Adryan Oliveira Tavares (born 10 August 1994), or simply Adryan, 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 Associação Atlética Portuguesa. Adryan began his career with

CR Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

, with loan spells at

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. Other clubs hes played for include Sion,

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, and also called Bellona Kayserispor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadium ...

, Avai, and

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

. He has also represented

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 ...

at various age groups up to under-20.

Club career

Flamengo

Adryan has always been treated as a prolific player with creativity. Champion for Flamengo at youth level in 2010, the

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 ...

was selected, at that time aged 16, to play in the 2011

Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior The Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior (or ''São Paulo Youth Football Cup'', in English), also known as Copa São Paulo de Juniores (''São Paulo Youth Cup'') and Copinha (''Little Cup''), is a cup competition played by Brazilian under-20 assoc ...

(which allowed players under 18 years of age), was one of the top players in the tournament and finished as champion. After the good campaign in the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior coach

Vanderlei Luxemburgo Vanderlei Luxemburgo da Silva (born 10 May 1952) is a retired former Brazilian professional football coach and player. A left wingback, Luxemburgo represented Flamengo, Internacional and Botafogo before retiring in 1980. He subsequently be ...

gave him a chance to train in the pre-season preparation with the professional team to fill the void left by

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

. He debuted in a friendly match against

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná (state), Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is 388 km (241 miles) away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and f ...

at Estádio do Café on 9 February 2011. He spent little time training with the professional team as he was selected to play with the Brazil U-17 team in the

2011 South American Under-17 Football Championship The 2011 South American Under-17 Football Championship () was the 14th U-17 tournament for national teams affiliated with CONMEBOL. It was held in Ecuador from 12 March to 9 April 2011. This tournament gave four berths to the 2011 FIFA U-17 Wor ...

, being champion. A few months later he was again selected to play in the Brazil U-17 team, but this at a higher level in the

2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 14th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth association football, football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was h ...

. During the competition he was linked with

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 ...

. On 1 July 2012, Adryan played his first game for the

Brazilian Série A Brazilian commonly refers to: * Brazil, a country * Brazilians, its people * Brazilian Portuguese, its dialect Brazilian may also refer to: * "The Brazilian", a 1986 instrumental music piece by Genesis * Brazilian Café, Baghdad, Iraq (1937) * Bra ...

, against

Atlético Goianiense Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

, and he scored in the 3–2

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

victory. On 16 September 2012, he scored a freekick at the age of 16 for the Flamengo first team to help earn Flamengo a draw against Grêmio.

Cagliari

On 22 January 2014, it was announced that Adryan would go on loan to

Cagliari Calcio Cagliari Calcio, commonly referred to as Cagliari (), is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia, that plays in Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. The club currently plays home matches at the 16,416-sea ...

for one and a half seasons. He played as Cagliari's no. 32. He made his debut for Cagliari on 1 February in

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

. Adryan played in the following four fixtures after making his debut, however he picked up a thigh injury against

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 23 February and had to be replaced by Sebastian Eriksson, after recovering from injury he played against

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

on 2 March 2014, Under new owners and new management, Adryan was given the no. 10 shirt for the upcoming 2014–15 season.

Leeds United

On 30 August 2014, after speaking highly of Adryan,

president and former Cagliari owner

Massimo Cellino Massimo Cellino (; born 28 July 1956) is an Italian entrepreneur and football club owner. Through his family trust Eleonora Sport Ltd, he was the owner of Italian club Brescia Calcio, and is the former owner of Italian club Cagliari, and English ...

negotiated a deal with his former club to terminate Adryan's loan deal, taking him to the

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

club on a season-long loan with the option of a permanent move, with an agreed transfer price of around £3 million. Adryan was given the number 9 shirt for the 2014–15 season. Adryan made his Leeds debut as a substitute against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

in a 2–1 loss on 17 October. He made his first Leeds start in the following game, in a 1–1 draw against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, providing an assist for teammate Souleymane Doukara's equaliser. He followed this up against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

with four key passes, two key dribbles and an assist. On 29 November of the same year, Adryan had perhaps his most memorable act: a spectacular

dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

after he was tackled by Johnny Russell in the match between Leeds and

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

, which Leeds won 2–0 at Elland Road. Russell was shown a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...

for the tackle, but on 12 January 2015, Adryan was "awarded" the "Fallon d'Floor"—a parody of the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

, which was awarded the same day—by users of

Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...

