José Rafael Vivian (born 16 June 1993), known as Zé Rafael, is a 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 plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for Série A club

Santos Santos may refer to: People *Santos (surname) * Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter * Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War Places *Santos, São Paulo, a municipality in São Paulo ...

Club career

Coritiba

Born in

Ponta Grossa Ponta Grossa () is a municipality in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. The estimated population is 355,336 according to official data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics and it is the 4th most populous city in Paraná ( ...

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

, Zé Rafael joined

Coritiba Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as heCoxa, is a Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Founded in 1909 by German immigrants, it is the olde ...

's youth setup in 2009, aged 16, as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He made his first team debut on 29 April 2012, coming on as a half-time substitute for Rafael Silva in a 3–1

Campeonato Paranaense The Campeonato Paranaense is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is run by the Paraná Football Federation (FPF). List of champions Notes * In 1924 Internacional and América merged in ...

away win against

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. Zé Rafael was definitely promoted to the first team ahead of the 2013 season, and made his Série A debut on 11 August of that year by replacing

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

in a 1–0 loss at

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 ...

. On 12 February 2014, after appearing sparingly, he was loaned to

Novo Hamburgo Novo Hamburgo ('New Hamburg', ; ) is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, located in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, the state capital. As of 2020, its population was 247,032. Th ...

until the end of the

2014 Campeonato Gaúcho The 2014 Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF (2014 FGF First Division Professional Football Championship), better known as the 2014 Campeonato Gaúcho or Gaúcho, was the 94th edition of the top flight football league ...

. Zé Rafael scored his first senior goal on 27 February 2014, netting the first in a 2–1 home win against

Passo Fundo Passo Fundo is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the north of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is named after its river. It's the tenth largest city in the state with an estimated population of 204,722 inhabitants ...

. Upon returning, he only featured rarely before joining

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná (state), Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is 388 km (241 miles) away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and f ...

on loan on 5 May 2015, with

Paulinho Paulinho is a Portuguese nickname for people named ''Paulo'' (Paulo - inho, little Paulo). People known as Paulinho include: Music *Paulinho da Costa (born 1948), Brazilian percussionist *Paulinho da Viola (born 1942), Brazilian sambista *Paulinho ...

moving in the opposite direction. Zé Rafael became a regular starter at the ''Tubarão'', helping in their

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to Série B with two goals. He subsequently returned to ''Coxa'', but after failing to make an appearance, he requested to leave and returned to Londrina on 11 February 2016, on loan until December. Zé Rafael was an undisputed starter during the second division, scoring four goals in 32 appearances as his side finished sixth, three points away from another promotion; highlights included a brace in a 2–1 away win against Vila Nova.

Bahia

On 6 January 2017, Zé Rafael signed a three-year deal with

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, in the first division. He immediately became a starter for the new side, winning the

2017 Copa do Nordeste The 2017 Copa do Nordeste was the 14th edition of the main football tournament featuring teams from the Brazilian Northeast Region. The competition featured 20 clubs, with Bahia and Pernambuco having three seeds each, and Ceará, Rio Grande do Nor ...

. Zé Rafael scored his first top tier goal on 14 May 2017, netting the equalizer in a 6–2 home routing of

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 ...

. He only missed two league matches in his first season, both due to suspension, and also won the

2018 Campeonato Baiano The 2018 Campeonato Baiano de Futebol was the 114th edition of Bahia's top professional football league. The competition began on 21 January and ended on 8 April. Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, l ...

Palmeiras

Zé Rafael signed a five-year deal with

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 ...

on 29 November 2018; the signing cost R$ 14.5 million for Palmeiras and became the biggest sale in Bahia's history. After the arrival of

Vanderlei Luxemburgo Vanderlei Luxemburgo da Silva (born 10 May 1952) is a retired former Brazilian professional football coach and player. A left wingback, Luxemburgo represented Flamengo, Internacional and Botafogo before retiring in 1980. He subsequently be ...

as coach, he was moved back to a

position. Established as a regular starter, Zé Rafael won two

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 ...

titles with ''Verdão'', being a first-choice in both campaigns. He renewed his contract until 2025 on 6 January 2023, and further extended his link for another year exactly one year later. After the arrival of new signing

Aníbal Moreno Aníbal Ismael Moreno (born 13 May 1999) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Palmeiras. Club career Moreno played the last part of his youth career in Newell's Old Boys' system, signing on 20 January 2013 from ...

and the proeminence of

Richard Ríos Richard Ríos Montoya (born 2 June 2000) is a Colombian professional association football, footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Campeonato Brasileiro club SE Palmeiras, Palmeiras and the Colombia nat ...

, Zé Rafael played most of the

2024 Campeonato Paulista The 2024 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1 was the 123rd season of São Paulo's top professional football league. The competition was played from 20 January to 7 April 2024. Format * In the first stage ...

as a left midfielder. He reached 300 matches for the club in July of that year, but struggled with injuries throughout the season, subsequently losing his starting spot.

Santos

On 26 February 2025,

announced the signing of Zé Rafael on a three-year contract. After nursing a

back The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral c ...

injury, he made his debut for the club on 12 May, replacing

Tomás Rincón Tomás Eduardo Rincón Hernández (; born 13 January 1988) is a Venezuelan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Santos FC, Santos and Captain (association footb ...

late into a 0–0 draw against

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

at the

Allianz Parque Allianz Parque (), also known as Arena Palmeiras or as Arena Palestra Itália, is a football stadium in Água Branca, São Paulo, Brazil, and the home of Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, Palmeiras. The stadium also serves as a multipurpose arena ...

, stadium of his former side Palmeiras.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;Coritiba *

: 2012, 2013 ;Bahia *

Copa do Nordeste Copa do Nordeste (English: ''Cup of the North-East''), also known as Campeonato do Nordeste (''English: Championship of the North-East'') or Copa Nordeste (English: ''Northeastern Cup'') is a Brazilian football competition among Northeastern re ...

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 ...

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 ...

: 2018 ;Palmeiras *

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

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, ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana (), also known as Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club Association football, football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1988. It ...

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 ...

Supercopa do Brasil The Supercopa do Brasil (), also known as Supercopa Rei (), is a Brazilian association football trophy organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). It is contested between the champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro and the winners of ...

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

Runner Up:

Individual

* Bola de Prata: 2022 * Best Central Midfielder in Brazil:

Team of the Year:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ze Rafael 1993 births Living people People from Ponta Grossa Men's association football midfielders Brazilian men's footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Campeonato Brasileiro Série C players Coritiba Foot Ball Club players Esporte Clube Novo Hamburgo players Londrina Esporte Clube players Esporte Clube Bahia players SE Palmeiras players Santos FC players Copa Libertadores–winning players Footballers from Paraná (state) 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen