França
Encyclopedia
Françoaldo Sena de Souza (born 2 March 1976 in Codó
, Maranhão
), aka França, is a Brazil
ian footballer who plays for Yokohama F.C. in Japan
, as a striker.
and Esporte Clube XV de Novembro (Jaú)
, França moved in 1996 to national powerhouse São Paulo FC, where he proceeded to net eight goals overall in his debut year – even though he did not start regularly – and 182 goals in 323 games during his six-year stay (fourth all-time at the time of his departure); in 1998 and 2000, as the club won the Campeonato Paulista
, the player was crowned the league's best scorer, respectively at 12 and 18.
In the 2002 summer, França signed with Bayer 04 Leverkusen from Germany
, as the team sought replacements for ageing Ulf Kirsten (37). In his debut season in the Bundesliga
, he appeared scarcely, barred by Dimitar Berbatov
and Oliver Neuville
, netting only once, in his league debut, a 2–4 home loss against VfL Bochum
; in 2003–04, although the pair remained at the club, França received much more playing time, and finished just two goals short of the Bulgaria
n (14 to 16, in as many matches), adding to this a league-best 13 assists
; additionally, Neuville left in the following summer.
França moved to Japan
subsequently, joining Kashiwa Reysol
, experiencing one relegation and one promotion in his first two years, and leaving the club in 2010, aged 34.
for Brazil
during two years, but was never summoned to any major tournament. He scored his only international goal against England, at Wembley, on 27 May 2000.
|1996||rowspan="7"|São Paulo||rowspan="7"|Série A
||8||1||||||||||||||8||1
|-
|1997||15||3||||||||||||||15||3
|-
|1998||22||7||||||||||||||22||7
|-
|1999||21||16||||||||||||||21||16
|-
|2000||16||8||||||||||||||16||8
|-
|2001||23||12||||||||||||||23||12
|-
|2002||0||0||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|2002/03||rowspan="3"|Bayer Leverkusen||rowspan="3"|Bundesliga||16||1||||||||||||||16||1
|-
|2003/04||33||14||||||||||||||33||14
|-
|2004/05||22||6||||||||||||||22||6
|-
|2005||rowspan="6"|Kashiwa Reysol
||J. League 1||3||0||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||4||0
|-
|2006||J. League 2
||28||4||0||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||28||4
|-
|2007||rowspan="3"|J. League 1||25||8||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||26||8
|-
|2008||19||4||4||2||2||1||colspan="2"|-||25||7
|-
|2009||23||10||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||25||10
|-
|2010||J. League 2
||||||||||||||||||||
105||47||||||||||||||105||47
71||21||||||||||||||71||21
98||26||6||2||4||1||colspan="2"|-||108||29
274||94||6||2||4||1||0||0||284||97
|}
|2000||6||1
|-
|2001||0||0
|-
|2002||2||0
|-
!Total||8||1
|}
Codó
Codó is a city in Maranhão, Brazil. It is located at around ....
, Maranhão
Maranhão
Maranhão is a northeastern state of Brazil. To the north lies the Atlantic Ocean. Maranhão is neighbored by the states of Piauí, Tocantins and Pará. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent...
), aka França, is a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian footballer who plays for Yokohama F.C. in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, as a striker.
Club career
After his senior beginnings with lowly Nacional Futebol ClubeNacional Futebol Clube
Nacional Futebol Clube, usually known simply as Nacional is a traditional Brazilian football club from Manaus, Amazonas state. Nacional is the oldest club of Amazonas state. -History:...
and Esporte Clube XV de Novembro (Jaú)
Esporte Clube XV de Novembro (Jaú)
Esporte Clube XV de Novembro, usually known as XV de Jaú, is a Brazilian football club from Jaú, São Paulo state.The club is also known as Galo da Comarca, roughly meaning "County's Rooster".-History:...
, França moved in 1996 to national powerhouse São Paulo FC, where he proceeded to net eight goals overall in his debut year – even though he did not start regularly – and 182 goals in 323 games during his six-year stay (fourth all-time at the time of his departure); in 1998 and 2000, as the club won the Campeonato Paulista
Campeonato Paulista
The Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1, simply known as the Campeonato Paulista, is the top-flight professional football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The league is contested between 20 clubs and typically lasts from January to April...
, the player was crowned the league's best scorer, respectively at 12 and 18.
In the 2002 summer, França signed with Bayer 04 Leverkusen from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, as the team sought replacements for ageing Ulf Kirsten (37). In his debut season in the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
, he appeared scarcely, barred by Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United. He captained the Bulgarian national team from 2006 to 2010, and is its all-time leading goalscorer and has also won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, surpassing the number of...
and Oliver Neuville
Oliver Neuville
Oliver Patric Neuville is a retired German footballer who played as a striker.During an 18-year professional career, he played mainly for Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach , amassing Bundesliga totals of 334 games and 91 goals.Neuville gained almost 70 caps for the German national...
, netting only once, in his league debut, a 2–4 home loss against VfL Bochum
VfL Bochum
Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum, is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia.-Founding to World War II:...
; in 2003–04, although the pair remained at the club, França received much more playing time, and finished just two goals short of the Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n (14 to 16, in as many matches), adding to this a league-best 13 assists
Assist (football)
In association football, an assist is a contribution by a player which helps to score a goal. Statistics for assists made by players may be kept officially by the organisers of a competition, or unofficially by, for example, journalists or organisers of fantasy football competitions...
; additionally, Neuville left in the following summer.
França moved to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
subsequently, joining Kashiwa Reysol
Kashiwa Reysol
is a J. League Division 1 team. Its home town is Kashiwa, Chiba, about an hour northeast of Tokyo.-History:Founded in 1940 as Hitachi, Ltd. Soccer Club in Koganei, Tokyo, the team was a founding member of the Japan Soccer League...
, experiencing one relegation and one promotion in his first two years, and leaving the club in 2010, aged 34.
International career
França collected eight capsCap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
for Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
during two years, but was never summoned to any major tournament. He scored his only international goal against England, at Wembley, on 27 May 2000.
Club
|-|1996||rowspan="7"|São Paulo||rowspan="7"|Série A
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
||8||1||||||||||||||8||1
|-
|1997||15||3||||||||||||||15||3
|-
|1998||22||7||||||||||||||22||7
|-
|1999||21||16||||||||||||||21||16
|-
|2000||16||8||||||||||||||16||8
|-
|2001||23||12||||||||||||||23||12
|-
|2002||0||0||||||||||||||0||0
|-
|2002/03||rowspan="3"|Bayer Leverkusen||rowspan="3"|Bundesliga||16||1||||||||||||||16||1
|-
|2003/04||33||14||||||||||||||33||14
|-
|2004/05||22||6||||||||||||||22||6
|-
|2005||rowspan="6"|Kashiwa Reysol
Kashiwa Reysol
is a J. League Division 1 team. Its home town is Kashiwa, Chiba, about an hour northeast of Tokyo.-History:Founded in 1940 as Hitachi, Ltd. Soccer Club in Koganei, Tokyo, the team was a founding member of the Japan Soccer League...
||J. League 1||3||0||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||4||0
|-
|2006||J. League 2
J. League Division 2
The or is the second division of and is the second-tier professional association football league in Japan. Currently, J. League Division 2 is the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The first tier is represented by J...
||28||4||0||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||28||4
|-
|2007||rowspan="3"|J. League 1||25||8||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||26||8
|-
|2008||19||4||4||2||2||1||colspan="2"|-||25||7
|-
|2009||23||10||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||25||10
|-
|2010||J. League 2
J. League Division 2
The or is the second division of and is the second-tier professional association football league in Japan. Currently, J. League Division 2 is the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The first tier is represented by J...
||||||||||||||||||||
105||47||||||||||||||105||47
71||21||||||||||||||71||21
98||26||6||2||4||1||colspan="2"|-||108||29
274||94||6||2||4||1||0||0||284||97
|}
International
|-|2000||6||1
|-
|2001||0||0
|-
|2002||2||0
|-
!Total||8||1
|}