Wesley (footballer, born 1980)

Wesley completed his move to SC Vaslui on a two-and-a-half-year contract on 22 January 2009 for an undisclosed fee reported to be $1m, which set a new record for FC Vaslui and made him the most expensive footballer for the club.[1][2] On 6 February, he made his unofficial debut for FC Vaslui, in the friendly match against Standard Baku.[3] At the end of Vaslui's winter training camp, Wesley was his team's top scorer, netting five goals in seven games.[2] On 27 February, Wesley capped his Liga I debut with a goal, scoring Vaslui's only goal from Nemanja Milisavljević's cross in a 1–1 away draw against Steaua București.[4] On 14 March, he scored Vaslui's first goal, from the penalty spot in a 3–0 away win against Gloria Bistriţa.[5] One week later, he scored his third goal for FC Vaslui, in a 4–2 home league win against Farul Constanţa, counting his first goal on Municipal.[6] On 14 April, Wesley scored Vaslui's first goal from a scissor-kick following Nemanja Milisavljević's cross, in a cup match against Unirea Urziceni, helping his team to advance in the semi-finals for the first time.[7] Four days later, during a two-minute stretch in the first half against Politehnica Timișoara, Vaslui came back from a two-goal deficit to win the match with 4–3, with Wesley scoring one of the goals.[8] On 11 June, he scored Vaslui's winning goal against Universitatea Craiova, helping his team finishing fifth in Liga I and securing its spot for UEFA Europa League, for the second year in a row.[9] He ended his first season in Romania, netting eight goals and providing one assist for SC Vaslui in all competitions.[10]

On 30 July 2009, Wesley capped his first appearance in European club competition, playing 90 full minutes, in the 2–0 home win against Omonia Nicosia.[11] On 6 August, he scored in the second leg against Omonia Nicosia from an 18-yard free kick, qualifying Vaslui in UEFA Europa League's play-off round.[12] On 16 August, he scored Vaslui's equalizer in the home league draw against FC Braşov.[13] Four days later, he scored two goals in the first leg from the play-off round against AEK Athens. Vaslui went on winning with 2–1.[14] However, Vaslui failed to qualify in the group stages, following a 3–0 away loss in the second leg.[15] On 30 August, Wesley scored the winning goal against arch rivals Politehnica Iaşi, eight minutes before the final whistle.[16] On 3 October, Wesley scored his team's first goal in Marius Lăcătuş's first competitive match as manager, in Vaslui's 3–1 home win over Astra Ploieşti.[17] On 16 October, he scored Vaslui's winning goal against former champions Unirea Urziceni, following Roberto Delgado's cross. It was also Vaslui's first win against Unirea Urziceni, from its history.[18] On 23 November, he scored Vaslui's second goal against CFR Cluj, helping his team winning its eighth match in a row, in all competitions.[19] On 13 December, Wesley scored Vaslui's last goal from 2009, in a 1–1 away draw against Dinamo București, taking his tally of goals in all competitions to 11.[20] He also wore the captain's armband for the first time, due to the absence of regular club captain Bogdan Buhuş. On 18 March 2010, he scored two goals in a 3–1 away league win against Politehnica Iaşi, helping his team winning the first away game since November.[21] On 3 April, Wesley scored his first Liga I hat-trick, against Unirea Alba Iulia, in a 3–0 victory.[22] On 15 April, he helped his team to qualify in the Romanian Cup final for the first time, scoring Vaslui's second, in the 4–0 victory against FC Braşov.[23] On 22 May, he scored his last goal of the season from the penalty spot, in the 2–0 home league victory against Dinamo București,[24] taking his tally of goals to 12 in Liga I,[25] and 17 in all competitions.[26] On 26 May, he captained his side in the Romanian Cup final, eventually lost by Vaslui at the penalty shootout.[27] He was named in the Liga I Team of the Year for the 2009–10 season by TOP Gazeta.[28]

Wesley scored his first goal from the 2010–11 campaign on 6 August, in a 1–1 away league draw against Universitatea Cluj, coming off the bench in the seventy-sixth minute to score from the penalty spot.[29] On 13 September, he scored Vaslui's second goal in an emphatic 4–0 home league victory over Otelul Galaţi.[30] Six days later, he scored against Dinamo București, in a 2–1 away victory.[31] Later, one of these goals was taken away from Wesley and considered an own-goal.[32] On 22 September, he missed his spot kick in the penalty shoot-out, leading to a premature sent off to his team from the Romanian Cup.[33] On 26 November, he scored his fifth league goal in a 3–1 home win over Pandurii Târgu Jiu.[34] On 6 December, Wesley shared with Eric de Oliveira, the Foreign Player of The Year award from FRF at the Romanian Football Ceremony from Bucharest.[35] On 7 December, Wesley expressed his intention to leave Vaslui.[36] Adrian Porumboiu confirmed one day later, that the player can leave to any club, for a substantial amount of cash.[37] Later that month, both Steaua and CFR Cluj expressed their interest for the Brazilian player.[37][38] However, on 18 January, Wesley signed a new three-year deal with Vaslui.[39] On 28 February, Wesley came off the bench at the half-time and scored two goals against FCM Târgu Mureş, maintaining his team in the title chase.[40] On 9 April, he scored Vaslui's first, in a 2–0 home league win against Dinamo București.[41] On 27 April, he scored Vaslui's winning goal against Universitatea Craiova, from an 18-yard free-kick eight minutes before the final whistle.[42] On 15 May, he scored his last goal of the season, against Sportul Studenţesc,[43] taking his tally of goals to 13 in Liga I, a personal record since he started playing for Vaslui.[44] He ended third in Liga I with his team, for the second year in a row.[45]

On 4 August 2011, Wesley has been appointed captain, following Gabriel Cânu's long-term injury.[46] On 15 August, Wesley scored Vaslui's first goal against Concordia Chiajna in a 3–0 victory, which ended a four-game goalless streak for his team.[47] However, he was substituted in the forty-second minute, due to an injury that forced him to miss the first leg of UEFA Europa League play-off match against Sparta Prague.[48] He made his come-back in the second leg, leading his team to a historical qualification in the group stages of UEFA Europa League.[49] It was also Wesley's 100th match played for Vaslui in all competitions. On 11 September, he scored Vaslui's first goal against Dinamo București, in a 3–1 home league victory.[50] It was also Wesley's fifth personal goal against Dinamo, in the last five games.[51] Four days later, Wesley scored two goals in the first match from the group stages of UEFA Europa League, in a 2–2 away draw against Lazio.[52] On 22 September, Wesley scored two goals against Voinţa Livezile in a Romanian Cup match, which ultimately handed Vaslui an 8–0 victory, while at the same time he managed to eclipse Valentin Badea as Vaslui's all-time leading goalscorer.[53] Three days later, he managed to equalize Demollari's record 36-goal tally in Liga I, scoring twice against Voinţa Sibiu.[53] On 3 October, he scored his second Liga I hat-trick against CS Mioveni, becoming Liga I's top foreign player goalscorer.[54] Wesley was sent off in a Europa League match against Sporting CP on 20 October, for hitting João Pereira with his forehead.[55] He was punished with a four-match ban by UEFA, decision contested by SC Vaslui officials.[56] On 30 October, Wesley scored his season's second hat-trick in the 4–0 home league win against FCM Târgu Mureş.[57] On 8 December, he lifted the Foreign Player of the Year Award at the Fanatik Awards Ceremony.[58] On 19 December, Wesley also received the Liga I Foreign of The Year award from LPF and FRF at the Romanian Football Ceremony for the second year in a row.[59] On 22 December, Wesley also won Gazeta Sporturilor's Liga I Foreign Footballer of the Year Award, beating his teammate Adaílton.[60] On 3 January 2012, Wesley won ProSport's Foreign Player of the Year, counting his fourth award at this section in only one year.[61] On 15 March 2012, he helped his team to qualify in the Romanian Cup semi-finals, for the third time in the last four years, scoring twice against Oțelul Galați.[62] Four days later, he scored his season's third hat-trick against Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, taking his tally of goals up to 26 in all competitions.[63] He ended the season as the top goal scorer of Liga I with 27 goals. He was awarded the Liga I Golden Boot for his 27 goals.