Marcelo Martins Moreno (born 18 June 1987), known as Marcelo Martins in Bolivia and as Marcelo Moreno in other countries, is a Bolivian former 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 ...

. He is considered one of the greatest Bolivian players of all time. With 108 caps and 31 goals, he is the national team's all-time capped player and all-time top goalscorer.

Club career

Moreno was born in

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; ), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), Pirai River in the eastern Tropical ...

, Bolivia. He began his career at

Oriente Petrolero Club Deportivo Oriente Petrolero () is a Bolivian football club based in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. They play at the 38,000-capacity Estadio Tahuichi Aguilera. Oriente have been Bolivian champions five times, Copa Aerosur winners two ti ...

. In 2003, Martins debuted for the club as a 16-year-old in Bolivia's Primera División. He moved to Vitória, becoming first choice in 2006, at the

Campeonato Brasileiro Série C The Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, commonly known as the Série C or the Brazilian Série C to distinguish it from the Italian Serie C, is the third tier of the Brazilian football league system. Unlike the first and second divisions, the Sér ...

. He scored 12 goals in the competition, four less than the top goalscorer. In the middle of 2007, he moved to Cruzeiro, becoming first choice only in the next year, when he scored 8 goals at the

2008 Copa Libertadores The 2008 Copa Libertadores de América was the 49th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's premier annual international club tournament. This marked the first year the competition was sponsored by Spanish bank Grupo Santander, Santander. As ...

, being the top goalscorer, alongside

Salvador Cabañas Salvador Cabañas Ortega (born 5 August 1980) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a striker internationally for the senior Paraguay national team, and earlier for the national U17 and U20 teams. Cabañas played for ...

. On 27 May 2008, he signed a five-year contract with

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

. The Ukrainian club agreed to pay €9 million for the player. On 1 November, he scored a brace in a 3–1 league match win against

Zorya Luhansk FC Zorya Luhansk ( ) is a Ukrainian football team. Zorya Luhansk was based in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. However, due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the team currently plays its games at Slavutych-Arena in Zaporizhzhia. The modern club as a ...

. Even though he had won the

2008–09 UEFA Cup The 2008–09 UEFA Cup was the 38th season of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup association football, football tournament. The 2009 UEFA Cup Final, final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe S.K. (football), F ...

, on 29 May 2009, unable to establish himself in Donetsk, Moreno joined German club

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

on loan. Bremen had initially attempted to sign Moreno the previous summer, but the player opted for Shakhtar. In a 2009 interview, Martins remarked that he didn't want to go to Ukraine at the moment of signing with Shakhtar, but that was the way the negotiation was produced. He commented that it was a difficult moment but it was a moment of adaptation to a new football.https://www.dw.com/es/marcelo-moreno-ahora-estoy-en-la-liga In 2009, he said that when speaking in Portuguese with team mates

Naldo Naldo may refer to: * Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues (born 1982), Brazilian football defender * Edinaldo Gomes Pereira (born 1988), Brazilian football defender * Marinaldo dos Santos Oliveira (born 1990), commonly known as Naldo, Brazilian footballer ...

and

Hugo Almeida Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida (born 23 May 1984) is a Portuguese former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre-forward. After failing to establish himself at FC Porto, Porto, being loaned several times during his ...

that he would feel Brazilian, that Brazil was an important country in his life cause he lived in it for half of his life. On 2 August 2009, he scored a double in a

2009–10 DFB-Pokal The 2009–10 DFB-Pokal was the 67th season of the annual German football cup competition. The competition began with the first round on 31 July 2009 and ended on 15 May 2010 with the final which is traditionally held at Olympiastadion in Berlin. ...

match that ended in a 5–0 victory against

Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as Union Berlin (), is a professional Football in Germany, German football club based in Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweide was fo ...

. On 29 January 2010, Bremen terminated his contract and he returned to

. On

transfer deadline day In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new clu ...

, a six-month loan deal between Shakhtar 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 ...

was agreed to take the player to the

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 ...

. He signed for them on 1 February on loan. After returning to Shakhtar, he made a decent impression, scoring 7 times in 23 appearances. However, after being listed as a reserve the next season, Moreno joined Grêmio in late December 2011 and signed a five-year contract with the Brazilian team starting in 2012. He was then loaned to

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 ...

in the 2013 season and Cruzeiro in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. In February 2015, Moreno transferred to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

side

Changchun Yatai Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Changchun, Jilin, that competes in . Changchun Yatai plays its home matches at the Changchun Stadium, located within Nanguan District. The club's founder and main ...

. His first season in China was successful, scoring 20+ goals in 53 games. In 2017 he signed for

Wuhan Zall Wuhan Yangtze River Football Club, formerly Wuhan Zall Football Club (), was a Chinese professional football club that participated in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Wuhan ...

in the

Chinese League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

being the joint top scorer in his first season with 23 league goals, along with Colombian

Harold Preciado Harold Fabián Preciado Villarreal (; born 1 June 1994) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward. Preciado has been suspended for doping violations until March 7, 2027. Club career Deportivo Cali Harold Preciado would start ...

. In 2019 Moreno signed with

Shijiazhuang Ever Bright Cangzhou Mighty Lions Football Club () was a Chinese professional football club based in Cangzhou, Hebei. Cangzhou Mighty Lions played its home matches at the Cangzhou Stadium, located within Yunhe District. Their majority shareholder is the Yong ...

. Although he only played 12 games with them, he scored 7 goals. On 19 February 2020, Moreno returned for his former club, Cruzeiro, signing with them for 3 seasons. On 30 January 2022,

ABC Color ''ABC Color'' is a Paraguayan daily newspaper that is part of Editorial Azeta S.A., a subsidiary of Grupo Azeta. It was established in 1967 by Aldo Zuccolillo. Founded in August 1967, it is often regarded as Paraguay's newspaper of record. Histor ...

announced that Martins would join

Primera División Paraguaya Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...

team

Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...

. He would be the attacking replacement of Argentine

Mauro Boselli Mauro Boselli (born 22 May 1985) is an Argentine former professional association football, footballer who played as striker. Boselli began his career at Argentine Primera División, Argentine First Division clubs Boca Juniors and Estudiantes d ...

. The transfer took effect on 9 February 2022 of Paraguay's summer transfer window. On 10 February, Martins arrived to

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and was officially presented at Cerro Porteño. He signed for two years. He was presented with the number 9 shirt. His salary would not be paid by the club, instead by a private company would. Before signing, Martins spoke with Cerro Porteño coach

Francisco Arce Francisco Javier "Chiqui" Arce Rolón (; born 2 April 1971) is a Paraguayan football manager and former player. Arce played at the right defender position, competing a total of 61 times for the Paraguay national team between 1995 and 2004. He ...

, who sent him videos so he can adapt to his play as quick as possible. Martins remarked that Arce was important so that he could join Cerro Porteño. His arrival into Paraguay was made through Cerro Porteño's director, Miguel Carrizosa, who lent his airplane to bring Martins. He became Cerro Porteño's 5th signing ahead of the 2022 Primera División season, following William Riveros, Robert Piris Da Motta, Sergio Díaz and Alfio Oviedo.

International career

Born in Bolivia to a Brazilian father (Mauro Martins, former footballer) and Bolivian mother, Moreno played for the Brazilian under-18 and under-20 sides at the youth level, becoming the first foreign player to be part of this youth setup and the fifth foreign player to wear the Brazilian national team's shirt in an official match, but chose to represent the Bolivian senior national team as a professional. Due to his success playing for Cruzeiro, Moreno received his first call-up for a friendly match against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

on 12 September 2007. He scored his first two international goals on 20 November 2007, during a 2010 World Cup qualifier against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. On 14 October 2008, he scored both of Bolivia's goals against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

in a 2–2 draw. He also opened the scoring in Bolivia's historic 6–1 victory over

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

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 ...

on 1 April 2009. A few months later, in October, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against powerhouse

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 ...

Estadio Hernando Siles Estadio Hernando Siles (), also known as Estadio Olímpico La Paz, is a multi-purpose stadium in La Paz, Bolivia. It is the country's largest stadium, with a capacity of 41,143 seats. It is named after Hernando Siles Reyes, the 31st President o ...

. Moreno was included in the Bolivia squad for the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. On 15 June, he scored the decisive goal in the team's second group match – a 3–2 defeat of

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

– to give ''La Verde'' its first win at the

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

since the 1997 tournament. He was Bolivia's top scorer at the tournament with two goals, also being the only Bolivian player to score in the knockout stage as the side lost 3–1 to

in the quarter-finals. Moreno announced his retirement from the national squad on 15 September 2015 together with then captain

Ronald Raldes Ronald Raldes Balcázar (born April 20, 1981) is a Bolivian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is the first Bolivian player in history to reach 100 international appearances. Club career Raldes was born in Santa Cruz ...

, claiming divergences with head coach

Julio César Baldivieso Julio César Baldivieso Rico (born 2 December 1971) is a Bolivian football coach and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the current manager of Always Ready. Baldivieso played for the Bolivia national team at the 1994 W ...

. Moreno returned to the national squad in 2016 after

Guillermo Ángel Hoyos Ángel Guillermo Hoyos Marchisio (born 9 June 1963), known as Guillermo Hoyos, is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Career Playing career Hoyos hails from Villa Maria, Cordoba, Argentina and has played ...

replaced Baldivieso. On 12 November 2020, Moreno scored his 20th international goal in a 3–2 defeat to Ecuador, equaling

Joaquín Botero Joaquín Botero Vaca (born 10 December 1977) is a Bolivian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the second all-time top goalscorer for the Bolivia national team with 20 goals and was the top goalscorer in world foot ...

's all-time top goalscoring record for Bolivia. On 28 March 2023, he played his 100th international match for Bolivia, in which he also scored a goal in a 2–1 win in a friendly match against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Bolivia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Moreno goal''.

Honours

Vitória *

Campeonato Baiano The Campeonato Baiano (), also known as the Baianão (), is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Run by the Bahia Football Federation (FBF), it is the second-oldest state football championship o ...

: 2005, 2007 Cruzeiro *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

Campeonato Mineiro The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is run by the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: bef ...

: 2008,

Shakhtar Donetsk *

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

: 2008–09 Werder Bremen *

DFL-Supercup The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup or ''German Super Cup'' is a one-off association football, football match in Germany that features the winners of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. The competition is run by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (E ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Flamengo *

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, ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Individual *

Copa Libertadores de América 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 tourname ...

top scorer:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

top goalscorer:

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 ...

References

External links