As reported by the Mirror, and written about by The72, Wolves are on the cusp of bringing Benfica’s Brazilian defender Luisão to Molineux.
The 35-year-old has spent the last 13 years at the Portuguese giants after signing from Brazilian side Cruzeiro for a fee of £850,000. He will join ex-Benfica team-mates Helder Costa, Silvio and Joao Teixeira at the West Midlands club with Wolves also hoping to also coax Anderson Talisca into a move from Benfica.
Wolves will be getting a player that can be not only considered an excellent defender but also a club legend at Benfica, for whom he made 458 appearances over his 13-year stay there.
Five things to know about Ånderson Luís da Silva – aka Luisão
1. His time at Benfica
At Benfica, who he signed for on August 1 2003, Luisão has made 458 appearances, playing 40,889 minutes on the pitch. He has scored 41 times and provided 15 assists whilst earning 87 yellow , three double yellows and two straight red cards.
- UEFA Champions League: 60 appearances, 6 goals, 3 assists, 11 yellow cards, 1 double yellow cards
- UEFA Champions League Qualification: 7 appearances, 1 goal, 1 assist
- Europa League: 34 appearances, 4 goals, 2 assists, 5 yellow cards
- Europa League Qualifiers: 2 appearances
- UEFA Cup: 22 appearances, 1 goal, 1 yellow card
- LIGA NOS: 284 appearances, 23 goals, 8 assists
- TAÇA CTT (national cup): 22 appearances, 2 goals, 1 assist, 5 yellow cards
- TAÇA De Portugal Placard: 22 appearances, 4 goals, 1 yellow card
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 5 appearances, 2 yellow cards
During his 13 years in Portugal he has won the following with Benfica: 5 x LIGA NOS champions, 2 x Portuguese Cup champions, 7 x Portuguese League Cup champions, 3 x Portuguese Super Cup champions
2. International representation
Luisão has 49 international caps and has scored three international goals – his Brazil career spanning two World Cups in 2006 and 2010. His début for Brazil was a 45 minute appearance in the Copa América 2001 quarter-final against Honduras in a game Brazil lost 2-0. His final appearance came on November 10 2011 where he played the full game in a 2-0 friendly win against Gabon. He was, however, on the bench for two further friendlies vs Egypt (November 14 2011) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (February 28 2012). His three international goals came against Argentina (July 25 2004, Copa América final, 6-4 win on penalties), Switzerland (November 15 2006, international friendly, 2-1 win) and Argentina again (September 6 2009, World Cup qualification, 3-1 win). In his first Brazil appearance he appeared alongside Denílson and his final appearance was in a team that also contained Hulk and David Luiz.
3. What to expect per game
Using the last available data (his four appearances for Benfica in the UEFA Champions League 2015/16), here’s the typical performance of Luisão per 90 minutes on the field.
- Tackles: 1 attempt with 0.8 completed (80% success rate)
- Interception: 2.8
- Clearances: 3.8
- Blocks: 1.3
- Total Defensive Actions: 8.7
- Passes: 55.8 attempts with 49.8 completed (89% passing accuracy)
- Key Passes – leading to shot: 0.3
- Possession Losses: 0.6 (0.3 bad touches, 0.3 dispossessed)
- Aerial Duels: 2.3 attempts with 1 success
