Cléo

Cléverson Gabriel Córdova (born 9 August 1985), commonly known as Cléo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Goiás. He also holds Serbian citizenship.
While playing on three different continents, Cléo scored at least once in the major club international competitions, in the Copa Libertadores for Atlético Paranaense, in the UEFA Champions League for Partizan, and in the AFC Champions League for two clubs, Guangzhou Evergrande and Kashiwa Reysol.

Early years

Born in Guarapuava, Cléo started out with Batel, before joining Comercial (PR). He was then spotted by Olivais e Moscavide, which brought him to Portugal in 2004. A little more than six months, Cléo returned to Brazil and signed for Atlético Paranaense, playing with them in the 2005 and 2006 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. He also made three appearances in the 2005 Copa Libertadores, scoring once against Paraguayan side Cerro Porteño. Meanwhile, Cléo was sent on loan to Ferroviária and Figueirense in 2005. In the summer of 2006, Cléo moved back to Olivais e Moscavide, staying there for next two seasons.

In August 2008, Cléo moved to Serbian club Red Star Belgrade, on a one-year loan with a view to a permanent move. He was given the number 17 shirt. During a turbulent period for the club, Cléo managed to score 12 goals in 24 appearances (league and cup) that season. He eventually left Red Star after the club was not able to pay a transfer fee of €800,000.

Partizan

2009–10 season

On 19 June 2009, Cléo signed a four-year contract with Partizan, thus becoming the first player in more than 20 years to move from Red Star to Partizan (the last was Goran Milojević in 1988). Cléo scored on his debut for Partizan, on 14 July 2009, against Welsh champions Rhyl for the overall victory of his team by 4–0. Seven days later, in the second leg, Cléo scored a hat-trick in which the first goal was achieved with a bicycle kick. On 28 November 2009, Cléo scored a goal against his former club to help Partizan 2–1 win over Red Star. Cléo played regularly in the second part of the 2009–10 Serbian SuperLiga, scoring nine goals in 14 appearances, and thus helped Partizan to reach their third consecutive title. He was the club's top scorer with 22 goals in all competitions, one more than Senegalese striker Lamine Diarra, who left the club at the end of the season.

2010–11 season

Cléo opened the season by scoring the third goal in his team's 3–1 victory over Armenian champions Pyunik in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League. One week later, second meeting in Yerevan, Cléo scored a goal from the edge of the penalty area in the fifth minute of injury time in the first half, thus leading his team to the next round with a total score of 4–1 on aggregate. In the first match of the third qualifying round, Cléo scored in the 90th minute for his team's 3–0 win against Finland's HJK. Subsequently, Cléo netted both goals in the team's 2–1 return leg victory. He also scored a goal in the first round of the 2010–11 Serbian SuperLiga against Inđija at home, thus continued his series of goals. On 18 August 2010, in the play-off round first leg against Anderlecht, a game which ended 2–2, Cléo scored his 7th goal in six matches. Six days later, on 24 August 2010, Cléo scored twice against Anderlecht in the return tie, bringing his tally to nine goals in seven matches in the season. He was also accurate in the penalty shoot-out, and so helped Partizan to reach the Champions League for the first time in seven years. On 4 September 2010, a day when he filed a request for Serbian citizenship, Cléo scored his 10th goal in the season with an overhead bicycle kick in the match against Hajduk Kula. On 28 September 2010, in the second round of the Champions League group stage, Cléo completed one of two penalties in a 3–1 defeat versus Arsenal. On 8 December 2010, again in a match against Arsenal, Cléo scored an equaliser at Emirates Stadium, however Partizan lost the game 3–1. He was voted as the club's Player of the Year in 2010 by the fans.

