Bruno César Zanaki (born 3 November 1988) is a Brazilian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

XV de Piracicaba Esporte Clube XV de Novembro, commonly referred to as XV de Piracicaba, is a professional association football club based in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. The club competes in the Série D, the fourth tier of the Brazilian football league sys ...

Club career

Early career

Bruno César began his professional career with

Ulbra The Lutheran University of Brazil (Portuguese: or ULBRA) is a university with campuses in several states throughout Brazil. History The university has its roots in the parish school of St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Canoas (CELSP), in Canoas, ...

in 2009, before moving on to Noroeste in the same season. At Noroeste, he made his senior debut against Ituano in the

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

, where he came on as a 64th-minute substitute. Following the end of the

2009 Campeonato Paulista The 2009 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1 was the 108th season of São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Pa ...

, Bruno César moved to

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

side

Santo André Santo ('saint' in various languages) may refer to: People * Santo (given name) * Santo (surname) * El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor * Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwad ...

. At Santo André, he made his professional league debut away to

Coritiba Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as heCoxa, is a Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Founded in 1909 by German immigrants, it is the olde ...

. His professional league debut saw him score Santo André's fourth in a 4–2 away win. For the 2010 season, he managed to break through into Santo André's starting 11 where he scored 7 goals in 21 appearances and helped his side reach the

2010 Campeonato Paulista The 2010 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1 was the 109th season of São Paulo's top professional football league. Santos were crowned champions after a 5–5 tie on aggregate score against Santo André ...

final, where his side lost to Santos over two legs.

Corinthians

Bruno César would join

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

from

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (commonly referred to as the Brasileirão Série B, the Série B or the Brazilian Série B to distinguish it from the Italian and the Ecuadorian Serie B), and currently officially called Brasileirão Série B ...

side in May 2010. He debuted for the ''Timão'' on 27 May in a

match against Grêmio Barueri. He marked his first team debut with a goal which would tie the match at 2–2. His debut season with Corinthians saw him score 14 goals in 31 matches, which helped his side finish third in the league, thus granting his side qualification to the

2011 Copa Libertadores first stage The First Stage of the 2011 Copa Santander Libertadores de América football tournament ran from January 25 to February 3, 2011 (first legs: January 25–27; second legs: February 1–3). Format The twelve teams were drawn into six ties on Nove ...

. His impressive first season with Corinthians would see him be awarded by the

Brazilian Football Confederation The Brazilian Football Confederation (, CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on Monday, 8 June 1914, as , and renamed Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. The football confederation, as known today, sepa ...

(CBF) with the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Best Newcomer award. Bruno César's second season with Corinthians would see him feature regularly in Corinthians'

2011 Campeonato Paulista The 2011 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1 (officially the Paulistão Chevrolet 2012 for sponsorship reasons) was the 110th season of São Paulo's top professional football league. Santos won the champ ...

campaign, where he helped his side reach the final of the competition, where they were defeated by Santos. Prior to start of the 2011 league campaign, he would be transferred to Benfica.

Benfica

On 28 March 2011, Benfica announced the acquisition of Bruno César for a reported €6 million transfer fee, with Bruno César moving to the ''Encarnados'' in the summer. Bruno César made his Benfica debut against

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

in a UEFA Champions League third round qualifying match. On 20 August, he made his

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

debut against Feirense at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, Ben ...

, where he scored in injury time. His goal-scoring form in the league would continue in the next several matches with goals against

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

and Académica de Coimbra. Bruno César's goal-scoring form would see then Benfica head coach

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Most recently he was the manager of Saudi Professional League, Saudi P ...

select him in his starting 11. Jesus' selection of the player would pay off, as Bruno César scored in Benfica's second Champions League group stage match against Oțelul Galați. He would continue to demonstrate his goal-scoring form, scoring in a third round Taça de Portugal match against Portimonense. In Benfica's next

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

match, he would play a pivotal role in an important win – he helped his side pick up an important away win at

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

by scoring Benfica's first goal in a 2–0 win at

St. Jakob-Park St. Jakob-Park () is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. "Joggeli", as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity w ...

. Following his excellent goal scoring form, Bruno César suffered a two-month goal scoring drought through November and December. He ended his scoring drought by scoring in an away match against

União de Leiria União Desportiva de Leiria (), commonly known as União de Leiria, is a Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Leiria. Founded on 6 June 1966, it currently plays in the Liga Portugal 2, holding home matches at Está ...

