Quick Facts
Biography
Gilberto Galdino dos Santos (born 20 November 1976), known as Beto, is a retired Brazilian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
He also holds a Portuguese passport due to having spent many years in the country, where he even represented, amongst other teams, Benfica. Over the course of seven seasons, he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 180 games and ten goals.
Club career
Born in Carpina, Pernambuco, Beto started his professional career in 1998, having unassuming stints in Argentina and Uruguay. After five years in Portugal with mid-to-bottom table first division clubs F.C. Paços de Ferreira and S.C. Beira-Mar, excelling especially in the latter by scoring a career-best six goals in the 2004–05 season even though the Aveiro club ranked last, he signed a three-year contract with S.L. Benfica in the summer of 2005.
Despite not being a fans' favourite, Beto was often cast in the first team by manager Ronald Koeman. He appeared in 24 league games in his first year, playing the full 90 minutes in half of those. His greatest moment at the club happened on 7 December 2005 when it defeated Manchester United 2–1 in Lisbon in a UEFA Champions League group stage contest, sealing the passage to the round-of-16 stage: he scored the decider at the 34th-minute mark, netting from outside the area.
Beto's second campaign in Benfica was less notable: with the departure of Koeman and the arrival of manager Fernando Santos and player Kostas Katsouranis (who played in his position), he was relegated to the substitutes bench, playing only six matches in that condition. Thus, he signed a three-year deal with Swiss club FC Sion on 11 June 2007.
On 8 December 2008 Beto left Sion and, earlier the following month, joined Greek side Ergotelis F.C. for one year. He left on 8 May 2012, aged nearly 36.
Honours
- Benfica
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2005