Vinícius (footballer, born 1986)

Vinícius Oliveira Franco, or simply Vinícius (born May 16, 1986) is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Nea Salamina in the Cypriot First Division as a central midfielder.

Vinícius

Personal information
Full name	Vinícius Oliveira Franco
Date of birth	16 May 1986
Place of birth	Campo Grande, Brazil
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Nea Salamina
Number	16
Youth career
–2004	União São João
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004	União São João
2004–2006	Porto B
2006–2007	Nacional	2	(0)
2007	→ União da Madeira (loan)	13	(3)
2007–2008	União da Madeira	27	(3)
2008–2010	Aves	42	(6)
2010	Olhanense	12	(0)
2011–2013	Braga	9	(0)
2012–2013	→ Moreirense (loan)	28	(3)
2013–2018	APOEL	111	(16)
2019	Sanat Naft	14	(0)
2019–2020	Olympiakos Nicosia	19	(0)
2020–	Nea Salamina	0	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:15, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Career

Portugal

Vinícius moved abroad for the first time in 2004 to join Portuguese club FC Porto B. During his eight-year spell in Portugal he played also for C.D. Nacional, União da Madeira, C.D. Aves, S.C. Olhanense, S.C. Braga and Moreirense.

APOEL

On 10 July 2013, after eight seasons in the Portuguese leagues, Vinícius signed a two-year contract with APOEL FC from Cyprus.[1] He made his official debut on 17 August 2013 against Apollon Limassol in the Cypriot Super Cup final, in a match which APOEL won 1–0 and lifted the trophy.[2][3] He scored his first official goal for APOEL on 2 September 2013, in his team's 3–0 home win against Enosis Neon Paralimni for the Cypriot First Division.[4] During the 2013–14 season, he appeared in all six 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage matches for APOEL and also managed to win all the titles in Cyprus, the Cypriot League,[5][6] the Cypriot Cup[7][8] and the Cypriot Super Cup.[3][9]

On 20 August 2014, Vinícius scored the equalizer against Aalborg BK at Nordjyske Arena, in APOEL's 1–1 first leg draw for the play-off round of the UEFA Champions League.[10] On 26 August 2014, he scored again in the return leg against Aalborg BK, helping his team to win 4–0 and reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.[11] Vinícius appeared in every group stage match in APOEL's 2014–15 UEFA Champions League campaign.[12] On 6 December 2014, Vinícius signed a two-year contract extension with APOEL, running until June 2017.[13]

On 15 September 2016, he scored the equalizer in APOEL's 2–1 home victory over FC Astana for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.[14] On 19 May 2017, Vinícius signed a two-year contract extension with APOEL, running until June 2019.[15]

Olympiakos Nicosia

On 5 September 2019 he signed for Olympiakos Nicosia.

Career statistics

As of 29 December 2017

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Nacional	2006–07[16]	Primeira Liga	2	0	1	0	—		2[lower-alpha 1]	0	—		5	0
União (loan)	2006–07[16]	Segunda Divisão	13	3	1	0	—		—		—		14	3
União	2007–08[16]		27	3	0	0	—		—		—		27	3
	Total		40	6	1	0	—		—		—		41	6
Aves	2008–09[16]	Segunda Liga	21	2	1	0	2	0	—		—		24	2
	2009–10[16]		21	4	0	0	2	0	—		—		23	4
	Total		42	6	1	0	4	0	—		—		47	6
Olhanense	2010–11[16]	Primeira Liga	12	0	2	0	1	0	—		—		15	0
Braga	2010–11[16]		3	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
	2011–12[16]		6	0	1	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	—		9	0
	Total		9	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	—		12	0
Moreirense (loan)	2012–13[16]	Primeira Liga	28	3	2	0	3	0	—		—		33	3
APOEL	2013–14[17]	Cypriot First Division	32	5	7	0	—		8[lower-alpha 1]	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	48	5
	2014–15[17]		16	0	1	0	—		10[lower-alpha 3]	2	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	28	2
	2015–16[17]		29	5	5	1	—		9[lower-alpha 4]	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	44	6
	2016–17[17]		27	6	5	1	—		14[lower-alpha 4]	1	0[lower-alpha 2]	0	46	8
	2017–18		7						12
	Total		114	16	18	2	—		53	3	2	0	187	21
Career total			244	31	26	2	9	0	56	3	3	0	338	36

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in Cypriot Super Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League

Honours

APOEL

• Cypriot First Division: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
• Cypriot Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15
• Cypriot Super Cup: 2013

References

1. "Vinicius Oliveira Franco" (in Greek). APOEL FC. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
2. ΑΠΟΕΛ - Απόλλωνας 1-0 (τελικό) (in Greek). CFA. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
3. "APOEL FC 1-0 APOLLON". APOEL FC. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
4. "APOEL vs. Enosis 3-0". Soccerway. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
5. "Sheridan strike hands APOEL Cypriot title". UEFA. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
6. "AEL vs. APOEL 0-1". Soccerway. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
7. ΕΡΜΗΣ ΑΡΑΔΙΠΠΟΥ 0-2 ΑΠΟΕΛ (in Greek). APOEL FC. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
8. "APOEL vs. Ermis 2-0". Soccerway. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
9. "APOEL vs. Apollon 1-0". Soccerway. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
10. "Clinical APOEL hold AaB". UEFA. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
11. "APOEL ease past AaB and into group stage". UEFA. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
12. "APOEL FC Squad". UEFA. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
13. Επέκταση συνεργασίας με Sergio και Vinicius [Contract extension with Sergio and Vinicius] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
14. "APOEL 2–1 Astana". UEFA.com. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
15. Ανανέωση συνεργασίας με Vinicius [Contract renewal with Vinicius] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
16. "Foradejogo profile". Foradejogo. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
17. "Soccerway profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

External links

• APOEL official profile
• Vinícius at ForaDeJogo
• Vinícius at Soccerway