Márcio Amoroso

Márcio Amoroso dos Santos (born 5 July 1974) is a former Brazilian footballer who played as a forward or on occasion as an attacking midfielder. He played for several teams in Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain and Greece, while also representing Brazil at international level, winning the 1999 Copa América. In his prime, he was a very talented striker with great dribbling skills and goalscoring ability, who was also capable of creating chances for teammates.

Amoroso started his career at homeland club Guarani FC at 1992. In July 1992, he was loaned to a Japanese outfit Verdy Kawasaki (J.League Division 1), winning two J-League titles, and returned to Guarani FC two years later, finishing the 1994 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A as the season's top scorer. In 1996, he transferred to Flamengo, but he came to prominence playing in the Italian Serie A for unfashionable Udinese in the late-1990s. There he starred alongside Oliver Bierhoff in a side which played an adventurous 3–4–3 formation, finishing his first season with the club in third place in Serie A. When the league's top scorer Oliver Bierhoff left the club for A.C. Milan in 1998, many thought Udinese Calcio would struggle to repeat their success, but that very next season Amoroso himself became the focus of the team, and was the top scorer in Serie A with 22 goals. The following season, he transferred to the defending UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia champions Parma for an astounding €30 million. Although the team started the season strongly, winning the 1999 Supercoppa Italiana, Parma never quite fulfilled their potential to win the league title, and Amoroso was not able to match the form he managed with Udinese due to recurring injury problems; the club did manage to reach the 2001 Coppa Italia final, however.

After two seasons, Amoroso was soon on the move again, this time to Borussia Dortmund in Germany, for 50 million Deutsche Mark (€25 million), a German record at that time, and as of 2017, still a fifth highest signing after Corentin Tolisso, Javi Martínez, Mario Gómez, and Mario Götze. Amoroso won the Bundesliga title during the 2001–02 season, and was also the league's top scorer. He helped the club to the 2002 UEFA Cup Final, where his goal (a penalty) could not prevent the team from losing 3–2 to Feyenoord. During his next two seasons with the club, his appearances were more limited however, due to recurring injury problems. Amoroso played for Málaga during the 2004–05 season, although he was mainly used as a substitute, scoring only 5 goals in 29 appearances, as Málaga finished the season in 10th place in the league.

Amoroso moved to São Paulo in the summer of 2005 and immediately helped them to the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club prize in South America. In January 2006, after having won the FIFA Club World Championship, finishing the tournament as top scorer, he returned to Italy, signing an 18-month contract for A.C. Milan as a replacement for Christian Vieri, who had transferred to Monaco.

After an unsuccessful spell, Amoroso agreed to cancel his contract with A.C. Milan on 1 September 2006, and immediately signed a new contract with Corinthians. Amoroso quickly received the no. 10 jersey from Corinthians as a replacement for Carlos Tevez (who left SC Corinthians Paulista and moved to West Ham United). But there he could not show the football that he was capable of, having his contract resigned in April 2007, signing in for Grêmio. Since August, Amoroso did not play for Grêmio, having his contract resigned due to lack of form. In January 2008, he signed a one-and-a-half year contract with Aris Thessaloniki. However, he spent only six months in Thessaloniki. On 29 December 2008, Amoroso returned to Guarani for the 2009 season. He retired at the end of the season, at the age of 34, due to injury struggles, despite not making an appearance for the club that year.

Amoroso scored 9 goals in 19 appearances for Brazil between 1995 and 2003. He made his debut in a 5–0 win over Chile, and was later a member of the squad that won the 1999 Copa América.

Aris Thessaloniki was Amoroso's 12th club in six different countries. He won 20 trophies and personal awards, including the Copa América with Brazil and both the FIFA Club World Championship and Copa Libertadores with São Paulo. He has also played for Verdy Kawasaki, Flamengo, Udinese, Parma, Borussia Dortmund, Málaga, Milan, Corinthians, Grêmio and Guarani which was his last club.

Amoroso was the top scorer in three different national championships, and broke the Bundesliga transfer record when he moved to Borussia Dortmund from Parma in the summer of 2001.

Club

International

Club

Verdy Kawasaki

• J.League Division 1: 1993

Flamengo

• Campeonato Carioca: 1996
• Copa de Oro: 1996

Parma

• Supercoppa Italiana: 1999
• Coppa Italia Runner-up: 2001

Borussia Dortmund

• Bundesliga: 2001–02
• UEFA Cup Runner-up: 2001–02

São Paulo

• Copa Libertadores: 2005
• FIFA Club World Championship: 2005

Boca Raton FC

• American Premier Soccer League: 2016

International

Brazil

• Copa América: 1999

Individual

• Bola de Ouro: 1994
• Bola de Prata: 1994
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A top scorer: 1994
• Serie A Top scorer: 1998–99
• Bundesliga Top scorer: 2001–02
• FIFA Club World Championship Top scorer: 2005