. After January 2013, Bruno César played an important role in Benfica's end-of-season fortunes. Despite Benfica losing the Primeira Liga title to rivals

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, he helped his side claim the

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

title for a fourth consecutive season, and helped the ''Encarnados'' reach the quarter-finals of the

, where they were defeated by eventual winners Chelsea. The arrivals of wingers

Eduardo Salvio Eduardo Antonio Salvio (born 13 July 1990) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a winger for Lanús. Salvio started his career with Lanús in 2008. After moving to Europe in 2010, he won two UEFA Europa League, with Spanish clu ...

and

Ola John Ola John (born 19 May 1992) is a professional footballer who plays for Al-Arabi as a left winger. Born in Liberia, he has represented the Netherlands national team. A product of FC Twente's youth system, he played with their first team from ...

saw Bruno César feature less for his club side in the domestic league campaign for the 2012–13 season. He would be utilized by Jorge Jesus primarily in the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

and the

campaigns. The first half of the 2012–13 season would see Bruno César make 16 appearances, six of which came in the Primeira Liga. His limited playing time during the first half of the season would see him leave the club in January 2013.

Al-Ahli

On 21 January 2013, Bruno César joined Saudi club

Al-Ahli Jeddah Al-Ahli Saudi Football Club (), commonly known as Al-Ahli, is a Saudi professional football club based in Jeddah. It competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of Saudi football. Al-Ahli has won 52 official championships, the third mos ...

after the club paid Benfica a €5.5 million transfer fee. Bruno César made his debut for his new club against Al-Wehda in a

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

match. He made his continental debut for Al-Ahli in a 2013 AFC Champions League group stage match, against Qatari side

Al-Gharafa Al-Gharafa Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Ar Rayyan, Al Rayyan municipality. The club is best known for its association football, football team, although it also has teams for other sports. The ...

on 27 February. César would score his first league goal against Ettifaq on 3 March, in a 4–1 away win. The following week would see Bruno César score again, this time a brace against

Najran Najran ( '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, wi ...

, which would help his side defeat the opposition 5–1. His goal-scoring form would continue as he scored three goals in continental competitions against Iranian side Sepahan Isfahan (twice) and Qatari side El Jaish.

Sporting CP

On 31 July 2015, Bruno César joined

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

from Al-Ahli Jeddah for a €2 million transfer fee. On 14 November 2015, after just 11 matches for Estoril, he joined

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

on a free transfer and signed a four-year contract lasting until June 2020. He scored two goals in his Sporting debut, against

Vitória de Setúbal Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

. By the end of the season, he played 18 matches in all competition, scoring four goals.

XV de Piracicaba

For the 2023 season, Bruno César moved to

International career

Bruno César received his first international call-up by Brazil national team manager

Mano Menezes Luiz Antônio Venker Menezes (born 11 June 1962), known as Mano Menezes, is a Brazilian professional football Coach (sport), coach, currently the head coach of Grêmio FBPA, Grêmio. Menezes managed the Brazil national football team, Brazil na ...

for international friendlies against the

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in November 2011. César debuted for the ''Canarinha'' on 10 November in a 2–0 win against Gabon. His second cap came four days later against Egypt in another 2–0 win.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

Grêmio *

Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-20 The Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-20 is the official Brazilian national football tournament for U-20 teams. The Rio Grande do Sul Football Association (FGF) created the competition in 2006 and since 2015 it is organized by the Brazilian Football C ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Taça Belo Horizonte de Juniores The Taça Belo Horizonte de Juniores (or ''Belo Horizonte Youth Cup'', in English), also known as Taça Belo Horizonte de Futebol Júnior or Taça BH, is a cup competition usually played by 36 Brazilian under-20 football teams, most of them from ...

: 2008 Corinthians *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Benfica *

: 2011–12 Al Ahli *

Saudi Crown Prince Cup The Saudi Crown Prince's Cup () was the oldest Saudi Arabian annual cup competition. History The cup was the oldest and first domestic football competition in Saudi Arabia; the first edition was held in 1956–57; five editions were played betwe ...

: 2014–15 Sporting CP *

: 2017–18 *

: 2018–19

Individual

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Best Newcomer:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

References

External links

Stats at ogol.com.br
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruno Cesar 1988 births Footballers from Santa Bárbara d'Oeste Living people Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Canoas Sport Club players Esporte Clube Noroeste players Esporte Clube Santo André players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players São Paulo state football team players S.L. Benfica footballers Al-Ahli Saudi FC players SE Palmeiras players G.D. Estoril Praia players Sporting CP footballers CR Vasco da Gama players F.C. Penafiel players Esporte Clube XV de Novembro (Piracicaba) players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Primeira Liga players Saudi Pro League players Liga Portugal 2 players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen