Guilherme Finkler (born September 24, 1985) is a retired Brazilian
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 played 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. ...
, commonly known as Guilherme in Brazil and Gui Finkler in Australia and New Zealand.
Early life
Finkler was born in
Caxias do Sul
Caxias do Sul () is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, situated in the state's mountainous Serra Gaúcha region. It was established by Italian Brazilian, Italian immigrants on June 20, 1890. Today it is the second Largest cities in R ...
in the Brazilian state of
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
in 1985.
Finkler has a wife, Karine, and a daughter, Rafaela.
Club career
Early career
Finkler played for Brazilian side
Juventude, scoring four times in 15 appearances in the 2006 season. Upon returning from a long spell at
Cianorte he played in three further matches in 2007. Finkler's subsequent Brazilian club was Juventude's city rival,
Caxias.
England and Belgium
During the 2006-2007 season, Finkler played for
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 ...
in the
EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...
. After scoring several goals in pre-season games the club took the season-long loan option on Finkler. However, he never made a first-team appearance in any competitive game. His loan was then cut short in January 2007 by mutual consent. He continued his stay in Europe though, later in the 2006–2007 season he had a loan spell at
Belgian Pro League
The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...
club
Mouscron
Mouscron (; Dutch language, Dutch and , ; Picard language, Picard and Walloon language, Walloon: ''Moucron'') is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Belgium, Belgian Hainaut Provinc ...
.
Melbourne Victory
Finkler signed for
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...
on 22 June 2012, before the start of the
2012–13 A-League
The 2012–13 A-League was the 36th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the eighth season of the Australian A-League since its establishment in 2004. The 2012–13 season saw the introduction of a new Western Sydney-based team, the r ...
season.
Season 2012–2013
Finkler made his debut for the Victory against crosstown rivals
Melbourne Heart
Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, South-Eastern region of Melbourne, Victoria. They compete in the A-League Men, the Australian soccer ...
. After playing regularly for the Victory, Finkler suffered a season-ending injury against A-League debutant club
Western Sydney Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in t ...
. His
anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...
(ACL) was ruptured after a heavy tackle. The injury took Finkler out of the game for nearly a year. Before his injury, Finkler had been leading the A-League season 2012/2013
assists count with eight. He made his return to football in the 2013–2014 season.
Season 2013–2014

Finkler scored his first goal for Melbourne Victory (also Victory's first goal of the season) in a 2–2 draw against
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...
.
On 4 January 2014, Guilherme Finkler was named in the Melbourne Victory starting XI for the first time since his knee injury.
Season 2014–2015
On 9 May 2014, Guilherme Finkler signed a two-year contract extension with Melbourne Victory.
The midfielder played injury-free, amassing 10 assists and 7 goals and helping his club win the A-league in Australia.
On 24 March 2016, Finkler advised the Victory that he would leave them at the end of the season to join
Wellington Phoenix FC
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under Professional sports league organization#Systems around the world, licenc ...
.
Wellington Phoenix
After he announced that he would leave Melbourne Victory at the end of 2015-2016 season, Guilerhme Finkler moved to Wellington Phoenix ahead of the 2016-2017 season.
During his maiden season with the Phoenix, Finkler made 24 appearances where he scored 6 goals and also provided 3 assists.
Honours
Melbourne Victory
*
A-League Premiers: 2014-15
*
A-League Championship: 2014-15
*
FFA Cup: 2015
Individual
*
A-League PFA Team of the Season: 2014-15
*
A-League All Stars: 2014
References
External links
Melbourne Victory profile
Ultimate A-league Statistics*
soFIFA Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finkler, Guilherme
Living people
1985 births
Brazilian men's footballers
Brazilian people of German descent
Men's association football midfielders
Esporte Clube Juventude players
ABC Futebol Clube players
Grêmio Esportivo Brasil players
Esporte Clube São José players
Campinense Clube players
Sociedade Esportiva e Recreativa Caxias do Sul players
Ituano FC players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Royal Excel Mouscron players
Melbourne Victory FC players
Wellington Phoenix FC players
Brazilian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia
A-League Men players
A-League Men All-Stars
Marquee players (A-League Men)
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Australia
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand
Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand
21st-century Brazilian sportsmen