Wallyson Ricardo

Wallyson Ricardo Maciel Monteiro is a professional football player from Brazil who plays as a striker. Wallyson is a product of the youth academy at Sao Goncalo, a small-time club in the lower rungs of Brazilian football. After playing for the youth academy from 2003 to 2005, Wallyson moved into the professional league and signed with ABC Futebol Clube. Over two seasons, Wallyson became a fan-favourite, scoring 26 goals in 49 games and also scoring four times in the finals of the Campeonato Potiguar. He was instrumental in helping ABC climb into Serie B after two fantastic seasons with the club.

In 2008, Wallyson moved to Clube Atletico Paranaense where injuries kept him out of the team and, upon returning to the team, Wallyson failed to have the same impact on the team as before. He was with the team for three seasons and was also part of the 2009 Campeonato Paranaense winning team but in the middle of 2010, he moved to Cruzeiro. Since 2010, Wallyson has been playing for the first division side’s reserve line-up, making the odd foray into the first team, mostly as a substitute. Although he has scored 17 goals in his 36 games, Wallyson has to work hard to make a permanent place for himself in the Cruzeiro line-up.

He was the top-scorer during the 2011 Copa Libertadores tournament, giving him his third individual award at the professional level, along with the 2007 Campeonato Potiguar golden boot as well as the 2009 Breakthrough Player of the Year at the Campeonato Paranaense.