Vanderlei Fernandes Silva (born 14 July 1975), known as Derlei, is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a striker.

Derlei

Derlei in 2005
Personal information
Full name	Vanderlei Fernandes Silva
Date of birth	(1975-07-14) 14 July 1975 (age 47)
Place of birth	São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1997	América-RN	56	(21)
1997–1998	Guarani	25	(7)
1999	Madureira	14	(4)
1999–2002	União Leiria	91	(42)
2002–2005	Porto	57	(19)
2005–2007	Dynamo Moscow	41	(20)
2007	→ Benfica (loan)	12	(1)
2007–2009	Sporting CP	27	(8)
2009–2010	Vitória	1	(1)
2010	Madureira	3	(1)
Total		327	(124)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He spent most of his 16-year professional career in Portugal (one full decade), having represented all three most important clubs in the country and amassing Primeira Liga totals of 187 matches and 70 goals.

With Porto, Derlei won eight major titles including two leagues, one Champions League and one UEFA Cup.

Club career

Born in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Derlei began playing in the lower levels of Brazilian football, but joined Portugal's U.D. Leiria in 1999, going on to appear in 92 competitive games for the club. In his last season, as they overachieved for a final seventh place in the Primeira Liga led by young manager José Mourinho, he scored 21 goals.[1]

Derlei signed with FC Porto in the summer of 2002, playing an important part in a successful squad that was also managed by Mourinho. He was one of the top scorers in a side that conquered the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League in consecutive seasons – he netted twice in the 2003 UEFA Cup final against Celtic (adding another brace in the 4–1 semi-final win over S.S. Lazio)[2][3]– being nicknamed "Ninja" while playing for the northern side;[4] the following campaign, as he was leading the domestic goalscoring chart, he suffered a severe knee injury which rendered him unavailable for several months.[5] Derlei was able to come back in time for the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Deportivo La Caruna, where he scored a penalty kick in the second half of the second leg match at the Riazor in Spain which saw FC Porto through to the final 1-0 on aggregate. Derlei would be the starting striker as FC Porto went on to defeat Monaco 3-0 to win the 2003-2004 UEFA Champions League.

In January 2005, after disciplinary problems related to his lateness in arriving from the winter break, Derlei was sold to FC Dynamo Moscow for €7 million,[6] being granted Portuguese citizenship shortly after. After two years in Russian football where he was always one of the top five scorers, he moved to S.L. Benfica on loan in January 2007.[7] He played his first league match for the latter on 2 February, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–0 home draw with Boavista FC.[8]

Derlei left for Lisbon rivals Sporting CP in late June 2007, signing a one-year deal with the option for another after being freed from his two-year contract with Dynamo Moscow – he was, therefore, one of the few players to have represented the Big Three of Portugal.[9][10] He spent most of 2007–08 on the sidelines, with another serious knee injury.[11]

Derlei made a comeback to competition when, on 16 April 2008, he entered the field for Leandro Romagnoli in the 61st minute during the semi-final of the Taça de Portugal against Benfica, scoring only 18 minutes later to make it 3–2 to Sporting, in a match which eventually ended with a 5–3 win[12] as the team went on to win the tournament against another former acquaintance of the player, Porto.[13]

In his second season, Derlei fought with Hélder Postiga for a chance to play alongside Liédson, and scored some goals including an important one in a 1–0 home victory over FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, which sealed Sporting's group stage qualification on 4 November 2008.[14] At the end of the campaign, he declined the club's offer for a contract extension on the grounds the compensation was insufficient, thus being made a free agent.[15]

On 27 August 2009, 34-year-old Derlei joined Vitória on a one-year deal.[16] He made his competitive debut on 13 September in a match against Campeonato Brasileiro Série A leaders Palmeiras; having taken the pitch in the second half, he scored the 3–2 winner;[17]

Derlei transferred to modest Madureira shortly after, returning to a team he had represented more than one decade prior.[18]

Club statistics

[19][20]

Honours

América-RN

• Campeonato Potiguar: 1996

Porto

• Primeira Liga: 2002–03, 2003–04
• Taça de Portugal: 2002–03
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2003, 2004
• UEFA Champions League: 2003–04
• UEFA Cup: 2002–03
• Intercontinental Cup: 2004

Sporting

• Taça de Portugal: 2007–08
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2007, 2008
• Taça da Liga runner-up: 2007–08, 2008–09

Individual

• UEFA Cup Top Scorer: 2002–03
• SJPF Player of the Month: October 2004

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Derlei.

• Derlei at Sambafoot
• Derlei at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• PortuGOAL profile

На других языках

[de] Derlei

[es] Vanderlei Fernandes Silva

[it] Derlei

[ru] Дерлей