Cléber Santana

Cléber Santana Loureiro (27 June 1981 – 28 November 2016) was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.

He won state championships with Sport, Vitória, Santos and Avaí. He also had spells abroad, with Kashiwa Reysol in Japan and Atlético Madrid and Mallorca in Spain.

Santana was the captain of the Chapecoense team aboard LaMia Flight 2933 that crashed, killing him and 70 others.

Football career

Born in Abreu e Lima, Pernambuco, Santana started playing professionally with Sport Club do Recife. He then went on to represent in Brazil Esporte Clube Vitória and Santos FC, punctuated by a stint with J1 League's Kashiwa Reysol in 2005.

In July 2007, Santana was signed from Santos by Atlético Madrid, on a three-year contract worth €6 million. Although not an undisputed starter, he still contributed with 23 league matches as the Colchoneros returned to the UEFA Champions League after a 12-year hiatus, being played mostly after Maniche's loan departure to Inter Milan in January 2008.

For the 2008–09 season, Santana was loaned to fellow La Liga club RCD Mallorca. On 9 November 2008 he scored his first goal for the Balearic Islands team, in a 3–3 home draw against Athletic Bilbao, and finished the campaign (in which he featured heavily, alongside another player loaned by Atlético, José Manuel Jurado) with five, which also included the 2–1 winner against already crowned champions FC Barcelona on 17 May 2009, and a solo effort the following week, a 3–1 triumph at Real Madrid.

Cléber then returned to Atlético, being used sparingly but managing to net in a 2–2 home draw against UD Almería, on 23 September 2009. In late January of the following year, even though he had renewed his contract until June 2012, he returned to his country, signing with São Paulo FC.