Márcio Amoroso

Márcio Amoroso dos Santos (born 5 July 1974) is a Brazilian football pundit and former professional player who mainly played as a forward. He played for several teams in his home country as well as in Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain and Greece while also representing Brazil at international level, winning the 1999 Copa América.

Club career 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. When the league's top scorer Oliver Bierhoff left the club for AC 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 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. Amoroso won the Bundesliga title during the 2001–02 season, and was also the league's top scorer. During his next two seasons with the club, his appearances were more limited however, due to recurring injury problems. 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 AC Milan as a replacement for Christian Vieri, who had transferred to Monaco.

After an unsuccessful spell, Amoroso agreed to cancel his contract with AC 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. 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.

Individual Aris Thessaloniki was Amoroso's 12th club in six 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. He is the nephew of the footballer José Amoroso Filho.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Verdy Kawasaki UEFA Cup runner-up: 2001–02 Bola de Prata: 1994 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A top scorer: 1994 Bundesliga top scorer: 2001–02 Toyota Award: 2005 FIFA Club World Championship top scorer: 2005