Quick Facts
Biography
João Miranda de Souza Filho (born 7 September 1984), also known as João Miranda, or simply Miranda, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Italian club Internazionale and the Brazilian national team as a central defender.
Having begun his career at Coritiba, he spent the 2005–06 season with Sochaux in France before returning to Brazil to play for São Paulo. In 2011, he joined Atlético Madrid, where he won domestic and European honours, leaving for Inter for €15 million four years later.
Miranda made his full international debut for Brazil in 2009 and was a member of the squad which won the Confederations Cup that year, also playing at the 2015 Copa América.
Club career
Early career and São Paulo
Born in Paranavaí, Paraná, Miranda started at Coritiba, where he made 89 appearances and scored 6 goals. On 29 July 2005, Miranda signed a four-year deal with French side Sochaux. Miranda made twenty appearances for Sochaux as the club finished mid-table but he was not able to settle in France and soon moved back to his home country.
Miranda returned to Brazil in August 2006, on loan to São Paulo FC. In March 2007, he signed with São Paulo FC until 2011. In the same year, São Paulo won the 2006 Campeonato Brasileiro. He went on to win the 2007 and the 2008 editions of the Campeonato Brasileiro also, even being selected for the "Team of the Year" in both 2007 and 2008 respectively. While São Paulo failed to win any more national titles during Miranda's stay with the club, his individual performances did not go unheralded, as he was included in a further two "Team of the Year" squads in 2009 and 2010.
Atlético Madrid
Miranda joined Spanish side Atlético Madrid on July 2011 upon signing a three-year pre-contractual agreement in January 2011 with Atlético after deciding not to renew his contract with São Paulo which was due to expire on July 2011. Miranda made his competitive debut for his new club on 25 August 2011 in a 4–0 thumping of Portuguese side Vitória S.C. in the second leg of their Europa League playoff round tie. Miranda made his La Liga debut on 10 September in a 1–0 loss to Valencia CF, Roberto Soldado scoring the game's only goal.
The Brazilian defender scored his first goal for the capital club against Granada CF on 11 March 2012, converting a pass from Diego Godín to a goal in the top left corner of the net, pushing the club to a 2–0 league victory. On 8 April, Miranda put in an underwhelming display against fellow Champions League chasing club Levante UD, letting Arouna Koné in for Levante's second goal in the tenth minute and then picking up a red card with seven minutes left; Atlético lost the game 2–0 and Levante moved up to fourth place. His first European goal for the club came later that month against Spanish opposition, scoring Atlético's second goal in an eventual 4–2 first-leg win against Valencia in the semi-finals of their Europa League encounter on 19 April.
Miranda scored Atlético's third goal in their 4–1 UEFA Super Cup thrashing of European Champions Chelsea on 31 August 2012. On 12 March 2013, Miranda renewed his contract with Madrid, keeping him in Spain until 2016. In the Copa del Rey final on 17 May, Miranda provided the match-winner, scoring a header in added time of extra time to give Atlético a 2–1 victory over Real Madrid. This ended a streak of 25 games, stretching back to 1999, without a win against their city rivals.
After helping Atlético to their first league title in 17 years, Miranda was nominated in 2014 as the best defender in La Liga, alongside then teammate Filipe Luís and Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos.
Internazionale
On 30 June 2015, Serie A club Internazionale announced that they had signed Miranda on a two-year loan, for €4 million, with an obligation to sign outright for an additional €11 million on 1 July 2017, with conditions that would push the date even earlier. The obligation was activated after Miranda's 2016–17 season debut for Inter on 20 July.
International career
On 20 August 2007, Miranda received his first call-up to the national team, along with Thiago Silva, as a replacement for Lúcio ands Luisão in a friendly match against Algeria.However, he did not make his debut as he was only an unused substitute during the match. More than a year later, Miranda made his first international appearance for Brazil in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Peru on 1 April 2009. He came on as a substitute for Luisão who was injured during the game.
Miranda was part of the Brazil squad which won the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. He replaced Kléber at left-back for the second group game against the United States in Pretoria, but he saw himself replaced in the third match by André Santos, who remained in the position for the rest of the tournament.
Miranda was one of seven players put on standby for Brazil's 2014 FIFA World Cup team.
Under new coach Dunga, Miranda has become a regular starter in the Brazilian defence, replacing former captain Thiago Silva as David Luiz's central defensive partner. In May 2015, Miranda was included in Brazil's 23-man squad for the 2015 Copa América held in Chile. On 21 June, Miranda replaced the suspended Neymar as captain of the Seleção in a 2–1 win against Venezuela.
In May 2016, Miranda was named as Brazil's captain for the Copa América Centenario.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 16 September 2017
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Coritiba | 2004 | Brasileiro | 40 | 2 | — | — | — | 40 | 2 | |||
| 2005 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 49 | 2 | — | — | — | 49 | 2 | |||||
| Sochaux | 2005–06 | Ligue 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| Total | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | ||||
| São Paulo | 2006 | Brasileiro | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| 2007 | 35 | 2 | — | — | — | 35 | 2 | |||||
| 2008 | 24 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | — | 34 | 1 | ||||
| 2009 | 28 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | ||||
| 2010 | 27 | 1 | — | 11 | 0 | — | 38 | 1 | ||||
| 2011 | — | 6 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | 23 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 128 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 178 | 6 | ||
| Atlético Madrid | 2011–12 | La Liga | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 1 | — | 44 | 2 | |
| 2012–13 | 35 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | 32 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 3 | ||
| Total | 117 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 39 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 178 | 13 | ||
| Internazionale | 2015–16 | Serie A | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 68 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 71 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 382 | 15 | 26 | 1 | 69 | 4 | 22 | 2 | 499 | 22 | ||
International
- As of 28 March 2017
| Brazil national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2009 | 6 | 0 |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | 6 | 0 |
| 2015 | 12 | 0 |
| 2016 | 12 | 1 |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 39 | 1 |
International goals
- Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first:
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 6 September 2016 | Arena da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil |  Colombia | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Club
- Coritiba
- Campeonato Paranaense: 2004
- São Paulo
- Série A: 2006, 2007, 2008
- Atlético Madrid
- La Liga: 2013–14
- Copa del Rey: 2012–13
- Supercopa de España: 2014; Runner-up 2013
- UEFA Europa League: 2011–12
- UEFA Super Cup: 2012
- UEFA Champions League: Runner-up 2013–14
International
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 2009
- Superclásico de las Américas: 2014
Individual
- Brasileirão Team of the Year: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
- Silver Ball: 2008, 2009