Grafite

Grafite is one of the most efficient Brazilian strikers in recent European football history. Born in Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, he became internationally famous when he topped the Bundesliga scoring charts in the 2008-09 season with 28 goals for VfL Wolfsburg, the club with which he won the Bundesliga title for the first time in the club's history. Trained in Minas Gerais football, Grafite arrived at São Paulo FC already with a consolidated career in Brazil. With the Tricolor Paulista, he became one of the club's most consistent strikers in the 2000s, before making the leap to Europe in 2007, when he signed with Wolfsburg, a club then on the rise in the Bundesliga. At Wolfsburg, alongside Portuguese Naldo, Brazilian Josué and Argentine Grafite — who carried the nickname since childhood in reference to his ability to 'scribble' on opponents —, the striker lived the best phase of his career. In the historic 2008-09 season, he scored 28 goals in the league, sharing the top scorer honors and being instrumental in Wolfsburg's unprecedented title, which surprised Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the race for the championship. His style was direct and objective: strong in the air, powerful with both feet, he maximized the use of crosses. After Wolfsburg, he also played for Al-Ahly from Saudi Arabia, returned to São Paulo and ended his career in Brazil. He received call-ups to the Brazilian national team during his European stint.