Alex de Souza

Fenerbahçe's legendary Brazilian captain and highest-scoring foreign player in Süper Lig history.

via Wikipedia: Alex (footballer, born 1977) · see source

Alexsandro de Souza (born 14 September 1977), commonly known as Alex de Souza or just Alex, is a Brazilian football manager, pundit and former attacking midfielder. He is the current head coach of Athletic-MG. Alex is best known for his time at Fenerbahçe, where he was a long-time captain and became the highest-scoring foreign player of all time in the Süper Lig. Throughout his career, he also played for Coritiba, Palmeiras, Flamengo and Cruzeiro in Brazil, as well as Parma in the Italian Serie A. Internationally, Alex earned 48 caps and scored 12 goals for Brazil from 1998 to 2005. He was part of their squads at three Copa América tournaments, winning in 1999 and 2004, the latter as captain. He additionally went to the 2000 Olympics and two FIFA Confederations Cups, but never was chosen for the FIFA World Cup.

Quick Facts

Full name: Alexsandro de Souza
Born: 14 September 1977
Birthplace: Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Height: 1.75 m / 5 ft 9 in
Position: Attacking midfielder
Current club: Athletic-MG (head coach)

Lore & Background

Alex made his senior international debut for Brazil on 23 September 1998. He scored his first goal in his third appearance, opening a 3–0 win over Latvia on 26 June 1999. At the 1999 Copa América, he scored the decisive goal in a 2–1 group win over Mexico. At the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, he scored twice in a 4–0 opening win over Germany and twice again in an 8–2 semi-final rout of Saudi Arabia.

He also went with the Brazilian Olympic team to the 2000 tournament, scoring against Slovakia and Japan. At the 2001 Copa América, he equalised in a 3–1 group win over Paraguay. In qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he scored once to open a 3–1 home win over rivals Argentina. He was not chosen for the final tournament.

Alex scored an added-time equaliser at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup as Brazil drew 2–2 with Turkey. Brazil won the 2004 Copa América, in which captain Alex scored in a 4–0 quarter-final win against Mexico. He was then overlooked for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Reader's Guide

Alex was sold by Cruzeiro in 2004 for €5 million to Fenerbahçe. He became Fenerbahçe captain after Ümit Özat's transfer. Alex scored his 100th goal in the Süper Lig for Fenerbahçe on 13 November 2010 against Gaziantepspor. At 33, he scored a hat-trick against Bucaspor in the first 35 minutes; his first goal in that game was Fenerbahçe's 3000th goal in the Süper Lig.

On 9 February 2011, he signed another two-year contract. On 15 May 2011, he scored five goals in a 6–0 win against Ankaragücü. After Fenerbahçe's league title for 2010–11, Alex won the golden boot award with 28 goals for the season. He made his 900th career appearance on 12 September 2011 in a 1–0 victory against Orduspor.

In the 2012 Turkish Cup final, Alex netted Fenerbahçe's fourth goal in a 4–0 victory and was named Man of the Match. On 15 September 2012, a fan-funded statue of the player was unveiled in Kadıköy Yoğurtçu park. Alex's last goal for Fenerbahçe came on 20 September in the Europa League, scoring in a 2–2 draw with Marseille. His last appearance for the club came on 29 September 2012.

After a rift with coach Aykut Kocaman, his contract was terminated on 1 October. With Fenerbahçe he had 136 assists and 171 goals in 341 games. He left just five goals shy of matching the club record for league goals with 136 goals, held by Aykut Kocaman. He scored Fenerbahçe's 3000th goal.

After rarely featuring, Alex joined Coritiba on 18 October 2012. He made his debut on 31 January 2013. His first goal for Coritiba came on 9 February. He finished the Campeonato Paranaense campaign by scoring a brace in the final on 12 May, securing a 5–3 aggregate win. In October 2014, Alex announced his retirement; his last game was a 3–2 win against Bahia on 7 December 2014.