Guangzhou Evergrande

2011 season

On 12 February 2011, Cléo completed his move to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande, signing a four-year deal. At the time, this move set a new record of Chinese football with €3.2 million ($4.5 million) transfer fee. He made his league debut for Guangzhou against Dalian Shide on 2 April 2011 and scored the winning goal in the match. Cléo started the season by scoring five goals in his first five league appearances. However, Cléo suffered a muscular strain in leg during a FA Cup match against Guizhou Zhicheng on 4 May 2011, ruling him out for two months. On 26 June 2011, after recovering from injury, Cléo entered from the bench at the half and scored a penalty in the 60th minute against Jiangsu Sainty. He scored another four goals in the next four matches, but the recurrence of leg strain on 14 July 2011 against Nanchang Hengyuan ruling him out for a further two months. Cléo returned to training in late August but injured again in early September. The lingering injury kept him out of the field for the second half of the year. He managed to score 10 times in 10 appearances during the 2011 league season.

2012 season

After the end of the 2011 season, it was reported that Guangzhou had decided to give up Cléo for his lingering injury. He was linked with France's Ligue 1 side Marseille and another Super League club Guizhou Renhe. However, Cléo eventually stayed in Guangzhou for the 2012 season.

On 25 February 2012, Cléo scored both goals for Guangzhou in the 2012 Chinese FA Super Cup, a 2–1 victory over Tianjin Teda, which ensured Guangzhou win this trophy for the first time in the club's history. He continued his goalscoring form into the AFC Champions League, netting a brace in the first match of the group stage, as Guangzhou trashed K League champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 5–1 on 7 March 2012. On 15 May 2012, during Guangzhou's last group stage match of the AFC Champions League against Buriram United, Cléo earned a penalty in the 90th minute, which Darío Conca converted into the winning goal. Guangzhou beat Buriram United 2–1 and sealed a place in the knockout phase for the Chinese Super League side. On 30 May 2012, Cléo scored the winning goal during the round of 16 in the AFC Champions League, as Guangzhou beat J1 League side FC Tokyo 1–0 and became the first Chinese club to reach the quarter-finals of the competition since 2006. Although scored four goals in seven matches, Cléo was replaced by newcomer Lucas Barrios in the 30-man squad which was submitted for the next stage of the Champions League. On 18 August 2012, in the interview after a league match against Changchun Yatai, which Cléo made a goal and an assist to help Guangzhou win the match 2–1, he said that he felt sad with club's decision to exclude him from the Champions League squad and would seek a transfer at the end of the season. Cléo played as regular starter in the domestic league and helped Guangzhou Evergrande win their second Super League championship and first FA Cup title.

Loan to Kashiwa Reysol

On 25 January 2013, Cléo moved to Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol on a one-year loan deal. He made 27 appearances and scored nine goals in the 2013 J.League Division 1. In November 2013, Cléo was diagnosed with appendicitis and his loan was ended in advance by the Japanese club. He then returned to Guangzhou Evergrande and was released in early 2014.

Return to Atlético Paranaense

After leaving Asia, Cléo returned to his homeland, joining his former club Atlético Paranaense on trial in May 2014. He signed a permanent contract a few days later. On 29 May 2014, Cléo made his second debut for the club in a 2–2 home draw with São Paulo. He stepped on the pitch in the 77th minute and managed to score little more than 10 minutes later with a volley kick.

In August 2010, Cléo expressed his desire to play for the Serbia national team. He applied for Serbian citizenship on 4 September 2010 after meeting with Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dačić. On 23 September 2010, Cléo became a citizen of Serbia.

However, Cléo never received a call-up for the Serbia national team, because the player failed to satisfy a 5-year residency requirement.

Club

Partizan

• Serbian SuperLiga: 2009–10

Guangzhou Evergrande

• Chinese Super League: 2011, 2012
• Chinese FA Cup: 2012
• Chinese FA Super Cup: 2012

Kashiwa Reysol

• J.League Cup: 2013

Goiás

• Campeonato Goiano: 2016

Individual

• Serbian Cup Top Scorer: 2008–09
• FK Partizan Player of the Year: 2010
• Chinese FA Super Cup Most Valuable Player: 2012