Derlei
Personal information
Full name	Vanderlei Fernandes Silva
Date of birth	July 14, 1975 (1975-07-14) (age 34)
Place of birth	São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Vitória
Number	99
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994–1997 1997–1998 1999 1999–2002 2002–2005 2005–2007 2007 2007–2009 2009–	América (RN) Guarani Madureira União Leiria FC Porto Dynamo Moscow → Benfica (loan) Sporting CP Vitória	56 000(21) 25 0000(7) 14 0000(4) 91 000(42) 57 000(29) 41 000(20) 12 0000(1) 27 0000(8) 01 0000(1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 September 2009. * Appearances (Goals)

Vanderlei Fernandes Silva (born 14 July 1975 in São Bernardo do Campo), commonly known as Derlei, is a Brazilian-Portuguese footballer who currently plays for Esporte Clube Vitória, as a striker.

[edit] Football career

Derlei started playing in the lower levels of football in Brazil, but joined Portugal's União de Leiria in 1999, going on to achieve 91 league games, scoring 42 goals. In his last season, as Leiria overachieved for a final 7th place, led by manager José Mourinho, Derlei netted 21 goals.^[1]

Derlei joined F.C. 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. Derlei scored twice for Porto in the 2003 UEFA Cup final against Celtic FC, being nicknamed "Ninja" while playing for the northern side. The following campaign, as he was leading the domestic goalscoring chart, he suffered a severe knee injury, which rendered him unavailable for the remainder of the season.^[2]

In January 2005, after disciplinary problems related to his lateness in arriving from the winter break, he was sold to FC Dynamo Moscow for €7 million,^[3] being granted Portuguese citizenship shortly thereafter. After two years of Russian football where he was always one of the top five best goalscorers, Derlei joined S.L. Benfica on loan in January 2007.^[4] On 2 February, he played his first league match for Benfica, a match against Boavista FC, which ended in a 0–0 home draw.

In June 2007, Derlei left Benfica for Lisbon rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal, signing a contract until 2009, 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. He would, however, spend most of 2007–08 on the sidelines, with another serious knee injury.^[5]

Derlei made a fantastic 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 Portuguese Cup against his previous team of Benfica, managing to score only 18 minutes later, making it 3–2 to Sporting, in a match which eventually ended with a 5–3 win.

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 triumph over FC Shakhtar Donetsk, in the Champions League, which sealed Sporting's group stage qualification on 4 November 2008.^[6] At the end of the season, he refused to accept the club's offer to renew the link, on the grounds the figures offered were not convincing, thus being made a free agent.

After some consideration, Derlei joined Esporte Clube Vitória on 27 August 2009, in a one-year deal. He made his club debut on 13 September, in a match against league leader Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras; having taken the pitch in the second half, he scored the 3–2 winner.

[edit] Club statistics

[edit] Honours

• UEFA Cup: 2002–03
• UEFA Champions League: 2003–04
• Intercontinental Cup: 2004
• Portuguese League: 2002–03, 2003–04
• Portuguese Cup: 2003–04
• Portuguese Supercup: 2003, 2004

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• PortuGOAL profile
• Stats and profile at Zerozero