Sylvio Mendes Campos Júnior (born 12 April 1974), commonly known as Sylvinho (sometimes alternatively spelled Silvinho), is a Brazilian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player, who coaches the

Albania national football team The Albania national football team () represents Albania in men's international Association football, football. It is governed by the Albanian Football Federation (FSHF), the governing body for football in Albania. It is a member of UEFA in Eur ...

. Formerly a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, he began his career at Corinthians. He was signed by

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in 1999, and was a popular player in his two seasons at the club. He left for Celta Vigo of

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, before joining

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in 2004, with whom he won the

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 ...

in 2006 and 2009 among other honours. He returned to England to spend his final season as a player with

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in 2009–10. Upon moving into management, he had brief stints at French club

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and Brazilian side Corinthians, before being named coach of the Albanian national team in 2023, subsequently qualifying them for UEFA Euro 2024.

Club career

Corinthians

Born in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil, Sylvinho started his career at Corinthians in 1994. With Timão, Sylvinho won the

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. He was also victorious with Corinthians in 1998 season of Brazil's top flight league, the

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 ...

. Sylvinho as well won 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), ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

with Corinthians altogether.

Arsenal

In 1999, he became the first ever Brazilian player to sign for English club

, whom he signed for ahead of North London

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Tottenham Hotspur who had made numerous offers for him. Before long he was first choice at left back, displacing long-time fan-favourite Nigel Winterburn. He had a setback early on in his first season when he missed a penalty in a shootout as Arsenal crashed out of the League Cup to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, and that season finished with a 4–1 loss on penalties against Turkish club Galatasaray in the 2000 UEFA Cup final, although this time he did not take a penalty. During his second season at the club he was displaced by Ashley Cole. He scored goals against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

, Charlton Athletic and Chelsea. He also scored twice in the Champions League for Arsenal against

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

and Spartak Moscow. In the 2000–01 season, Sylvinho was included in the

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

. During his time at Arsenal, Sylvinho was registered under a Portuguese passport, allowing him to be classed as a European Union citizen and exempt from

work permit A work permit or work visa is the permission to take a job within a foreign country. The foreign country where someone seeks to obtain a work permit for is also known as the "country of work", as opposed to the "country of origin" where someone ho ...

requirements. Britain's Immigration Services investigated the validity of this document before Sylvinho moved to Celta Vigo, where he was classified as a Brazilian citizen. Sylvinho said after his transfer to Celta that he had no knowledge that he was registered at Arsenal as a Portuguese citizen, and said that it was solely the decision of the club's executives.

Celta Vigo

In 2001, he moved to Celta Vigo, and played there for three years, scoring once in the league against Barcelona on 26 January 2003, his future club. He became a popular figure with the club's fans, helping the team to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history during the 2003–04 season. Sylvinho obtained a Spanish passport in 2004, granted to him after completing three years' residency in Spain. It allowed him to bypass the non-EU player restrictions in

Barcelona

In 2004, after a transfer fee of €2 million, he was signed by

, where he won three domestic leagues, in 2005, 2006 and 2009, as well as the Champions League in 2006 and 2009. After a series of good performances in 2008, he was given an extension until 2009. He played the entire match in Barcelona's 2–0 victory over defending champions

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final, ahead of the suspended Eric Abidal, previously having been an unused substitute in the final three years earlier. This was his final game for the Catalan club.

Manchester City

Manchester City visited the Camp Nou on 19 August 2009 and, having beaten Barcelona 1–0 in a friendly, held discussions about Sylvinho joining them at the end of the month, thereby joining up with countryman Robinho. It was announced on 24 August 2009 that he had signed for City on a free transfer, with a one-year contract. He made his debut against Scunthorpe United in the League Cup. His first league appearance came on 12 December 2009 against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, following the absence of an injured Wayne Bridge. He scored his first goal for Manchester City in a 4–2 win against Scunthorpe in the FA Cup on 24 January 2010, with a spectacular long range strike. On 8 June 2010, it was announced that Sylvinho's contract had expired and that he would be leaving the club, along with Benjani Mwaruwari, Jack Redshaw, Karl Moore and

Martin Petrov Martin Petyov Petrov (; born 15 January 1979) is a Bulgarian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger, most notably for VfL Wolfsburg, VFL Wolfsburg, Atlético Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Manche ...

International career

After receiving his first international call-up in 1997 under

Mario Zagallo Mario (; ) is a character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the '' Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. ...

for a match against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, Sylvinho formed part of Brazil's squad for the CONCACAF Gold Cup of

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

wherein as they eventually finished in third place, he thus won a bronze medal with the team. He thereafter made his international debut for

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in a friendly match against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

on 23 May 2000, which ended in a 3–0 win. Four days later, he played in a friendly match against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in London, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He went on to achieve a total of 6 international caps, as a backup to Roberto Carlos at the left-back position. His last appearance with Brazil was on 28 March 2001 in a World Cup qualifier against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Managerial career

Youth and assistant

On 7 July 2011, Sylvinho announced he would be retiring from football. He was hired as Cruzeiro's assistant manager on 27 September 2011. After a stint on Sport Recife and Náutico, he returned to Corinthians on 5 July 2013, as assistant manager to Tite. On 13 December 2014, he was appointed as Roberto Mancini's assistant coach by Italian club

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

. On 20 July 2016, he joined the Brazil national team as an assistant once again to Tite. On 9 April 2019, he was appointed as manager of the Brazil national under-23 team ahead of the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, but did not take charge.

Lyon

On 19 May 2019, Sylvinho was announced as the replacement for Bruno Génésio at

. Compatriot Juninho Pernambucano, an icon at the club, became

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

. On his senior managerial debut on 9 August, he won 3–0 at

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, followed a week later with a 6–0 home win over

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

. He won no more games in the next seven league fixtures, and was sacked on 7 October 2019 after a 1–0 loss at rivals

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

in the Rhone derby.

Corinthians

On 23 May 2021, Sylvinho's return to Corinthians as their new manager was announced on a contract until the end of the following year. He lost on his debut a week later, 1–0 at home to Atlético Goianiense with a missed penalty. On 3 February 2022, only three matches into the new season, he was sacked after a 1–2 home defeat to rivals Santos.

Albania

On 2 January 2023, the Albanian Football Association announced that it had reached an agreement with Sylvinho to be the new head coach of the Albania national team and that Pablo Zabaleta and Doriva would join him as assistant coaches. Seven days later, he was officially appointed as the head coach and signed an 18-month contract, where the goal of the contract was to qualify for UEFA Euro 2024. Sylvinho moved into a hotel in the Albanian capital

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

, leaving his family in

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 ...

, Portugal; he communicated with his team mostly in Italian. Sylvinho and his assistant made an initial 70-man list for their team. Wishing to play a 4–3–3 formation, he needed a right-footed left-winger, and found in the database

Jasir Asani Jasir Fadil Asani (born 19 May 1995) is an Albanian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a right winger for K League 1 club Gwangju FC. Born in North Macedonia, he plays for the Albania national football team, Albania natio ...

, a 27-year-old uncapped Macedonia-born player for Gwangju FC in South Korea; Asani went on to score three goals and assist two more in European qualification. Sylvinho's team became known for attacking and for scoring long-distance goals. Sylvinho's debut on 27 March 2023 was a 1–0 loss away to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in a qualifier, but he subsequently guided the team to the finals with a 1–1 draw away to

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

on 17 November. With four wins, three draws and only the opening loss, Albania won the group ahead of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

on head-to-head. On 30 November 2023, Sylvinho was given the Golden Decoration of the Eagle by Prime Minister of Albania,

Edi Rama Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama; 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, artist and writer who has been serving as the 33rd and incumbent prime minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005. He was M ...

. On 18 December 2023, Sylvinho obtained Albanian citizenship.

Style of play

A quick, reliable, and technically gifted attacking

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, Sylvinho was known in particular for his overlapping runs, as well as his crossing ability with his left foot; he also possessed good tactical awareness, defensive attributes, and concentration, which also enabled him to play as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, as a wing-back, or even as a winger occasionally.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Corinthians *

Arsenal * FA Charity Shield:

Barcelona *

: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09 *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

: 2008–09 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

: 2005–06, 2008–09 Brazil * CONCACAF Gold Cup third place:

Individual *

: 2000–01 Premier League

References

External links

Sylvinho at Official FC Barcelona UK Penya
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvinho 1974 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Footballers from São Paulo Men's association football fullbacks Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Arsenal F.C. players RC Celta de Vigo players FC Barcelona players Manchester City F.C. players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Premier League players La Liga players UEFA Champions League–winning players Brazil men's international footballers 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Naturalised citizens of Spain Brazilian football managers Olympique Lyonnais managers Sport Club Corinthians Paulista managers Albania national football team managers Ligue 1 managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Brazilian expatriate football managers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate football managers in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Albania Expatriate football managers in Albania UEFA Euro 2024 managers Naturalized citizens of Albania