Arílson de Paula Nunes (born October 30, 1971), better known as Paulo Nunes, is a Brazilian football

pundit A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

and retired

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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Club career

Flamengo

A product 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 ...

's youth system, Paulo Nunes was part of a remarkable generation of players revealed by the

Gávea Gávea is an affluent residential neighborhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It borders São Conrado, Leblon, Lagoa and Jardim Botânico neighborhoods and is famous for its high concentration of artists. ...

team, such as

Djalminha Djalma Feitosa Dias (born 9 December 1970), known as Djalminha , is a Brazilian football pundit and retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Blessed with superb skill and technical ability but possessing a troubles ...

, Júnior Baiano,

Marquinhos Marcos Aoás Corrêa (born 14 May 1994), better known as Marquinhos (), is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back and Captain (association football), captains both club Paris Saint-Germain FC, Par ...

, Nélio,

Marcelinho Carioca Marcelo Pereira Surcin (born 1 February 1971), known as Marcelinho Carioca, is a former Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Known as ''Pé de Anjo'' (Angel's Foot) for his Direct free k ...

and

Sávio Sávio Bortolini Pimentel (born 9 January 1974), known simply as Sávio (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a left winger. Known as ''"Anjo Loiro"'' ("Blonde Angel") and ''"Diabo Loiro"'' ("Blonde Devil"), he play ...

. However, Paulo Nunes did not achieve stardom in Flamengo, and only went to achieve success in other clubs, as it was the case with his former youth team teammates. Paulo Nunes, however, won the

1990 Copa do Brasil The 1990 Copa do Brasil was the second edition of the Copa do Brasil. The competition started on June 19, 1990, and ended on November 7, 1990, with the second leg of the final, held at the Estádio Serra Dourada in Goiânia, in which Flamengo li ...

with the Rio club, the 1991

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

and finally the

1992 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The 1992 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A was the 36th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. The competition was won by Flamengo. Format First Stage: 20 clubs playing against each other once. The eight best placed teams qualified to the se ...

Grêmio

Paulo Nunes left Flamengo in 1995, moving on to Grêmio, where he joined another player who had left a

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

club, Jardel formerly of Vasco. Alongside him, Paulo Nunes formed one of the most effective attacking duos in Grêmio history. At Grêmio, Paulo Nunes lived the most glorious time in career, winning two

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

titles, the

Copa Libertadores 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 tournam ...

cup, the Campeonato Brasileiro, the Recopa Sul-Americana and the

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, ...

for the

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

team and being the lead scorer in the 1996 Campeonato Brasileiro and the 1997 Copa do Brasil. His good form also earned him the Bola de Prata from ''

Placar ''Placar'' (; stylized in all caps) is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued by Editora Abril. on March 20, 1970, and since then it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses ...

'' magazine, also earning him a place in the national team squad for the

1997 Copa América The 1997 Copa America was the 38th edition of the Copa America. It was held in Bolivia from 11 to 29 June. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. In this edition, Costa Rica and Mexico were the invited teams to br ...

Return to Brazil and success at Palmeiras

After departing from Grêmio in 1997, he went on to play for the Portuguese club

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

. However, injuries and clashes with the rest of the squad hastened his return to Brazil. In 1998, Paulo Nunes joined

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

. Joining

Atlético Paranaense Club Athletico Paranaense (abbreviated CAP, commonly known as Athletico Paranaense and up to 2019 known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná, founded o ...

recruited Oséas in the attack, Paulo Nunes went on to win the

1998 Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil 1998 was the 10th staging of the Copa do Brasil. The competition started on January 20, 1998, and concluded on May 30, 1998, with the second leg of the final, held at the Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, in which Palmeiras li ...

, the third one in his career, the Copa Mercosul and also the

1999 Copa Libertadores The 1999 Copa Libertadores was the 40th edition of the Copa Libertadores, South America's premier club championship. It was held between February 21 and June 16. Palmeiras became the champions after beating Deportivo Cali on penalties for the fir ...

. After the defeat 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 ...

for the Intercontinental Cup, Paulo Nunes left Palmeiras.

Departure from Palmeiras

Paulo Nunes returned to Grêmio for one season with no great fanfare. Afterwards, he played for

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

, Gama,

Al Nassr Al-Nassr Football Club () is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The club competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of the Saudi football league system. Al-Nassr is one of only three clubs to have participated ...

and

Mogi Mirim Mogi Mirim is a municipality located in the eastern part of São Paulo State, in Brazil. The population is 93,650 (2020 est.) in an area of 498 km2. The elevation is 611 m. Mogi Mirim is around 65 km from Campinas, the biggest city in ...

, where he retired in 2003, at the age of 32.

International career

Paulo Nunes played his first game for the Brazil national team on 3 June 1997, when his country and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

drew 1–1 for the

Tournoi de France The ''Tournoi de France'' ( French, 'Tournament of France') was a friendly international football tournament organised by the French Football Federation (FFF) that was held in France. There have been two tournaments: the first in February 1988 and ...

. Paulo Nunes second and last game for the country was the June 29, 1997

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 ...

final against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, when his team beat the opponent team 3–1. In doing so his 1997 Brazil national team won the

Career statistics

International

Honours

Club

Flamengo *

Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior The Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior (or ''São Paulo Youth Football Cup'', in English), also known as Copa São Paulo de Juniores (''São Paulo Youth Cup'') and Copinha (''Little Cup''), is a cup competition played by Brazilian under-20 assoc ...

: 1990 * Copa do Brasil: 1990 * Copa Rio: 1991 * Campeonato Carioca: 1991 * Campeonato Brasileiro: 1992 Grêmio * Campeonato Gaúcho: 1995, 1996 * Copa Libertadores da América: 1995 * Recopa Sul-Americana: 1996 * Campeonato Brasileiro: 1996 * Copa do Brasil: 1997 Palmeiras * Copa do Brasil: 1998 * Copa Mercosul: 1998 * Copa Libertadores da América: 1999 * Intercontinental Cup runner-up:

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Corinthians * Campeonato Paulista: 2001

International

Brazil * Copa América: 1997

Individual

* Bola de Prata Placar winner: 1996 * Campeonato Brasileiro top scorer (16 goals): 1996 * Copa do Brasil top scorer (9 goals): 1997

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunes, Paulo 1971 births Living people Footballers from Goiás Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Primeira Liga players CR Flamengo footballers Grêmio FBPA players S.L. Benfica footballers SE Palmeiras players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Al-Nassr FC players Mogi Mirim Esporte Clube players Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Copa América–winning players Copa Libertadores–winning players 1997 Copa América players Men's association football forwards Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal