Valdir de Moraes Filho (born 15 March 1972), commonly known as Valdir Bigode, is a Brazilian former

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 ...

who played as a striker. A prolific striker, Valdir is the twelfth highest goalscorer of

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

, with 135 goals in 267 matches, while also being a part of

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico * Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic C ...

history with 57 goals in 111 appearances.

Career

Born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

, Valdir started at

Campo Grande Atlético Clube Campo Grande Atlético Clube, or Campo Grande as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Campo Grande neighborhood, Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, founded on June 13, 1940. History On June 13, 1940, Campo Grande Atlético ...

, moving in the same year to

. There, he was an important part in the conquest of the 1992 to 1994 editions of the

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, B ...

, often partnering with

Mário Jardel Mário Jardel de Almeida Ribeiro (; born 18 September 1973) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was most noted for his positioning on the field and his heading ability. He was a legend for Grêmio, pla ...

. In 1997, he passed through Portugal, scoring 5 goals in 13 appearances in the two and half months at Benfica, before returning to Brazil and being the top scorer of the

1997 Copa CONMEBOL The 1997 Copa CONMEBOL was the sixth edition of CONMEBOL's annual club tournament. Teams that failed to qualify for the Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da Am� ...

won by Atlético Mineiro, partnering with Marques. After that, he passed through Botafogo and Santos, without major success, before moving back to Atletico Mineiro in 2000. He then returned to Vasco da Gama, spending two seasons there and winning another Campeonato Carioca in 2003. He then moved abroad again, joining Al-Nasr in Dubai, winning the topscorer award in

2004-05 A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on t ...

. His final year was in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

. Afterwards, he embarked on a managerial career, mainly at Vasco da Gama.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bigode, Valdir 1972 births Living people Association football forwards Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian footballers Brazilian football managers Brazilian expatriate footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players UAE Pro League players Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Campo Grande Atlético Clube players CR Vasco da Gama players São Paulo FC players S.L. Benfica footballers Primeira Liga players Expatriate footballers in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Clube Atlético Mineiro players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Santos FC players Al-Nasr SC (Dubai) players Dubai CSC players Campo Grande Atlético Clube managers CR Vasco da Gama managers Associação Desportiva Cabofriense managers Vitória Futebol Clube (ES) managers