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Luisão

Luisão before a match with Brazil in 2006
Personal information
Full name	Ânderson Luís da Silva
Date of birth	(1981-02-13) 13 February 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth	Amparo, São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999	Juventus-SP	0	(0)
2000–2003	Cruzeiro	62	(7)
2003–2018	Benfica	337	(26)
Total		399	(33)
International career
2001	Brazil U20	4	(0)
2001–2011	Brazil	44	(3)
Medal record Representing  Brazil Copa América Winner 2004 Peru FIFA Confederations Cup Winner 2005 Germany Winner 2009 South Africa
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ânderson Luís da Silva (born 13 February 1981), 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 (127), major titles won (20) and longest-serving captain (414 matches).

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 6 goals in 24 matches in his third season with the latter.

Benfica

In the summer of 2003, Luisão moved to Europe to sign with Portuguese club Benfica for a £890,000 transfer fee paid by the Lisbon-based side. He faced a tough period of adaptation, during which time he performed somewhat below his capabilities and even considered traveling back to his home country. However, he managed to score in his league debut, a 3–3 home draw against C.F. Os Belenenses on 14 September. He ended his first season winning the Taça de Portugal after Benfica defeated fierce rivals FC Porto 2–1 in the tournament final.

During the 2004–05 season Luisão featured regularly in Benfica's central defence alongside Ricardo Rocha, appearing in 29 matches 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 scored his first goal of the season, the match's equaliser. On 14 May, he found the net through a header against Lisbon rivals Sporting CP, scoring the match's only goal and ousting the opponents from the title race.

The 2005–06 season finished without silverware for Benfica, with Luisão again as an automatic first-choice. However, the team reached the season's UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, 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 1 of 13 European matches the previous year and 5 of 41 away from home. He also started in the second leg, a 2–0 win at Anfield.

During the 2006–07 season, Luisão was named club captain in some matches due to injuries to Nuno Gomes and Petit. The club again failed to secure any major honours in the season. At the end of the season, his agent said that "Luisão want to leave" the club, though 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 for the foul, 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 issued suspensions by the club, with the two later apologizing to each other. Again during the season, Luisão dealt with some injuries and inconsistent play and also addressed rumours of another possible move from Benfica.

Luisão's start to the 2008–09 season began 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 match 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 45 total official matches (4,050 minutes played, with six goals) as Benfica won the league and renewed its Taça da Liga supremacy, also reaching the last eight in the newly-branded UEFA Europa League.

On 28 August 2010, Luisão scored – through a header – against Vitória de Setúbal at home as ten-men Benfica eventually won the match 3–0. On 14 September, he entered the Champions League's history books after opening the scoring against Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv in the competition's group stage.

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 match and suspended it, proceeding to announce that he would take legal action against Luisão. 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 matches, including the Champions League matches against Celtic and FC Barcelona.

On 13 March 2014, while appearing in his 117th match in European competitions, Luisão scored two goals to help Benfica to a 3–1 away win against Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16. In the following season, Luisão equalized Eusébio with a total of 440 official appearances at Benfica after appearing in a 0–4 win at Marítimo in the Primeira Liga on 18 January 2015.

On 26 April 2015, then with 229 matches, Luisão surpassed Mário Coluna as the longest-serving captain at Benfica. A day after turning 36, on 14 February 2017, he made his 500th appearance in a Champions League win against Borussia Dortmund; only Nené, António Veloso and Coluna had reached that mark for Benfica before. By winning the 2017 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, he became the Benfica player with most titles won for the club, overtaking Nené to 20.

On 25 September 2018, at the 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. Luisão is a member of Atletas de Cristo, a group of Brazilian Evangelical footballers also counting Kaká, Edmílson and Cris amongst its ranks.

Luisão married Brenda Mattar in 2016. They have two daughters together, Sophia and Valentina. In 2022, they announced their divorce.

Career statistics

Club

Sources:

International

International appearances

International goals

Source:

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	25 July 2004	Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru	Argentina	2–2	Draw	2004 Copa América
2	15 November 2006	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland	Switzerland	2–1	Win	Friendly
3	5 September 2009	Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario, Argentina	Argentina	3–1	Win	2010 World Cup Qualification

Honours

Club

Cruzeiro

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2003
• Copa do Brasil: 2000, 2003
• Campeonato Mineiro: 2003

Benfica

• Primeira Liga: 2004–05, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
• Taça de Portugal: 2003–04, 2013–14, 2016–17
• Taça da Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2005, 2014, 2016, 2017
• UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2012–13, 2013–14

International

Brazil

• Copa América: 2004
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005, 2009
• CONCACAF Gold Cup: Silver medal 2003

