Carlos Adriano Sousa Cruz

Carlos Adriano de Sousa Cruz (born 28 September 1987), commonly known as Adriano Michael Jackson, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who plays as a forward.

Club career Early career Adriano played for many Brazilian clubs including Ceará, America-RJ, Bahia, and Palmeiras.

When playing for America-RJ, Adriano had 39 appearances, 17 goals, and a Campeonato Carioca Série B title. Adriano also gave a memorable moment to his role model Romário by being replaced with him in the 68th minute of a match against Artsul, the last match of Romário's playing career.

Adriano scored 15 goals at 2010 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, leading Bahia to be promoted to the Série A. When playing for Palmeiras the next year, he had scored four goals in a 5–1 Copa do Brasil win over Comercial-PI, and became joint-top scorer with five goals at the end of the tournament.

Dalian Shide On 8 June 2011, Adriano transferred to Chinese Super League side Dalian Shide on a four-year deal with a reported fee of $3.8 million. He made his Super League debut for Dalian on 14 June 2011 in a 2–0 home victory against Chengdu Blades, coming on as a substitute for Ahn Jung-hwan in the second half. His first goal in China came on 7 August 2011, which ensured Dalian Shide a 1–1 draw against Liaoning Whowin. He managed to score 4 goals in 12 appearances in the 2011 league season.

On 26 June 2012, Adriano had five goals and three assists in a 8–0 Chinese FA Cup win over Yanbian Baekdu Tigers, getting involved in all eight goals of the match. He scored the most goals in a single Chinese FA Cup match, breaking the previous record of four goals, set by Wang Tao in 1998 and Mark Williams in 1999.

Daejeon Citizen On 13 March 2014, Adriano joined K League 2 club Daejeon Citizen. He brought Daejeon a K League 2 title and the promotion to the K League 1, and became the league's top goalscorer with 27 goals in 32 appearances. He received the K League Most Valuable Player Award at the end of the season. However, Daejeon excessively depended on Adriano's performances at the time, and the way was faced with a limitation at the K League 1. After manager Cho Jin-ho was replaced by Choi Moon-sik due to poor results early in the 2015 season, Adriano lost ground at Daejeon in the name of tactical changes.

FC Seoul On 28 July 2015, Adriano joined another K League 1 club FC Seoul. He scored winning goals in a 2–1 semi-final win over Ulsan Hyundai and a 3–1 final win over Incheon United at the 2015 Korean FA Cup, showing his influence at Seoul directly.

Adriano scored nine goals in the first three group stage matches of the 2016 AFC Champions League, and was named the tournament's Player of the Week three consecutive times. Afterwards, he added four goals until the semi-finals, becoming the top goalscorer at the Champions League with 13 goals. He also became the top scorer at the 2016 Korean FA Cup with five goals, and helped Seoul win the 2016 K League 1. During the 2016 season, he scored a total of 35 goals including 17 K League 1 goals. He surpassed Kim Do-hoon, who scored 34 goals in 2003, setting a record for scoring the most goals for a year at a K League club.

After a successful career in South Korea, Adriano once again moved to China, signing for China League One club Shijiazhuang Ever Bright on 16 January 2017. He and Shijiazhuang finished third at the 2017 China League One, failing to be promoted to the Chinese Super League.

In 2018, Adriano returned to South Korea, playing for K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. He won a K League 1 title again, but his capability was halved in comparison to his former self at Seoul. The next year, he rejoined FC Seoul on a one-year contract, but his condition was not revitalised.

Personal life He is nicknamed Adriano Michael Jackson due to his moonwalking goal celebrations.

Career statistics

Honours America-RJ Campeonato Carioca Série B: 2009 AFC Champions League top goalscorer: 2016 Korean FA Cup top goalscorer: 2016