Edinho (Portuguese footballer)

Edinho was born in Aveiro, of Guinea-Bissauan descent. After making his professional debuts with S.C. Braga, and playing there without much impact, he served two loans from 2005 to 2007; in the second he scored six goals for Gil Vicente FC, in the second division.

Prior to the start of the 2007–08 season Edinho was released by Braga, joining Vitória F.C. in the Primeira Liga. In January 2008 he was loaned to AEK Athens F.C. in Greece: not an undisputed starter at Setúbal, he put up impressive performances for his new club in his first months, managing to net in five straight games, against Skoda Xanthi F.C. at home (3–0), at OFI Crete (1–4), at home against Aris FC (1–1) and away against Apollon Kalamarias FC (0–1), topping it with another in the 4–0 smashing of arch-rivals Olympiacos FC.

On 6 May 2008, the move to AEK was made permanent in a €500,000 deal and Edinho started the new campaign in fashion, scoring once and winning a penalty kick against rivals Panathinaikos F.C. in a 2–1 home win, in the first derby of the year.

On 17 July 2009, Edinho signed for Málaga CF for €900,000. After being irregularly used in the first half of the season, he was loaned for five months to PAOK FC in a return to Greece, with an option to make the move permanent for €1.2 million at its closure; he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 victory at Olympiacos, but returned to Andalusia in June 2010.

In December 2010, shortly after the arrival of manager Manuel Pellegrini, Edinho was deemed surplus to requirements at the La Liga side, alongside five other players, but finally stayed at the club. However, on 31 January of the following year, he was loaned to C.S. Marítimo in his country, until the end of the season.

On 29 January 2012, without having made one single official appearance for Málaga during 2011–12, Edinho returned to his country in the same predicament, with Académica de Coimbra having an option to make the move permanent at the end of the campaign. He made his league debut on 13 February, playing 54 minutes – as a substitute – in a 0–2 home loss against Gil Vicente.

In late March 2009, Edinho was called up by Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz for an important 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Sweden and the subsequent friendly with South Africa. He made his debut in the latter in a 2–0 win in Lausanne, Switzerland: after a missed chance early in the second half, he made up in the ensuing corner kick by Deco, in the 55th minute, charging into the area to close the scoresheet.

In March 2014, more than four years after his last international, Edinho was called by manager Paulo Bento for a friendly with Cameroon. He played the second 45 minutes in the match in Leiria, contributing with one goal to a 5–1 success.

Edinho: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	31 March 2009	Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland	South Africa	2–0	2–0	Friendly
2	14 October 2009	Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães, Portugal	Malta	4–0	4–0	2010 World Cup qualification
3	5 March 2014	Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal	Cameroon	4–1	5–1	Friendly

As of 31 August 2015

Vitória Setúbal

• Portuguese League Cup: 2007–08

AEK

• Greek Cup: Runner-up 2008–09

Académica

• Portuguese Cup: 2011–12
• Portuguese Supercup: Runner-up 2012