Rafael de Souza Pereira (18 June 1989), known as Rafael Carioca, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liga MX club Tigres UANL.

Rafael Carioca
Carioca with Spartak Moscow in 2010
Personal information
Full name Rafael de Souza Pereira
Date of birth (1989-06-18) 18 June 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Tigres UANL
Number 5
Youth career
2004–2005 Sendas
2006 Profute
2006–2008 Grêmio
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008 Grêmio 34 (0)
2009–2014 Spartak Moscow 126 (2)
2010Vasco da Gama (loan) 52 (0)
2014–2017 Atlético Mineiro 169 (5)
2017– Tigres UANL 238 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:36, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

Club career

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Grêmio

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Born in Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Carioca joined Grêmio's youth setup in 2006, from Profute.[1] Promoted to the first team after captaining the under-20 side in the 2008 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior by Vágner Mancini, he was subsequently relegated back to the youth sides, as the manager complained about his attitude.[2]

Promoted back to the main squad in March 2008 by new manager Celso Roth, Rafael Carioca made his first team debut on 26 March, coming on as a substitute for Nunes in a 4–1 Campeonato Gaúcho away routing of 15 de Novembro.[3] He made his Série A debut on 10 May, starting in a 1–0 away win against São Paulo,[4] and finished the campaign as a first-choice in the central midfield, creating a strong partnership with William Magrão and appearing in 34 matches.

Spartak Moscow

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In December 2008, Rafael Carioca joined Russian club Spartak Moscow on a five-year contract.[5] He made his debut abroad on 15 March, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Rafael Carioca spent the 2010 season on loan at Vasco da Gama,[6] being an undisputed starter. Upon returning, he also became a first-choice, and scored his first professional goal on 6 May 2012, netting the winner in a 3–2 away defeat of Zenit.

Atlético Mineiro

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On 13 August 2014, Rafael Carioca returned to his home country after being presented at Atlético Mineiro, agreeing to a year-long loan deal.[7] Upon arriving, he became a first-choice player in Atlético's team that went on to win that year's Copa do Brasil, overcoming longtime incumbent .

Rafael Carioca had a solid start in the following season, which included an impressive goal against Colo-Colo in the Copa Libertadores and a Campeonato Mineiro win, again as a part of the team's starting eleven. On 21 July 2015, Atlético bought 50% of Rafael Carioca's federative rights, agreeing to a permanent four-year deal.[8]

Tigres UANL

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On 25 August 2017, Rafael Carioca joined Liga MX club Tigres UANL.[9] In his first season, he played the historical final against rivals C.F. Monterrey. In the first leg the teams tied by 1–1 at the Estadio Universitario. In the Estadio BBVA Bancomer, Tigres beat Monterrey by 2–1 with goals of Edu Vargas and Francisco Meza, as Rafael Carioca played a key role by assisting Meza with a cross from the right wing to score the second goal. Besides, in a successful six-year career so far with Tigres, he has won the 2018 and 2023 Campeón de Campeones; 2020 CONCACAF Champions Cup; 2020 Campeones Cup and Clausura 2019 and Clausura 2023 season of the Mexican League, besides, runner-ups of the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup against Bayern Munich.

International career

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In 2007, Rafael Carioca captained the Brazil under-20 side and featured in the Sendai Cup for the under-18s in the same year, but was an unused substitute in the tournament. He received his first international call-up for the senior squad on 22 August 2016, for matches against Ecuador and Colombia.[10]

Career statistics

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As of 10 January 2019[11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League State League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Grêmio 2008[12] Série A 34 0 2 0 1 0 37 0
Spartak Moscow 2009 Russian Premier League 23 0 1 0 24 0
2010–11 0 0 2 0 5[a] 0 7 0
2011–12 23 0 2 0 2[a] 0 27 0
2012–13 27 1 2 0 8[b] 1 37 2
2013–14 26 0 2 0 2[a] 0 30 0
2014–15 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 100 1 9 0 17 1 126 2
Vasco da Gama (loan) 2010 Série A 34 0 11 0 7 0 52 0
Atlético Mineiro 2014 Série A 9 0 3 0 12 0
2015 36 0 13 1 2 0 8[c] 1 59 2
2016 27 1 11 1 7 0 9[c] 1 1[d] 0 56 3
2017 18 0 13 0 3 0 7[c] 0 2[d] 0 43 0
Total 90 1 37 2 15 0 24 2 3 0 169 5
UANL 2017–18 Liga MX 35 2 1 0 3[e] 0 39 2
2018–19 19 1 2 0 2[f] 0 23 1
Total 54 3 3 0 3 0 2 0 62 3
Career total 312 5 50 2 35 0 44 3 5 0 446 10
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  4. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Primeira Liga
  5. ^ Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
  6. ^ One appearance in Campeón de Campeones, one appearance in Campeones Cup

Honours

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Atlético Mineiro

Tigres UANL

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Direito de resposta" [Right of reply]. Placar (in Brazilian Portuguese). June 2007. p. 83. Retrieved 9 January 2019. Na esteira do sucesso de Anderson, Lucas e Carlos Eduardo, o Grêmio ainda prepara para a próxima temporada a apresentação de sua mais nova pérola: Rafael Carioca, um segundo volante de 18 anos que veio do ProFute, do Rio de Janeiro. Em menos de um ano no Olímpico, ele já foi eleito craque de dois campeonatos que o clube participou: a Copa Santiago e a Punta Camp (disputada em Punta del Este, no Uruguai).
  2. ^ "Rafael Carioca não entende má fama dos tempos de Vagner Mancini" [Rafael Carioca does not get bad reputation in Vagner Mancini's times] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  3. ^ "Reservas tricolores atropelam o 15" [Reserve team of tricolor thrash 15] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 26 March 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Na estréia do BR, São Paulo sucumbe ante o Grêmio no Morumbi" [In BR's debut, São Paulo fall against Grêmio at the Morumbi] (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Rafael Carioca thrilled to join Spartak". UEFA.com. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  6. ^ "Vasco apresenta volante Rafael Carioca" [Vasco present defensive midfielder Rafael Carioca] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Clic RBS. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Rafael Carioca espera conquistar títulos com a camisa alvinegra" [Rafael Carioca hopes to win titles with the black-and-white shirt] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Clube Atlético Mineiro. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Atlético-MG oficializa compra de direitos do volante Rafael Carioca e lateral Douglas Santos" [Atlético-MG make official the purchase of defensive midfielder Rafael Carioca and full back Douglas Santos' rights] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vavel. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Atlético-MG confirma venda de Rafael Carioca ao Tigres-MEX: 'Orgulho de ter vestido essa camisa'" [Atlético-MG confirm sale of Rafael Carioca to Tigres-MEX: 'Proud of having worn this shirt'] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Primeira lista de convocados do técnico Tite" [First call-up list by head coach Tite]. Brazilian Football Confederation (in Portuguese). 12 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  11. ^ Rafael Carioca at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Súmulas do Grêmio em 2008" [2008 Grêmio's match reports] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Grêmiopédia. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Vencedores do Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão 2015" (in Portuguese). Confederação Brasileira de Futebol. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  14. ^ Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League [@TheChampions] (2 May 2019). "Presenting the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League 2019 Team of the Tournament!" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 May 2019 – via Twitter.
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