Walace Souza Silva (born 4 April 1995), or simply Walace (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈwalasi]), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Udinese.
![]() Walace at the 2016 Olympics | ||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||
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Full name | Walace Souza Silva[1] | |||||||||
Date of birth | (1995-04-04) 4 April 1995 (age 27)[2] | |||||||||
Place of birth | Salvador, Brazil[2] | |||||||||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | |||||||||
Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | |||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||
Current team | Udinese | |||||||||
Number | 11 | |||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||
2010 | Simões Filho | |||||||||
2011–2013 | Avaí | |||||||||
2012 | → Bahia (loan) | |||||||||
2013– 2014 | Grêmio | |||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||
2014–2017 | Grêmio | 77 | (1) | |||||||
2017–2018 | Hamburger SV | 30 | (2) | |||||||
2018–2019 | Hannover 96 | 18 | (1) | |||||||
2019– | Udinese | 86 | (1) | |||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||
2015 | Brazil U20 | 5 | (0) | |||||||
2016 | Brazil U23 | 4 | (0) | |||||||
2016– | Brazil | 5 | (0) | |||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:42, 27 June 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 November 2018 |
Born in Salvador, Bahia, Walace started his youth career with the academy of amateur Simões Filho Futebol Clube. While playing in a cup, he caught the eye of a scout of Avaí Futebol Clube and subsequently joined the club in the next year. However, he was soon loaned to the under-23 team of Esporte Clube Bahia in the same year. In 2013, Walace joined the under-18 team of Grêmio.[3]
Walace was promoted to the senior squad of the club in 2014 by manager Enderson Moreira.[4] On 27 April, he made his first team debut against Atlético Mineiro.[2] In August, he made his first start for the club in a 2–0 defeat against Sport Club Internacional, where he was assigned to mark Andrés D'Alessandro.[5] At the end of the season, media reports suggested that Italian club SSC Napoli, Portuguese clubs FC Porto and S.L. Benfica expressed their interest to sign him.[6]
After the appointment of Roger Machado as the club's manager in 2015, Walace became an undisputed starter for the club.[7] In June, Grêmio rejected an offer from Swiss club FC Basel to secure his services.[8] On 5 October, his contract was extended till 2018.[7] In July 2016, he scored his first league goal in a 2–1 victory over Figueirense Futebol Clube.[9]
On 31 January 2017, Walace moved to German club Hamburger SV, signing a contract until 2021.[1] Eleven days later, he scored his first goal in a 3–0 victory against RB Leipzig.[10]
In June 2018, Walace joined league rivals Hannover 96 on a four-year contract until 2022. The transfer fee paid to Hamburger SV was estimated at €6 million with 10% of the fee going to former club Grêmio.[11][12]
In June 2016, Walace was called by Dunga to the senior international squad for the 2016 Copa America as a replacement for Luiz Gustavo (who left the squad citing personal reasons).[13] He featured once in the tournament, in a 7–1 victory against Haiti.[2]
In the next month, Walace was called to the Brazil under-23 squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held at the month of August. He came as a replacement for Fred, whose club FC Shakhtar Donetsk refused to release him for the tournament.[14] He featured four times in the tournament,[2] with his side emerging as the winner.[1]
Club | Season | National League | State League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Grêmio | 2014[2] | Série A | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |
2015[2] | 34 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 50 | 0 | |||
2016[2] | 24 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 45 | 5 | ||
Total | 77 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 115 | 5 | ||
Hamburger SV | 2016–17[2] | Bundesliga | 9 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | ||
2017–18[2] | 18 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | ||||
Total | 27 | 2 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 30 | 2 | ||||
Hannover 96 | 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 26 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 28 | 1 | ||
Udinese | 2019–20 | Serie A | 20 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 22 | 0 | ||
2020–21 | 30 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 30 | 0 | ||||
2021–22 | 36 | 1 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 38 | 1 | ||||
Total | 86 | 1 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 90 | 1 | ||||
Career total | 215 | 5 | 16 | 3 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 262 | 9 |
Grêmio
Brazil
Udinese Calcio – current squad | |
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Brazil squad – Copa América Centenario | ||
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Brazil men's football squad – 2016 Summer Olympics – Gold medalists | ||
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