Geovanni Deiberson Maurício Gómez (born 11 January 1980), known simply as Geovanni, is a Brazilian former professional footballer. He was mostly used 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. ...

but was also able to play on both wings and up front.

Club career

Early career

When Geovanni emerged from the youth set-up at Cruzeiro most Brazilian critics were intrigued by his talents and believed he could become a great player at the highest level. When Geovanni was 18 he enjoyed a successful loan spell at

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, scoring one goal in 15 games at the right wing position. He instantly commanded a first team place at the Brazilian team. Once his loan spell had finished he immediately found his way into the first team of Cruzeiro and was a fan favourite at the

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

club.

Barcelona

Geovanni was purchased by Barcelona for $18 million in summer 2001, signing a four-year deal, despite reported interest from

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. Geovanni scored his first goal for Barcelona against

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

. Geovanni made 21

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 ...

appearances scoring 1 goal, mostly as a substitute. In his second season, he fell out with coach Carles Rexach and was not featured in Barcelona's starting 11 for the majority of the season and only played 5 league matches. Geovanni was then loaned out to Portuguese club Benfica the following season.

Benfica

In 2003 Geovanni agreed on terms with Benfica and was signed on a free transfer, agreeing to a four-year deal, after an impressive spell with Benfica on loan from

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 ...

. He scored his first goal for Benfica against

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

scoring a free kick. He was a mainstay in the Benfica starting line-up and was hugely involved in winning 3 trophies for Benfica, the Portuguese Cup, Portuguese League and Portuguese Super Cup. Moreover, he was named "Benfica Player of the Year" in 2004 and 2005. Some of Geovanni's memorable goals include a late winning free-kick against

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,

in the Lisbon derby at Estádio José Alvalade on 2 May 2004, helping giving Benfica access to the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, as well as a diving header in the

2005–06 UEFA Champions League The 2005–06 UEFA Champions League was the 51st season of UEFA's premier European club Association football, football tournament, the UEFA Champions League and the 14th since it was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992. 74 teams from 50 footb ...

against

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 ...

at the Estádio da Luz on 7 December 2005. Despite having a successful spell at Benfica, Geovanni cancelled his contract after having family troubles and returned to Brazil.

Return to Brazil

In 2006 Geovanni rejoined Cruzeiro, signing a three-year deal. He was greeted at the airport by over 1,000 fans. Geovanni made his début scoring twice against Botafogo.

Manchester City

In July 2007, after being turned down by

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

following a trial, he decided to join

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 ...

on a one-year deal on 17 July 2007. On 11 August, Geovanni scored on his début for City in a 2–0 victory over West Ham United. The following week, he started and scored the only goal in City's 1–0 win over local rivals

to continue Manchester City's 100% start to the season. Geovanni also scored against Wigan Athletic on 1 December 2007. On 3 July 2008, he was released by Manchester City.

Hull City

On 5 July 2008 it was announced that Geovanni would be joining Hull City on a two-year contract. He scored Hull's first ever

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

goal on his début against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on 16 August and was voted Man of the Match. On 27 September he scored his second Premier League goal for City with a 25-yard equalizer against

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 ...

. Hull would go on to score again and record their first ever away win over Arsenal, defeating the London club 2–1. The following weekend, Geovanni scored a 30-yard free kick in a 1–0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

. His form for Hull earned high praise from Hull chairman Paul Duffen and Luis Felipe Scolari. Geovanni went on to score goals against West Bromwich Albion, a penalty kick against

in a seven-goal thriller, and during a 2–2 home draw against former club Manchester City on 16 November. He finished the season as Hull's top goalscorer as they narrowly avoided relegation. He signed a new two-year contract with Hull in September 2009, which would expire in June 2011. Geovanni started well in the 2009–10 season for Hull City scoring four goals in just seven games, including strikes against Southend United in the League Cup, and league goals against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

. On 31 October 2009, Geovanni was sent off against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

after receiving two bookings. At the end of the season following Hull's relegation, he agreed to cancel his contract.

San Jose Earthquakes

On 16 August 2010, Geovanni agreed to terms with the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

, becoming the club's first designated player. On 20 August 2010, it was announced that Geovanni will wear the number 77 shirt and make his debut against the

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

on 21 August 2010 in the California Clasico. On 5 September 2010, Geovanni made his first start for the Earthquakes and notched a goal and an assist in a 2–1 away win against the Houston Dynamo. Geovanni's option on his contract was not picked up by the club at the end of the 2010 season.

Vitória

On 30 January 2011, Geovanni was announced as the new player of Vitória. On 27 February, he scored twice in a 2–0 win against Bahia de Feira. Two weeks later, he netted a goal and delivered an assist in a 4–2 win against Juazeiro.

International career

Geovanni's first and only international appearance 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 ...

's was in a 1–0 defeat to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in the 2001 Copa América. Geovanni has also represented

in the 2000 Olympic football tournament.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Cruzeiro *

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, ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

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 ...

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 ...

Benfica *

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 ...

: 2004–05 *

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 ...

: 2003–04 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

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 ...

Brazil U17 * South American Under-17 Football Championship:

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 ...

* FIFA U-17 World Championship:

Brazil U23 * CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament: 1999

References

External links

Geovanni
at Futpédia * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Geovanni Deiberson Mauricio 1980 births Living people Footballers from Minas Gerais Men's association football midfielders Brazilian men's footballers Olympic footballers for Brazil Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States América Futebol Clube (MG) players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players S.L. Benfica footballers FC Barcelona players Manchester City F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players San Jose Earthquakes players Esporte Clube Vitória players Clube Atlético Bragantino players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players La Liga players Primeira Liga players Premier League players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Major League Soccer players Designated Players (MLS) 2001 Copa América players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen