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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player. A prolific striker, Valdir is the twelfth highest goalscorer of

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 ...

, 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 Cl ...

history with 57 goals in 111 appearances.

Career

Born in

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 ...

, Valdir started at

Campo Grande Atlético Clube Campo Grande Atlético Clube, or Campo Grande as they are usually called, is a Brazilian Football League Teams, Brazilian football team from Campo Grande, Rio de Janeiro, Campo Grande neighborhood, Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de ...

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

, often partnering with Mário Jardel. 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 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. His final year was in

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 ...

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bigode, Valdir 1972 births Living people Men's association football forwards Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian football managers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players UAE Pro League players Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's 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 men's 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