardo Rocha, appearing in 29 games and contributing heavily for Benfica's first league title in 11 years: on 24 April 2005, in a 2–1 away victory over G.D. Estoril-Praia, he netted his first goal of the season, the game's equaliser. On 14 May he found the net with his head against city rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal, scoring the game's only goal and ousting the opponents from the title race.
in the Benfica vs Porto match in December 2007
The 2005–06 season finished without silverware for Benfica, with Luisão again as an automatic first-choice. The team, however, reached the season's UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, with the defender playing all the matches and minutes in the competition: on 21 February 2006 he scored in his side's 1–0 home win against holders Liverpool, which had lost just one of 13 European games the previous year, and five of 41 away from home; he also started in the second leg, a 2–0 win at Anfield.
In 2006–07, Luisão was named club captain in some matches, due to injuries to Nuno Gomes and Petit, but the club again failed to secure any major honours. At the end of the season, his agent said "Luisão wants to leave", but he eventually stayed.
During the following season, in January 2008, Luisão was involved in an on-field argument with Greek teammate Kostas Katsouranis, during a league match against Vitória de Setúbal. The argument arose after Katsouranis' misplaced pass, which forced the Brazilian to commit a foul in order to stop play, after receiving a yellow card, Luisão criticized Katsouranis, who responded in a similar manner. The two players were on the point of breaking into violence before teammates separated them. Both players were then quickly substituted and given suspensions by the club, and later apologised to each other; again, he dealt with some injuries and inconsistent play, also addressing rumours of another possible move.
Luisão's start to the 2008–09 season got off in scoring fashion, netting a goal in the 59th minute of the UEFA Cup first round match at S.S.C. Napoli, in a 2–3 loss. It was his first game of the season in European competitions, and his first goal of the season in all competitions. In the following season he would enjoy his best season as a professional, appearing in a total of 45 official games as Benfica won the league and renewed its Portuguese League Cup supremacy, also reaching the last eight in the Europa League.
On 28 August 2010, Luisão scored – through a header – against Setúbal at home, as 10-men Benfica eventually won it 3–0. He entered the Champions League's history books, after opening the scoresheet against Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. in the competition's group stage, on 14 September.
On 11 August 2012, in the last minutes of the first half of a friendly with Fortuna Düsseldorf, Luisão reportedly pushed referee Christian Fischer to the ground as he was about to send off teammate Javi García for two reckless challenges on Oliver Fink; the referee refused to resume the game and suspended it, proceeding to announce he would take legal action against the player. Then, on 14 September, Luisão was initially suspended for two months for his actions, also being fined €2,550. The ruling of the Portuguese Football Federation was still subject to the approval of FIFA, which was confirmed shortly after, causing the player to miss 11 games, including the Champions League matches against Celtic and FC Barcelona.
On 13 March 2014, whilst appearing in his 117th match in European competitions, Luisão grabbed a brace to help Benfica to a 3–1 away win against Tottenham Hotspur for the Europa League round-of-16's first leg. In the following season, Luisão equalized Eusébio with a total of 440 official appearances at Benfica, in a 0–4 win at Marítimo in the Primeira Liga on 18 January 2015. On 21 February, he scored the tying goal in a victory at Moreirense counting for the league. Seven days later, he equalized António Simões as the seventh player with the most appearances, 447. On 26 April, then with 229 matches, Luisão surpassed Mário Coluna as the longest-serving captain at Benfica. Later on, by winning the 2017 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, Luisão became the Benfica player with most titles won for the club.
On 25 September 2018, at Estádio da Luz, Luisão announced his retirement from professional football.

International career

Luisão was called up for the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship, but the Brazilians crashed out to Ghana in the quarter-finals.
Luisão made his debut for Brazil on 23 July 2001, against Honduras, in the quarter-finals of 2001 Copa América.
In 2003, Luisão was named in the squad for the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where Brazil, competing with their under-23 team, finished as runner-up to Mexico. On 8 December 2003, Luisão was called up by Ricardo Gomes for the Olympic qualification tournament with the consent of Benfica. However, a few days later, the club changed its position and decided not to release the player due to a derby against Sporting.
He represented the nation in its 2004 Copa América win, playing in all six matches, including a 1–2 loss against Paraguay – where he was team captain – and the final against Argentina where he scored his first international goal.
In the next year, Luisão was named in the Brazilian squad for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, but did not play a single second, meeting the same fate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After the latter tournament, when Dunga was hired as the new coach, he began to play more often.
Luisão was summoned for the 2009 Confederations Cup, playing in four of Brazil's five matches, including the 1–0 victory over South Africa in the semifinals, and the 3–2 win against the United States in the final, partnering with FC Bayern Munich's Lúcio.
Again as a reserve player, Luisão was selected for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, after a solid club season, being an unused squad member as Brazil exited in the quarter-finals.

Personal life

Luisão's younger brothers, Alex Silva and Andrei Silva, are also football defenders.

Career statistics

Club

International

International appearances

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
125 July 2004Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru2–2Draw2004 Copa América
215 November 2006St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland2–1WinFriendly
35 September 2009Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario, Argentina3–1Win2010 World Cup Qualification

Honours

Club

Cruzeiro
Benfica
Brazil