Jefferson (footballer, born 1993)

Jefferson de Jesus Santos (born 14 April 1993), known simply as Jefferson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for Saudi club Al-Qaisumah.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is de Jesus and the second or paternal family name is Santos.
Jefferson
Personal information
Full name Jefferson de Jesus Santos[1]
Date of birth (1993-04-14) 14 April 1993[1]
Place of birth Goiânia, Brazil[1]
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Al-Qaisumah
Number 6
Youth career
Santarritense
2011–2013 Ponte Preta
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Ribeirão 14 (1)
2014 → Santa Clara (loan) 7 (0)
2014 Leixões 1 (0)
2014–2015 Feirense 37 (4)
2015–2017 Hajduk Split 59 (2)
2017–2020 Chaves 61 (0)
2020–2021 Vilafranquense 25 (1)
2021 Al-Jabalain 17 (1)
2022 Iporá 23 (0)
2022–2023 Amora 18 (1)
2023– Al-Qaisumah 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:00, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Early years and Portugal

Born in Goiânia, Goiás, Jefferson finished his youth career with Associação Atlética Ponte Preta. He made his senior debut in Portugal, starting out at third division club G.D. Ribeirão.[2]

In the January 2014 transfer window, Jefferson signed with C.D. Santa Clara in the Segunda Liga. He played his first match as a professional on 16 March, starting but being booked and replaced in the 31st minute of an eventual 3–1 away loss against F.C. Penafiel, as he risked being sent off.[3]

Jefferson continued competing at that level in the following seasons, with Leixões S.C. and C.D. Feirense. He annulled his one-year contract with the former side in June 2014, claiming personal reasons.[4]

Hajduk Split

During his spell in Portugal, Jefferson was scouted by the director of football of HNK Hajduk Split, Goran Vučević.[5] He joined the Croatian team in June 2015, but was unable to sign or train with them until his contract with Feirense ran out, making him miss out on training camp in Slovenia and Austria.[6] He made his competitive debut on 12 July, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw at GNK Dinamo Zagreb, gathering praise from the media for his performance and being named Player of the match by Jutarnji list for his role in neutralising opposing player Ante Ćorić.[7][8]

On 23 July 2015, Jefferson scored from longe-range in a 4–1 home win over FC Koper in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.[9][10] He was the most utilised player for the team during the season, and arguably and the best in his position since Josip Radošević, being praised for his tackling skills but also criticised for his passing. On 10 April 2016, in a home game against NK Istra 1961, he was made captain in the last minutes, thus becoming the first Brazilian in Hajduk history to sport the armband.[11]

Chaves

Jefferson returned to Portugal in the 2017 off-season, signing a three-year contract with G.D. Chaves.[12] He finished his first season in the Primeira Liga with 26 appearances, helping to a sixth-place finish.[13]

Vilafranquense

On October 2020, Jefferson signed a one-season contract for Liga Portugal 2 side Vilafranquense.[14]

Al-Qaisumah

On 14 August 2023, Jefferson joined Saudi First Division League club Al-Qaisumah.[15]

References
  1. "Jefferson" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  2. Ribeirão-Penafiel, 0–2: Eficácia vale "oitavos" (Ribeirão-Penafiel, 0–2: Efficiency equals "last 16") Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine; Record, 9 November 2013 (in Portuguese)
  3. Penafiel-Santa Clara, 3–1: Anfitriões seguram 3.º lugar (Penafiel-Santa Clara, 3–1: Hosts hold on to 3rd place); Record, 16 March 2014 (in Portuguese)
  4. Jefferson fortalece meio-campo (Jefferson bolsters midfield) Archived 9 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Record, 30 August 2014 (in Portuguese)
  5. Brazilac Jefferson novo je ime na listi pojačanja Hajduka (Brazilian Jefferson new name in Hadjuk's transfer list); Slobodna Dalmacija, 8 June 2015 (in Croatian)
  6. Jefferson Santos potpisao za Hajduk (Jefferson Santos signs with Hajduk); Goal, 3 July 2015 (in Croatian)
  7. Hajduk pogodio s pojačanjima: Jefferson 'pojeo' Ćorića, 'rupe' u obranama (Hadjuk bolstered: Jefferson 'ate' Ćorić, 'hole' in defense); Gol, 12 July 2015 (in Croatian)
  8. Dinamo – Hajduk 1:1 Splićani nakon 20 mjeseci neporaženi na Maksimiru, najveći derbi uživo gledalo čak 25 tisuća navijača! (Dinamo – Hajduk 1:1 Split unbeaten at Maksimir after 20 months, the biggest derby watched live by nearly 25 thousand fans!); Jutarnji list, 12 July 2015 (in Croatian)
  9. Hadjuk Split – Koper; UEFA, 23 July 2015
  10. Jefferson, palac gore: bravo za Vučevića! (Jefferson, thumbs up: bravo Vučević!); Slobodna Dalmacija, 25 July 2015 (in Croatian)
  11. Jefferson prvi tamnoputi kapetan Hajduka? (Jefferson Hajduk's first black captain?); Slobodna Dalmacija, 12 April 2016 (in Croatian)
  12. Oficial: Jefferson reforça o Chaves (Official: Jefferson bolsters Chaves); O Jogo, 5 July 2017 (in Portuguese)
  13. COMENTÁRIO: Chaves garante sexto lugar após reviravolta em casa do Aves (COMMENTARY: Chaves confirm sixth place after coming from behind at Aves); Diário de Notícias, 11 May 2018 (in Portuguese)
  14. "Vilafranquense anuncia contratação de Jefferson Santos" [Vilafranquense announces signing of Jefferson Santos]. Onsoccer International (in Portuguese). 6 October 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  15. "لاعب الوسط البرازيلي چيفيرسون سانتوس ينضم إلى معقل #الكتيبة_الحمراء".
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