Léo (footballer, born 1975)

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Léo
Personal information
Full name Leonardo Lourenço Bastos
Date of birth (1975-07-06) 6 July 1975 (age 48)
Place of birth Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Left back
Team information
Current team
 Santos
Number 3
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996 Americano 32 (5)
1997–1998 União São João 40 (1)
1999–2000 Palmeiras 0 (0)
2000–2005 Santos 133 (9)
2005–2009 Benfica 82 (1)
2009– Santos 95 (3)
International career
2001–2005 Brazil 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 November 2013

Leonardo Lourenço Bastos (born 6 July 1975 in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro), commonly known as Léo, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Santos FC as a left defender.

Club career

Brazil

Rio de Janeiro-based Americano Futebol Clube gave Léo his professional debut in 1996, and the next year he moved to São Paulo with União São João Esporte Clube. Two seasons later he was bought by Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras but, within six months, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari released him after he had made one single appearance.

Subsequently Léo joined Santos FC, quickly becoming an integral part of the team: in 2002, playing alongside the likes of Diego, Elano, Renato and Robinho, he won his first national championship, losing the following year's Copa Libertadores.

Benfica

After having appeared in 201 official games for Santos, aged 30, Léo signed for S.L. Benfica from Portugal for an undisclosed fee, on a three-year contract. He made his top division debut on 18 September 2005 in a 4–0 home win against U.D. Leiria, and played in an average of 27 league matches in his first three seasons, but the club came out empty on major silverware.

In the 2005–06 campaign, Léo appeared 36 in official games (all starts) as the Reds reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

Return to Santos

In the 2008–09 season, Léo began suffering stiff competition for the left-back position from compatriot David Luiz. On 14 January 2009 he left Benfica and returned to Santos,[1] continuing to display solid performances in spite of his age, winning four major titles, including the 2011 Libertadores; also in that season, he was voted the São Paulo State League's best left-back.[2]

International career

Léo earned his first cap for Brazil on 31 May 2001, in the first game of the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, against Cameroon (3–0 win). He made five appearances during the tournament, with the national team finishing in fourth position.

Léo was also selected for the 2005 Confederations Cup, in Germany. As Gilberto's backup, he only featured against Japan (2–2 group stage draw) as the Seleção went on to win the competition.

Honours

Club

Santos

Country

Individual

Controversies

Léo's career was often surrounded by controversy. In late 2010, after São Paulo FC failed to qualify to the 2011 Copa Libertadores, he said its supporters should be content "to watch" the competition on television.[3]

The following year, when Santos won the continental tournament, he doubted of the capacity of its opponent in that year's FIFA Club World Cup, FC Barcelona,[4] who went on to win it 4–0, however. In 2012, when Sport Club Corinthians Paulista won the Libertadores and qualified to the following Club World Cup, he displayed irony while describing the trouble caused by the club's fans at the São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport, saying "he who is accustomed to train stations, should not go to airports".[5]

In March 2013, Léo regretted having made the comments about Corinthians, stating: "I am already 37 years old. I'll be quiet from now on. I won't speak what i'm thinking anymore (laughs). [...] Controversies are over".[6]

References

  1. ^ "Leo comemora volta à Vila: 'É um privilégio voltar à casa onde despontei'" (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Santos domina seleção do Campeonato Paulista" (in Portuguese). Lance Net. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Léo sobre São Paulo na Libertadores: 'Vai assistir' (Léo about São Paulo in Libertadores: 'They will watch it'); Lance Net, 18 November 2010 Template:Pt icon
  4. ^ Santos chega à Vila e já dá aviso ao Barça: ‘Vamos ver se são tudo isso’ (Santos arrives at the Vila and warns Barça: ‘Let's see if they are all that’); Globo Esporte, 23 June 2011 Template:Pt icon
  5. ^ Léo provoca corintianos: "Quem está acostumado com rodoviária não pode ir a aeroporto" (Léo provokes corintianos: "He who is accustomed to train stations must not go to airports"); ESPN Estadão, 2012 Template:Pt icon
  6. ^ Léo 'light' abandona lado polêmico e critica supervalorização de garotos ('Light' Léo puts controversial side to rest and blasts kids' overrating); Globo Esporte, 16 March 2013 Template:Pt icon

External links

Template:Persondata

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