Bruno Cortês Barbosa (born 11 March 1987), known as Bruno Cortez, 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 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 ...

. Cortez changed his surname spelling from Cortês to Cortez, without circumflex diacritic and with a final ''z'' ending after being asked to do so by the

Nova Iguaçu Nova Iguaçu (, ''New Iguaçu'') is a municipality in Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil. Geography Location The city is named after the Iguaçu River that runs through it and empties into Guanabara Bay (not to be confused with the Iguaçu Rive ...

club president. After leaving his youth club, Cortez decided to keep the spelling as an ''artistic name''.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, he began his career as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

in 2006, as part of 's squad. He was loaned to Paysandu in 2007, when he played a single game, against Tuna Luso in the

Campeonato Paraense The Campeonato Paraense, nicknamed Parazão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Pará. It is run by the Pará Football Federation (FPF). List of champions Amateur era Professional era Titles by c ...

. Cortez first professional contract was with Qatari club

Al-Shahaniya Al Shahaniya () is a municipality (3299 km2) in Qatar, with its municipal seat being a city of the Al-Shahaniya (city), same name (39 km2). Formerly in the municipalities of Qatar, municipality of Al Rayyan, but now an independent munic ...

in 2007. He moved back to his home country to play for

Rio de Janeiro state Rio de Janeiro () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo. The state, which has 8.2% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for 9.2% of ...

-based club Castelo Branco from 2008 to 2009,. He left the club to defend Quissamã, also from Rio de Janeiro state, for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He joined

in 2011, playing 14

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

games for the club during that season. In March of the same year, Nova Iguaçu received a bid from

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and drum hardware, hardware, and various percussio ...

for the defender but rejected the offer.

Botafogo

Rio de Janeiro city-based club

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

acquired 50% of his economic rights after the conclusion of the Campeonato Carioca. He played 28 Série A games for the club during the 2011 season. Cortez played his first game for the club on 22 May 2011, at Estádio Benedito Teixeira, in

São José do Rio Preto São José do Rio Preto () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is located in the northwestern region of the state, approximately from the city of São Paulo and from Brasília ...

, on a 2–0 defeat against

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

. He played his last match for Botafogo on 4 December 2011, on a 1–1 tie against

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...

Estádio Raulino de Oliveira Estádio Municipal General Sylvio Raulino de Oliveira, also known as Raulino de Oliveira, and as Estádio da Cidadania, , is a football stadium. It was inaugurated on 14 March 1976 in Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro State, and has a maximum capaci ...

, in

Volta Redonda Volta Redonda () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil with an area of 182.81 km2, located from 350m to 707m above the sea level (22°31'23" S, 44°06'15" W) and with a pop ...

, for the last round of the Série A.

São Paulo

Cortez transfer to Série A club

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 ...

was announced on 17 December 2011, with the contract being signed four days later. He played his first game for the ''Tricolor'' on 22 January 2012, in a 4–0 victory against

Botafogo-SP Botafogo Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Botafogo-SP or Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto is a Brazilian association football club in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série B, the second tier of Brazilian football, as ...

at the

Estádio do Morumbi The Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, popularly known as Estádio do Morumbi (Morumbi Stadium), and currently known as MorumBIS for sponsorship reasons, is a multipurpose 72,039-seater football stadium located in the eponymous district in São ...

, for 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), ...

championship. He scored his first goal for São Paulo on 23 May 2012, against

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

, at the

Estádio Serra Dourada Estádio Serra Dourada is a football (soccer), football stadium inaugurated on March 9, 1975 in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. It was designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha. The stadium is owned by the Goiás s ...

, for the year's

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, ...

. In May 2013, after São Paulo knock-off from both the

State League A state league is a level of competition in Sport in Australia, Australian sport directly below that of a national league. Most of these competitions are based in a single States and territories of Australia, state or territory, and from this the te ...

and

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

, Cortez was removed from the club's roster by president Juvenal Juvêncio and manager Ney Franco and, alongside four other players, transfer-listed.

Benfica (loan)

São Paulo loaned Cortez to Portuguese

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 ...

side Benfica for a year in July 2013. Arriving at the Portuguese side, he stated that playing in Europe was his opportunity to earn a spot back at the Brazilian squad and end his two-year absence. Falling out of favour at

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 ...

' squad, Cortez ended his loan spell on 11 January 2014 and returned to São Paulo. Cortez was reported stating "I'll be eternally thankful to the Portuguese club for everything that they did for me and to Jorge Jesus for the opportunity. It didn't work out due to things that happen in football, but I'm positive that I left with an open door."

Criciúma (loan)

São Paulo loaned Cortez again, this time to

Criciúma Criciúma () is a city in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. At , it is located 180 km south of Florianópolis, the state capital and around 900 km south of São Paulo. The city is the center of Brazil's flooring and home material ...

in April 2014 for the duration of the 2014 season.

Albirex Niigata (loan)

On 20 January 2015, Cortez signed a two-year loan deal with

Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. They currently play in J1 League after being promoted from J2 League as cha ...

Grêmio

After two years playing in Japan, Cortez came back to Brazil in 2017 and discusses his contractual rescission with

. At this moment, Cortez prioritize to play in his home country. He joined Grêmio shortly after cutting ties with São Paulo.

International career

Cortez was called up for the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team (), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' ("Canary Squad", after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Co ...

to compete against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in both Superclásico das Américas matches, and was capped for the first time in the 2-0 Brazil victory on 14 September 2011 at the

Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes The Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, formerly known as Estadio Córdoba, is a stadium in the Chateau Carreras neighborhood of Córdoba, Argentina. Owned by the Córdoba Province, the venue is used mostly for association football and rugby union ma ...

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

. He also appeared in the second leg on 28 September at the

Mangueirão The Estádio Olímpico do Pará, also known as Mangueirão, is a football stadium in Belém, Pará, Brazil. It has a current seated capacity of 55,000, making it the ninth-largest football stadium in Brazil by capacity. The stadium is mainly used ...

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

;São Paulo *

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

;Benfica *

: 2013–14 *

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 ...

: 2013–14 ;Grêmio *

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 ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana (), also known as Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club Association football, football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1988. It ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Recopa Gaúcha The Recopa Gaúcha (), is a super cup tournament organized by the Rio Grande do Sul Football Federation (FGF), disputed between the winners of Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Cam ...

: 2019

International

;Brazil *

Superclásico de las Américas The Superclassic of the Americas (, ), was an annual Exhibition game, friendly association football, football match between the national teams of Argentina national football team, Argentina and Brazil national football team, Brazil. Established ...

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 ...

Individual

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cortez, Bruno 1987 births Living people Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Paysandu Sport Club players Quissamã Futebol Clube players Nova Iguaçu FC players Botafogo FR players São Paulo FC players Copa Sudamericana–winning players Criciúma Esporte Clube players Grêmio FBPA players Copa Libertadores–winning players Avaí FC players Primeira Liga players S.L. Benfica footballers J1 League players Albirex Niigata players Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Japan 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen