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Goal.com Profile: San Jose Earthquakes' Geovanni
The Brazilian joins the MLS Club.
Aug 16, 2010 6:16:00 PM
By Nick Rosano
Geovanni Deiberson Maurício Gómez, commonly known by his first name, Geovanni, is a Brazilian attacking midfielder who brings to MLS the experience of playing at the highest level of the game. He made his professional debut in 1997 with Brazilian giants Cruzeiro, where he played until 2001, including a short loan spell at nearby América Futebol Clube.
His performances in the Brazilian league earned him a big money move to Barcelona, with the Catalan giants paying €20 million for his services. Although he started brightly for Barcelona, he was mostly used as a substitute and ended up with only a handful of appearances in his second season, leading to a loan move to Portuguese side Benfica, where he revitalized his career. Benfica made his loan permanent at the end of the 2002-2003 season and he went on to feature consistently for Benfica during the next three seasons, scoring 13 goals in 74 appearances and being named Benfica Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
Family troubles cut his spell at Benfica short and he returned to Brazil to play for Cruzeiro for a season, though with the talent at his disposal, a move back to Europe was inevitable and Manchester City came calling for his services in 2007. He again started brightly, scoring on his debut against West Ham and scoring the game winner against city rivals Manchester United with a stunning strike, but once again he faded as the season went on.
He was released in summer 2008 by the big-spending Citizens, but was quickly picked up by Hull City where he powered them to a sensational start to the 2008-2009 season before the team faded in the second half, narrowly avoiding relegation, though Geovanni did finish as the team's top scorer. In 2009-2010, Hull were unable to repeat the previous campaign and were relegated, though Geovanni proved to be one of the few bright spots of the campaign. Eventually, he ended up cancelling his contract with Hull at the end of the season.
At the international level, Geovanni has featured for Brazil's youth teams and was a fixture of the squad that competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic tournament. His only senior appearance came in Brazil's 0-1 defeat to Mexico in the 2001 Copa América.
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His performances in the Brazilian league earned him a big money move to Barcelona, with the Catalan giants paying €20 million for his services. Although he started brightly for Barcelona, he was mostly used as a substitute and ended up with only a handful of appearances in his second season, leading to a loan move to Portuguese side Benfica, where he revitalized his career. Benfica made his loan permanent at the end of the 2002-2003 season and he went on to feature consistently for Benfica during the next three seasons, scoring 13 goals in 74 appearances and being named Benfica Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
Family troubles cut his spell at Benfica short and he returned to Brazil to play for Cruzeiro for a season, though with the talent at his disposal, a move back to Europe was inevitable and Manchester City came calling for his services in 2007. He again started brightly, scoring on his debut against West Ham and scoring the game winner against city rivals Manchester United with a stunning strike, but once again he faded as the season went on.
He was released in summer 2008 by the big-spending Citizens, but was quickly picked up by Hull City where he powered them to a sensational start to the 2008-2009 season before the team faded in the second half, narrowly avoiding relegation, though Geovanni did finish as the team's top scorer. In 2009-2010, Hull were unable to repeat the previous campaign and were relegated, though Geovanni proved to be one of the few bright spots of the campaign. Eventually, he ended up cancelling his contract with Hull at the end of the season.
At the international level, Geovanni has featured for Brazil's youth teams and was a fixture of the squad that competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic tournament. His only senior appearance came in Brazil's 0-1 defeat to Mexico in the 2001 Copa América.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
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