Individual

• Cosme Damião Awards – Footballer of the Year: 2009

References

1. "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
2. ^ Luisão at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
3. "Benfica 1–0 Liverpool". ESPN Soccernet. 21 February 2006. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
4. "Liverpool 0–2 Benfica: Holders crash". ESPN Soccernet. 8 March 2006. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
5. "Bertolucci: "Luisão tem vontade de sair"" [Bertolucci: "Luisão wants to leave"] (in Portuguese). Record. 23 May 2007. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
6. "Luisão e Katsouranis suspensos" [Luisão and Katsouranis suspended] (in Portuguese). Record. 6 January 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
7. "Luisão diz estar ultrapassado caso com Katsouranis" [Luisão says affair with Katsouranis is forgotten] (in Portuguese). TSF. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
8. "Luisão: "Se tiver de sair, saio sem problemas"" [Luisão: "If i have to leave, i'll leave without problems"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
9. "Ten-man Benfica bounce back – Roberto redeemed?". PortuGOAL. 28 August 2010. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
10. "Benfica break Hapoel resistance in Lisbon". UEFA. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
11. "Luisao pushes over ref in friendly". ESPN Soccernet. 11 August 2012. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
12. "Fortuna – Benfica interrompido por o árbitro ter abandonado o relvado" [Fortuna – Benfica suspended as referee left pitch] (in Portuguese). Jornal de Notícias. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
13. "Ref to take legal action against Luisao". ESPN Soccernet. 13 August 2012. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
14. Benfica's Luisao suspended for pushing over referee Archived 4 January 2013 at archive.today; Reuters, 14 September 2012
15. Decisão da secção não profissional do Conselho de Disciplina da FPF (Non-professional section of the FPF Discipline Committee's decision); Portuguese Football Federation, 14 September 2012 (Portuguese)
16. FIFA extends Luisão ban worldwide; UEFA.com, 18 September 2012
17. "Benfica seize control against Tottenham". UEFA. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
18. "Luisão: "Orgulho-me deste Clube, o torcedor joga e o jogador torce!"" [Luisão: I am proud of this club, the supporter supports and the player supports!]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). 18 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
19. Bragança, José (28 April 2015). "Luisão, um capitão para a história" [Luisão, a captain for the ages] (in Portuguese). zerozero. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
20. Gonçalves, Pedro (14 February 2017). "A tribute to Luisão on 500th Benfica appearance". UEFA. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
21. "Luisão faz história e torna-se no jogador com mais títulos no Benfica" [Luisão makes history and becomes the player with most titles at Benfica]. SAPO Desporto (in Portuguese). 5 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
22. "Thank you, captain!". S.L. Benfica. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
23. "Luisão perto da Luz" [Luisão close to Luz] (in Portuguese). Correio da Manhã. 17 August 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
24. "Luisão". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
25. "Luisão estréia na seleção com vexame" [Luisão debuts in the national team with embarrassment] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 15 May 2006. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
26. "Brasil perde para Honduras e é eliminado da Copa América" [Brazil lose to Honduras and is knocked out of Copa América] (in Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 23 July 2001. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
27. "Brazil – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
28. "Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2002–2003". RSSSF. 11 October 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
29. "Ricardo Gomes anuncia 17 convocados para o Pré-Olímpico" [Ricardo Gomes announces 17 summoned for the Pre-Olympic] (in Portuguese). noticias.uol.com.br. 8 December 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
30. "António Simões diz que "Luisão não está dispensável" para o Brasil" [António Simões says that "Luisão is not dispensable" for Brazil] (in Portuguese). mais futebol. 23 December 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
31. "Benfica: Luisão não chegou este domingo, Argel em silêncio" [Benfica: Luisão did not arrive this Sunday, Argel in silence] (in Portuguese). tvi24. 28 December 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
32. "Copa América 2004". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
33. "Brazil's 2010 World Cup Roster: Dunga Names His 23 For South Africa, Excludes Ronaldinho". sbnation. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
34. Hier kann ich meine Samba-Liebe genießen (Here i can enjoy my love for Samba); Bild, 12 February 2009 (German)
35. Andrei Silva vai assinar pelo Benfica (Andrei Silva will join Benfica); Arte do Futebol, 23 September 2009 (Portuguese)
36. Gilbert, Cathrin (18 September 2008). "Febre pentecostal invade os campos de futebol e se espalha entre brasileiros" [Pentecostal fever invades football pitches and spreads amongst Brazilians] (in Portuguese). UOL. Der Spiegel. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
37. ""Infidelidade": Mulher de Luisão quebra silêncio sobre o divórcio e fala em traição". TV 7 Dias (in European Portuguese). 14 November 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
38. "Luisão e Brenda separados: antigo capitão do Benfica enfrenta divórcio". www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 15 September 2023.
39. Luisão at ForaDeJogo (archived). Retrieved 5 June 2017.
40. ^ Luisão at National-Football-Teams.com
41. "Especial 'Tetra'" ['Tetra' special edition]. Mística (in Portuguese). No. 33. Portugal: Impresa Publishing. April–June 2017. p. 84. ISSN 3846-0823.
42. "Luisão é o Futebolista do Ano e Fábio Coentrão a Revelação" [Luisão is the Footballer of the Year and Fábio Coentrão is the Revelation]. i (in Portuguese). 26 February 2010. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2016.

External links

• Luisão – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Luisão – UEFA competition record (archive) 

Brazil squads

v t e Brazil squad – 2001 Copa América 1 Marcos 2 Belletti 3 Cris 4 Roque Júnior 5 Eduardo Costa 6 Roger 7 Geovanni 8 Emerson (c) 9 Guilherme 10 Juninho Paulista 11 Denílson 12 Dida 13 Alessandro 14 Luisão 15 Juan 16 Júnior 17 Juninho Pernambucano 18 Rochemback 19 Fernando 20 Alex 21 Ewerthon 22 Jardel Coach: Scolari v t e Brazil squad – 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup runners-up 1 Gomes 2 Maicon 3 Luisão 4 Alex 5 Adriano 6 Paulo Almeida 7 Júlio Baptista 8 Kaká (c) 9 Ewerthon 10 Diego 11 Robinho 12 Negri 13 Dyego Coelho 14 André Bahia 15 Nilmar 16 Nádson 17 Carlos Alberto 18 Thiago Motta Coach: Ricardo Gomes v t e Brazil squad – 2004 Copa América winners (7th title) 1 Júlio César 2 Mancini 3 Luisão 4 Juan 5 Renato 6 Gustavo Nery 7 Adriano 8 Kléberson 9 Luís Fabiano 10 Alex (c) 11 Edu 12 Fábio 13 Maicon 14 Bordon 15 Cris 16 Dudu Cearense 17 Adriano Correia 18 Júlio Baptista 19 Diego 20 Felipe 21 Ricardo Oliveira 22 Vágner Love Coach: Parreira v t e Brazil squad – 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup winners (2nd title) 1 Dida 2 Maicon 3 Lúcio 4 Roque Júnior 5 Emerson 6 Gilberto 7 Robinho 8 Kaká 9 Adriano 10 Ronaldinho (c) 11 Zé Roberto 12 Marcos 13 Cicinho 14 Juan 15 Luisão 16 Léo 17 Gilberto Silva 18 Juninho 19 Renato 20 Júlio Baptista 21 Oliveira 22 Edu 23 Gomes Coach: Parreira v t e Brazil squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Dida 2 Cafu (c) 3 Lúcio 4 Juan 5 Emerson 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Adriano 8 Kaká 9 Ronaldo 10 Ronaldinho 11 Zé Roberto 12 Rogério Ceni 13 Cicinho 14 Luisão 15 Cris 16 Gilberto 17 Gilberto Silva 18 Mineiro 19 Juninho 20 Ricardinho 21 Fred 22 Júlio César 23 Robinho Coach: Parreira v t e Brazil squad – 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup winners (3rd title) 1 Júlio César 2 Maicon 3 Lúcio (c) 4 Juan 5 Felipe Melo 6 Kléber 7 Elano 8 Gilberto Silva 9 Luís Fabiano 10 Kaká 11 Robinho 12 Victor 13 Dani Alves 14 Luisão 15 Miranda 16 André Santos 17 Josué 18 Ramires 19 Júlio Baptista 20 Kléberson 21 Pato 22 Nilmar 23 Gomes Coach: Dunga v t e Brazil squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Júlio César 2 Maicon 3 Lúcio (c) 4 Juan 5 Felipe Melo 6 Michel Bastos 7 Elano 8 Gilberto Silva 9 Luís Fabiano 10 Kaká 11 Robinho 12 Gomes 13 Dani Alves 14 Luisão 15 Thiago Silva 16 Gilberto 17 Josué 18 Ramires 19 Júlio Baptista 20 Kléberson 21 Nilmar 22 Doni 23 Grafite Coach: Dunga v t e Brazil squad – 2011 Copa América 1 Júlio César 2 Dani Alves 3 Lúcio (c) 4 Thiago Silva 5 Lucas Leiva 6 André Santos 7 Robinho 8 Ramires 9 Pato 10 Ganso 11 Neymar 12 Victor 13 Maicon 14 Luisão 15 Sandro 16 Elano 17 Elias 18 Lucas 19 Fred 20 Jádson 21 Adriano 22 Jefferson 23 David Luiz Coach: Mano Menezes

• 1981 births
• Living people
• Footballers from São Paulo (state)
• Brazilian Christians
• Brazilian men's footballers
• Men's association football defenders
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players
• Clube Atlético Juventus players
• Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players
• Primeira Liga players
• S.L. Benfica footballers
• Brazil men's international footballers
• 2001 Copa América players
• 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
• 2004 Copa América players
• 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players
• 2006 FIFA World Cup players
• 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players
• 2010 FIFA World Cup players
• 2011 Copa América players
• Copa América–winning players
• FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players
• Brazilian expatriate men's footballers
• Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
• Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
• Naturalised citizens of Portugal
• People from Amparo, São Paulo
• 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen