Guilherme Finkler

Guilherme Finkler (born September 24, 1985) is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, commonly known as Guilherme in Brazil and Gui Finkler in Australia and New Zealand.

Early life

Finkler was born in Caxias do Sul in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul 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 in the EFL Championship. 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 club Mouscron.

Melbourne Victory

Finkler signed for Melbourne Victory on 22 June 2012, before the start of the 2012–13 A-League season.

Season 2012–2013

Finkler made his debut for the Victory against crosstown rivals Melbourne Heart. After playing regularly for the Victory, Finkler suffered a season-ending injury against A-League debutant club Western Sydney Wanderers. His anterior cruciate ligament (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.

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

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