Kerlon Moura Souza
Encyclopedia
Kerlon Moura Souza or simply Kerlon (born 27 January 1988 in Ipatinga
Ipatinga
Ipatinga is a city and municipality located in eastern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The city was founded in 1962 and covers a total area of 166.5 km². Its population is 240,338 . It is part of the Vale do Aço Metropolitan Area .Ipatinga is located at the site where the Piracicaba River flows into...

), is a Brazilian footballer
Football in Brazil
Football is the most popular sport in Brazil. The Brazilian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup tournament a record 5 times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002, and is the only team to succeed in qualifying for every World Cup competition ever held. It is among the favourites to win...

 who currently plays for Nacional de Nova Serrana
Nacional Esporte Clube (MG)
Nacional Esporte Clube Ltda., commonly known as Nacional de Nova Serrana, is a Brazilian football club based in Nova Serrana, Minas Gerais state. The club was formerly known as Fabriciano Futebol Clube Ltda..-History:...

. His preferred position is attacking midfielder.

Early years in Brazil

Kerlon scored his first professional goal on 25 February 2007 in Cruzeiro's 4–1 victory over Ituiutaba
Ituiutaba Esporte Clube
Boa Esporte Clube, commonly known as just Boa Esporte or Boa, is a Brazilian football club from Varginha, Minas Gerais state. The club was formerly known as Ituiutaba Esporte Clube.-History:...

.

While at Cruzeiro
Cruzeiro Esporte Clube
Cruzeiro Esporte Clube is a Brazilian football team, from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Internacional. Founded on January 2, 1921, they are only one of three clubs to have participated in...

, Kerlon became well known for his trademark skill, named the seal dribble
Seal dribble
The seal dribble is a football move. It is performed by flicking the ball up from the ground onto the head, whereby the player then proceeds to run past opponents, whilst bouncing the ball on top of his forehead, imitating a seal. The seal dribble makes it very hard for the defending team to...

, where the ball is bounced continuously on the forehead while running. Opposing players often foul the performer of a seal dribble, such as in September 2007, where Dyego Rocha Coelho
Dyego Rocha Coelho
Dyego Rocha Coelho or simply Coelho , is a Brazilian right-back.He was loaned to Atlético-MG in 2007 and 2008, and returned in 2009....

 struck Kerlon with his elbow as he passed and was suspended for five matches.

European football

Kerlon was signed by Chievo
A.C. ChievoVerona
Associazione Calcio Chievo Verona is a professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 2,800 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, a cake company and the inspiration for their original name, Paluani Chievo...

 in 2008. Likes the deal that Inter bought Júlio César
Júlio César Soares Espíndola
Júlio César Soares de Espíndola , commonly known as simply Júlio César, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Internazionale of the Italian Serie A...

 and Victor Obinna, Inter borrowed the non-EU registration quota from Chievo instead of using its own quota. Lega Calcio documented Chievo signed Kerlon but he would leave for Inter at a later time. Cruzeiro also announced that the club and third-parties owner EMS Sigma Pharma sold 80% rights to Kerlon's agent Mino Raiola
Mino Raiola
Carmine "Mino" Raiola is a former former pizza restaurateur, Raiola is currently the agent of Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Italian striker Mario Balotelli, and he was for many years the agent of former Czech Republic star midfielder Pavel Nedved....

 for €1.3million. EMS and Cruzeiro retained the remain 20% rights.

He made his debut for Chievo on 29 October, against S.S. Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...

 as a substitute; one of only four appearances that season largely due to a knee injury sustained in March 2007. In July 2009, Kerlon officially signed a deal with Inter until June 2013.

Kerlon continued to suffer from knee injuries during his time at Inter which some journalists cite as the reason for his meagre impact in the Serie A.

On 31 August 2009, Kerlon was loaned to AFC Ajax with an option to buy him, but he was prevented from playing at the Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....

 club due to another knee injury which left him out of action until the end of the 2009–10 season. He was named as a member of Jong Ajax – the reserve team instead of the first team. He returned to Inter for the start of the 2010/11 season, but was again injured during the pre-season and suffered a long-term absence from football.

Back to Brazil

On 26 January 2011, Kerlon was announced as a new player of Paraná Clube
Paraná Clube
Paraná Clube is a Brazilian football team. It was established on December 19, 1989, in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Its uniform is composed of a blue/red shirt, white shorts and white socks....

 The club borrowed him until 8 August 2011. He played 3 times in 2011 Campeonato Paranaense
2011 Campeonato Paranaense
-Overall classification:...

.

On 21 July 2011 he completed a loan to Nacional de Nova Serrana
Nacional Esporte Clube (MG)
Nacional Esporte Clube Ltda., commonly known as Nacional de Nova Serrana, is a Brazilian football club based in Nova Serrana, Minas Gerais state. The club was formerly known as Fabriciano Futebol Clube Ltda..-History:...

 until the end of 2011 Taça Minas Gerais
Taça Minas Gerais
The Taça Minas Gerais is a traditional football tournament played in the Minas Gerais state in Brazil. From 1973 through 1977 it was played as a separate tournament, but from 1979 through 1986, it was played as one of the phases in the Campeonato Mineiro, not unlike the Taça Guanabara in the...

.

International career

Kerlon was the top scorer and named Best Player at the 2005 South American Under 17 Football Championship
2005 South American Under 17 Football Championship
The South American Under 17 Football Championship of 2005 was played in Venezuela from 1 till 17 April 2005.The host city of the competition was Maracaibo.-First round:The 10 national teams were divided in 2 groups of 5 teams each...

.

International honors

  • South American Under 17 Football Championship
    South American Under 17 Football Championship
    The South American Under-17 Football Championship is a football competition held every two years for South American under-17 teams. The tournament was born in 1985 out of a need for a classification tournament for the newly created FIFA U-16 World Cup . For the first three editions , the...

    : 2005
    2005 South American Under 17 Football Championship
    The South American Under 17 Football Championship of 2005 was played in Venezuela from 1 till 17 April 2005.The host city of the competition was Maracaibo.-First round:The 10 national teams were divided in 2 groups of 5 teams each...


Individual honors

  • South American U-17 Football Championship Top Scorer: 2005
  • South American U-17 Football Championship Best Player: 2005
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