Quick Facts
Biography
Leonardo de Matos Cruz (born April 2, 1986 in Niteroi), better known as Léo Matos, is a Brazilian-Ukrainian professional footballer who plays for PAOK FC in the Greek Superleague as a right back.
Career
Starting from the academies of Flamengo and having been for a short time in Marseille, Leo Matos did not find his best in this small passage from Europe and fought exclusively in his homeland until 2010, when he moved to Ukraine. In Chornomorets Odesa, he learned to focus in defence and remain faithful to tactics. The Chornomorets coach Roman Hryhorchuk, with whom he worked with, before moved to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, was the one who actually helped him to change. "...We watched video every single day, we learned tactics and defense, thinking that in football is not only attack..." has said in an earlier interview. Although he is a full back, he played most of the Chornomorets Odesa matches as a right midfielder, proving he can cover the whole right ring. In summer of 2014, he signed for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk changing his position to left full back, a quite successful move. He participated in the UEFA Europa League final, where his team lost from Sevilla FC.
On 8 May 2016, the 30 year old Brazilian footballer, solved his contract with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk due to serious economic problems of the club and he joined PAOK. The acquisition of the player is expected to be announced after the end of the Superleague playoffs and until then all formalities (medical examinations, duration of contract etc.) with the player will take place. On 18 August 2016, in his third appearance for PAOK, Leo Matos scored a wonderful goal helping the club to escape with a 3-0 away win against FC Dinamo Tbilisi for the UEFA Europa League playoffs.On 11 December 2016, Brazilian right midfielder of PAOK scored a second-half brace (62', 81'), helping his team to win 3-0 against Platanias at Toumba Stadium.
International career
There were talks of possible naturalization of him to play for the Ukraine national football team, and eventually succeeded to gain a second citizenship.
Honours
Brazil U-17
- FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2003
FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
- UEFA Europa League (1): runner-up 2014–15