Paulo Assunção

Paulo Assunção
Assunção in action for Atlético Madrid in 2010
Personal information
Full name Paulo Assunção da Silva
Date of birth (1980-01-25) 25 January 1980
Place of birth Várzea Grande, Brazil
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000 Palmeiras 0 (0)
2000–2001 Porto B 36 (4)
2001–2002 Palmeiras 24 (0)
2002–2004 Nacional 50 (2)
2004–2008 Porto 73 (0)
2004–2005 → AEK Athens (loan) 24 (0)
2008–2012 Atlético Madrid 97 (1)
2012 São Paulo 11 (0)
2013 Deportivo La Coruña 9 (0)
2014 Levadiakos 0 (0)
Total 324 (7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Paulo Assunção da Silva (born 25 January 1980), known as Assunção, is a retired Brazilian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

He was best known for his positioning and tackling, and also held a Portuguese passport due to the many years in spent in the country,[1] mainly at the service of Porto. He also played four years in La Liga with Atlético Madrid, winning two Europa League trophies.

Football career

Early years / Porto

Assunção was born in Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso. After first appearing professionally for Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras he emigrated to Portugal, having a short stint with FC Porto's B-team and returning shortly to Palmeiras. In the 2002–03 season he joined Madeira's C.D. Nacional, and made his Primeira Liga debut on 26 January 2003 in a 0–0 home draw against Vitória de Guimarães.

After two highly successful individual campaigns, Assunção was purchased again by Porto, but would be loaned for 2004–05 to AEK Athens FC, managed by former Porto coach Fernando Santos. In July 2005 he returned, going on to be an instrumental element in the team's midfield (alongside Raul Meireles and Lucho González),[2] as they eventually won three consecutive league championships.

Assunção left Porto after being threatened with a shot to the knee by supporters of the club, who wanted him to renew his contract with Porto.[3]

Atlético Madrid

In early July 2008, after buying out the remainder of his contract, Assunção joined Atlético Madrid.[4] He adjusted quickly with the capital club, playing in all La Liga matches safe four and helping it repeat the fourth-place finish, with a subsequent qualification to the UEFA Champions League.

Defensive-minded Assunção scored his first goal for the Colchoneros on 17 January 2010, during the team's 3–2 home win against Sporting de Gijón.[5] whilst continuing as the undisputed first-choice at holding midfielder. He lost that position midway through the 2010–11 season, to newly signed Mario Suárez.

In the 2011–12 campaign, Assunção was only fourth-choice in his position after Suárez, Gabi and Tiago. He did contribute with six games – four starts – as Atlético reached and won the UEFA Europa League final.

São Paulo / Deportivo

After more than one decade in European football, Assunção returned to his country to play for São Paulo FC.[6] The deal was confirmed on 21 July 2012[7] but, on 28 December, it was terminated by mutual consent,[8] with the player returning to Spain and joining Deportivo de La Coruña.[9]

In January 2014, 34-year-old Assunção signed for Levadiakos F.C. in the Superleague Greece,[10] leaving in June after failing to appear in any competitive games.

Career statistics

Club

Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other[lower-alpha 1] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Palmeiras 1999 0000—002020
2000 0010—005060
Total 0010—007080
Porto B 2000–01 364————364
Porto 2000–01 0000—00—00
Palmeiras 2001 20————20
2002 22000——20240
Total 24000——20260
Nacional 2002–03 16100———161
2003–04 34130———371
Total 50230———532
Porto 2004–05 00————00
2005–06 25040—40—330
2006–07 22010—7010310
2007–08 26040007010380
Total 7309000180201020
AEK Athens (loan) 2004–05 24080—50—370
Atlético Madrid 2008–09 34010—80—430
2009–10 30170—160—531
2010–11 24050—4010340
2011–12 9020—60—170
Total 971150—340101471
São Paulo 2012 110——00—110
Deportivo 2012–13 90————90
Levadiakos 2013–14 00————00
Career Total 3247360005701204297
  1. ↑ Includes the Copa dos Campeões, Campeonato Paulista, Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, Torneio Rio – São Paulo and UEFA Super Cup

Honours

Porto
Atlético Madrid
São Paulo

References

  1. ↑ "Inscripciones" (in Spanish). Liga de Fútbol Profesional. 2008. Archived from the original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  2. ↑ Tavares, Nuno (22 November 2005). "Paulo Assunção's Porto pride". UEFA.com. Porto. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "Paulo Assunção abandonou FC Porto por ter sido ameaçado com tiro no joelho" [Paulo Assunção left FC Porto for being threatened with a shot to the knee]. Público (in Portuguese). 26 January 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "Atlético sign Coupet and Paulo Assunção". UEFA.com. 7 July 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Forlan fires Atletico to victory". ESPN Soccernet. 17 January 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Paulo Assunçao deja el Atlético y ficha por el Sao Paulo". AS (in Spanish). 21 July 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "São Paulo anuncia contratação de volante Paulo Assunção, ex-Atlético de Madri". ESPN.com (in Portuguese). 21 July 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  8. ↑ Birner, Vitor (28 December 2012). "Paulo Assunção deixa o São Paulo e deve retornar à Espanha". Blog do Birner (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 31 December 2012.
  9. ↑ "Paulo Assunçao ficha por el Deportivo de la Coruña". Goal.com (in Spanish). 8 January 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "Στον ΛΕΒΑΔΕΙΑΚΟ ο Paulo Assunção". Levadiakos FC (in gr). January 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.