Leonardo de Matos Cruz (born 2 April 1986), better known as Léo Matos, is a former 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 played as a

right 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 ...

Club career

Starting from the academies of

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 ...

and having been for a short time in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, Leo Matos did not find his best in this small passage from Europe and fought exclusively in his homeland until 2010, when he moved to Ukraine. In

Chornomorets Odesa FC Chornomorets Odesa ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Odesa, Ukraine. According to the club's website, it was formed in 1936 as ''Dynamo'', but until 2002 it carried a logo with 1958 and 1959 Roman Hryhorchuk Roman Yosypovych Hryhorchuk (; born 22 March 1965) is a Ukrainian professional football manager and former player. Early life Since the fourth grade, around 11 years of age, Hryhorchuk was interested in handball and competed for local village ...

, with whom he worked with, before moved to

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Football Club Dnipro (, ) was a Ukrainian football club based in Dnipro. The club played its last season in the 2018–19 Ukrainian Amateur League. The club was owned by Ukrainian businessman Ihor Kolomoyskyi. In 2018, FC Dnipro was forced i ...

, was the one who actually helped him to change. ''"...We watched video every single day, we learned tactics and defense, thinking that in football is not only attack..."'' has said in an earlier interview. Although he is a full back, he played most of the

Chornomorets Odesa FC Chornomorets Odesa ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Odesa, Ukraine. According to the club's website, it was formed in 1936 as ''Dynamo'', but until 2002 it carried a logo with 1958 and 1959 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Football Club Dnipro (, ) was a Ukrainian football club based in Dnipro. The club played its last season in the 2018–19 Ukrainian Amateur League. The club was owned by Ukrainian businessman Ihor Kolomoyskyi. In 2018, FC Dnipro was forced i ...

changing his position to left full back, a quite successful move. He participated in the UEFA Europa League final, where his team lost from

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

PAOK

On 8 May 2016, the 30-year-old solved his contract with

due to serious economic problems of the club and he joined

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

. The acquisition of the player is expected to be announced after the end of the Superleague playoffs and until then all formalities (medical examinations, duration of contract etc.) with the player will take place. On 18 August 2016, in his third appearance for PAOK, Leo Matos scored a wonderful goal helping the club to escape with a 3–0 away win against

FC Dinamo Tbilisi FC Dinamo Tbilisi ( ka, დინამო თბილისი, ) is a Georgian professional football club based in Tbilisi that competes in the Erovnuli Liga, the top flight of Georgian football. Dinamo Tbilisi was one of the most prom ...

in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

playoffs. On 11 December 2016, he scored a second-half brace (62', 81'), helping his team to win 3–0 against

Platanias Platanias (Greek: Πλατανιάς) is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about west from the city of Chania and east of Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platani ...

Toumba Stadium Toumba Stadium () is a multi–purpose stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece, mainly used for association football, football. It is property of P.A.O.K., AC PAOK and hosts PAOK FC since its completion in 1959. The official name of the stadium is simply ...

. On 17 August 2017, he helped PAOK complete a remarkable turnaround and defeat

Östersunds FK Östersunds Fotbollsklubb, commonly known simply as Östersunds FK, Östersund () or (especially locally) ÖFK, is a Swedish professional Association football, football club located in Östersund, Sweden, that plays in the Swedish second tier, S ...

3–1 at home scoring a crucial goal in the second half of the 1st leg of the UEFA Europa League play-offs. On 30 September 2017, he scored his first goal for the 2017-18 Super League season in a 1–1 away draw against AEL On 22 October 2017, the club unofficially announced that his contract will be extended till the summer of 2021 with better financial earnings. On 20 December he scored a brace in a 5–1 away

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

win against

Trikala Trikala () is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala (regional unit), Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios (Thessaly), Pineios. According to the Greek Natio ...

On 6 January 2018, he opened the score in a 5–0 home win against

Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club (officially romanized: ''Levadeiakos'' ) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, ...

., and he repeated a week later in the next matchday in a 3–0 away win against

Kerkyra Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is admin ...

. On 15 September 2018, he scored his first goal for the 2018-19 Super League season, as he rose highest to head home from a corner in the fifth minute of added time just before the referee blew the half-time whistle, in a 3–1 away win against OFI. On 16 March 2019, he scored as rose to head home

Diego Biseswar Diego Marvin Biseswar (born 8 March 1988) is a retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Born in the Netherlands, he represented the Suriname national team. Early life Biseswar was born in Amsterdam ...