. Adryan received 32 percent of the vote, beating out competition from Giancarlo González, then of

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

, and Ballon d'Or winner

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

among others.

Nantes

On 26 June 2015, it was announced that Adryan had joined French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

side

FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes, commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Naunnt''), is a French professional association football, football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 Ap ...

in a season-long loan move.

Return to Flamengo

Sion

Adryan moved to Swiss club

FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...

in July 2017 having agreed a contract until 2020. Following loans to Turkish club

and Brazilian side

Avaí Avaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 5,436 (2020 est.) in an area of 540 km2. Media In telecommunications, the city was served by Companhia Telefônica Brasileira until 1973, when it began to be serve ...

, Adryan agreed a contract extension with Sion in August 2021. He signed until the end of the 2021–22 season with the option of a further year.

Brescia

On 2 February 2023, Adryan joined

in the Italian

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

International career

Adryan was a key player for Brazil U-17 team in the

victorious campaign. He played eight matches and scored three goals in the tournament and finished as champion. The young player has been called up by coach

Émerson Ávila Emerson may refer to: People * Emerson (surname), a surname (and list of people with that name) * Emerson (given name), a given name (and list of people with that name) * Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American philosopher and essayist Places Australia ...

alongside

Lucas Piazón Lucas Domingues Piazon (born on 20 January 1994) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Primeira Liga club AVS. He can play as a second striker, a winger, or an attacking midfielder. Piazon spent a decade at Chelsea, though he ...

as the biggest stars of Brazil U-17 team in the

. On 23 June 2011, Adryan scored the winning goal against Australia U-17 with a fine free-kick. On 26 June 2011, he scored the equaliser in the 90th minute to level Brazil U-17 with Ivory Coast U-17. In 2012, Adryan was called up to the Brazil U-20 where he impressed, this time in the Mediterranean International Cup, where the Brazil team were eliminated in the semi-final, but Adryan was named Mediterranean International Cup Player of the tournament.

Style of play

In 2012, he was included in the list of the 101 best players born after 1991 compiled by ''

Don Balón ''Don Balón'' is a Spanish weekly sports magazine specializing in Spanish and international football. The magazine was published in Barcelona between 1975 and 2011. It was distributed on five continents. Since 2011 ''Don Balón'' has been a ful ...

''. In his homeland, Adryan is nicknamed ''herdeiro de Zico'' meaning 'heir of Zico' and ''il nuovo Zico'' (the new Zico). Adryan's style of play has been compared to that of Brazilian compatriot

Kaká Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime at A.C. Milan, AC Mil ...

, due to his skill and

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

ability whilst playing in the 'number 10' role. Adryan can also play as a

central 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 ...

and as a

second striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

. He is also renowned for being a free kick specialist.

Career statistics

Honours

Flamengo * Rio de Janeiro State League:

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 ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at 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, ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Brazil U-17 *

South American Under-17 Football Championship The South American U-17 Championship (; ), branded as CONMEBOL Sub 17, 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 cre ...

Individual * Fallon d'Floor: 2014 *

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...

Bronze Boot:

References

External links

*
Player profile
at Flamengo.com.br {{in lang, pt 1994 births Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Living people Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Brazil men's youth international footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Campeonato Brasileiro Série C players Campeonato Brasileiro Série D players Serie A players English Football League players Ligue 1 players Swiss Super League players Süper Lig players CR Flamengo footballers Cagliari Calcio players Leeds United F.C. players FC Nantes players FC Sion players Kayserispor footballers Avaí FC players Brescia Calcio players ABC Futebol Clube players Associação Atlética Portuguesa (RJ) players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen