Leandro Damião

Leandro Damião da Silva dos Santos (Brazilian Portuguese: [leˈɐ̃dɾu daˈmjɐ̃w]; born 22 July 1989), known as Leandro Damião or simply Damião, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He has been capped at international level by Brazil.

Club career

Early career

Damião began his career as a midfielder, playing for local teams in Jardim Alegre, Paraná. Having failed a trial as a midfielder at Atlético Ibirama, he had a new opportunity as a striker and was signed by team.

Known as Leandrão at the time, Damião was first loaned to XV de Outubro de Indaial in 2007, before playing the 2008 Campeonato Brasileiro Série C for Marcílio Dias; he would later join Cidade Azul in the same year. Back to Atlético Ibirama, he scored eight goals in the 2009 Campeonato Catarinense and was transferred to Internacional, initially for the under-20 team.

Internacional

At Internacional, he won three titles with the club's under-20 side and earned a call-up to the B team. He scored twice in his Campeonato Gaúcho debut and was then called up to the first team for their 2010 Copa Libertadores campaign. Damião won his first major title in August 2010 when he helped Internacional defeat Guadalajara in the Copa Libertadores Finals. He scored the club's second goal in their second leg victory in Porto Alegre to win the competition 5–3 on aggregate. His performances at the Porto Alegre club earned him a place in the Brazil national football team and praise from Ronaldo, also drawing the interest of European clubs.