's right-wing corner with

Nikos Giannakopoulos Nikolaos Giannakopoulos (; born 19 February 1993) is a Greek professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Super League Greece 2, Super League 2 club Panionios F.C., Panionios. C ...

helpless to react in time, sealing a vital 2–1 away win against

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club (), or with its full name officially romanized as Panaitolikós Gymnastikós Filekpaideftikós Sýllogos (''; Pan- Aetolian Gymnastic and Educational Club''), is a Greek professional football club. It is based in Agrini ...

in his club's rally to win the first championship title since 1985. On 3 April 2019, he scored a brace in the Greek Cup semifinal 1st leg to earn a 2–0 advantage ahead of the second leg against Asteras Tripoli. PAOK were only 1–0 up deep into stoppage time, but after Walter Iglesias received a red card, Matos scored his second goal with a wonderful half-volley which sailed beyond the outstretched grasp of

Giorgos Athanasiadis Georgios Athanasiadis (; born 7 April 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Cypriot club AEK Larnaca and the Greece national team. Club career Asteras Tripolis On 29 June 2016, Asteras Tripolis officially ann ...

. On 6 August 2019, in his first official performance for the 2019–20 season, he scored with a powerful header after an assist from

that emphatically past Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana, in a home game against last season's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

semi-finalists

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie that ended in a 2–2 draw. On 22 September 2019, scored with a header after a corner from Josip Mišić in a 2–2 home draw with

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

. On 4 January 2020, Matos scored with a low shot following a free-kick, to close the score in an away 4–2 loss against rivals

Aris Thessaloniki F.C. Aris FC () , commonly known as Aris Thessaloniki or simply Aris, is a Greek professional football club and the most successful and prestigious of the city Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. The team competes in the top-tier Super League Greece an ...

, as PAOK were finally beaten after 51 games in

Super League I The year 1996's Stones Bitter Super League I was the official name for the 102nd season of top-level rugby league football, and the first year of Europe's new championship: Super League. It is also the first season of rugby league to be played ...

. At the end of a frustrating 2019-20 season, Leo Matos was one step away from leaving PAOK and lately he was looking for a team to continue his career, but it seems that despite the fact that the Brazilian, was out of

Abel Ferreira Abel Fernando Moreira Ferreira (born 22 December 1978), known simply as Abel as a player, is a Portuguese football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Brazilian club Palmeiras. As a right-back, he played 234 Primeira Li ...

's initial plans for a long time, the situation is reversed with Matos remaining in Toumba and now stopping the search for another team.

Vasco da Gama

On 23 October 2020, Leo Matos has agreed a two-year contract with

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

and his transfer is expected to be completed immediately, as PAOK informed. The personal problem that Leo Matos has been facing for several months is likely to lead him to Brazil, as the transfer window is open until 9 November. Matos came to PAOK in 2016 from Dnipro and became immediately one of the key players for the club. In four years has 168 appearances with the club in all competitions, scored 26 goals, and had 16 assists. On 2 November 2020 he opened the score in his first appearance with the club in a 1-1 home draw game against

Goiás Esporte Clube Goiás Esporte Clube is a Brazilian sports club, best known for its association football team, located in the city of Goiânia, capital city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. Goiás has won Brazilian's second tier Série B twice, in 1999 an ...

International career

There were talks of possible naturalization of him to play for the

Ukraine national football team The Ukraine national football team ( ) represents Ukraine in men's international Association football, football, and is governed by the Ukrainian Association of Football, the governing body for football in Ukraine. Ukraine's home ground is the ...

, and eventually succeeded to gain a second citizenship.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk *

: runner-up 2014–15 PAOK *

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

: 2018–19 *

: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 Brazil U-17 *

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 ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Individual * Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2016–17 2017–18

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matos, Leonardo 1986 births Living people Footballers from Niterói Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's youth international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers CR Flamengo footballers Olympique de Marseille players Paraná Clube players FC Chornomorets Odesa players Tombense Futebol Clube players FC Dnipro players PAOK FC players CR Vasco da Gama players Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Ukrainian Premier League players Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Super League Greece players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen