Cícero (footballer)

For other people named Cicero, see Cicero (disambiguation).

Cícero Santos (born 26 August 1984), simply known as Cícero, is a former Brazilian professional footballer who played as a central or attacking midfielder.^[1]

Cícero

Cícero in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Cícero Santos
Date of birth	(1984-08-26) 26 August 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth	Castelo, Brazil
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
2000–2004	Tombense
2001–2004	→ Bahia (loan)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2008	Tombense	0	(0)
2004–2005	→ Bahia (loan)	48	(13)
2006	→ Figueirense (loan)	34	(13)
2007–2008	→ Fluminense (loan)	70	(16)
2008–2010	Hertha BSC	83	(11)
2010–2011	VfL Wolfsburg	24	(2)
2011–2012	São Paulo	92	(16)
2013–2014	Santos	88	(35)
2014–2016	Fluminense	110	(29)
2015	→ Al-Gharafa (loan)	9	(3)
2017	São Paulo	30	(4)
2017–2018	Grêmio	51	(7)
2019–2021	Botafogo	63	(6)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Early career

During his time at Fluminense, Cícero proved himself to be a versatile player. He featured as an attacking midfielder, a defensive midfielder, a wide player and a striker. Cícero featured heavily in Fluminense's Copa Libertadores Campaign of 2008, scoring vital goals in the group stages, including a beautiful free kick in the 6–0 demolition of Arsenal de Sarandí at the Maracaña in Rio de Janeiro. Cícero was the only Flu player to convert his penalty kick during the shoot out in the final defeat against LDU Quito of Ecuador.

Hertha BSC

Cicero made his Bundesliga debut for Hertha on 17 August 2008 against Eintracht Frankfurt. He established himself as a regular, playing all but one game in the 2008–09 season.

São Paulo

After one and half-year playing for São Paulo, on 1 January 2013, Brazilian press confirmed that Cícero would break his contract with the club for 2013 season.^[2]

Santos

On 8 January 2013, Cícero signed a two-year deal with Santos.^[3] Cícero finished the 2013 Campeonato Paulista as the club's second topscorer, only behind Neymar.

Fluminense

In July 2014, Cícero re-joined Fluminense for his third spell at the club.

Return to São Paulo

In December 2016, Cícero has returned to São Paulo.^[4] After Cícero scored a hat-trick against PSTC, in a 4–2 winning match valid for 2017 Copa do Brasil, coach Rogério Ceni praised him as a key player of squad. According to Ceni: "He is a 32-year-old player, that adds experience, with a good head game and a good finalization from out of area."^[5]

Grêmio

After the sacking of São Paulo manager Rogerio Ceni, Cícero received less playtime, eventually leading to a mutual contract termination. He soon after signed with Grêmio in order to bolster their squad for continental play.

Botafogo

In February 2019, Cícero joined Botafogo on a free transfer.^[6]

Career statistics

As of 8 November 2023^[7]

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
Bahia	2003	Série A	8	1	—		—		—		—		8	1
	2004	Série B	25	7	4	0	—		—		—		29	7
	2005		15	5	12	0	2	0	—		—		29	5
	Total		48	13	16	0	2	0	—		—		66	13
Figueirense	2006	Série A	34	13	19	10	—		—		—		53	23
Fluminense	2007	Série A	27	6	11	4	11	2	—		—		49	12
	2008		4	0	17	4	—		14[a]	3	—		35	7
	Total		31	6	28	8	11	2	14	3	—		84	19
Hertha BSC	2008–09	Bundesliga	33	7	—		2	0	8[b]	1	—		43	8
	2009–10		30	3	—		2	0	7[c]	0	—		39	3
	Total		63	10	—		4	0	15	1	—		82	11
VfL Wolfsburg	2010–11	Bundesliga	21	1	—		3	1	—		—		24	2
São Paulo	2011	Série A	27	6	—		—		4[d]	1	—		31	7
	2012		30	3	20	5	9	1	2[d]	0	—		61	9
	Total		57	9	20	5	9	1	6	1	—		92	16
Santos	2013	Série A	37	15	22	9	7	0	—		—		66	24
	2014		2	0	16	9	0	0	—		—		18	9
	Total		39	15	38	18	7	0	—		—		84	33
Fluminense	2014	Série A	20	6	—		2	3	2[d]	0	—		24	9
	2015		19	3	0	0	6	1	—		—		25	4
	2016		35	9	19	6	7	1	—		—		61	16
	Total		74	18	19	6	15	5	2	0	—		110	29
Al-Gharafa	2014–15	Qatar Stars League	9	3	—		—		—		—		9	3
São Paulo	2017	Série A	10	0	14	1	6	3	—		—		30	4
Grêmio	2017	Série A	0	0	—		—		4[a]	1	—		4	1
	2018		24	2	7	1	2	0	11[a]	3	2[e]	0	46	6
	Total		24	2	7	1	2	0	15	4	2	0	50	7
Botafogo	2019	Série A	32	3	5	0	3	1	4[d]	1	—		44	5
	2020		9	0	7	1	3	0	—		—		19	1
	Total		41	3	12	1	6	1	4	1	—		63	6
Career total			427	91	175	50	63	13	45	8	2	0	712	162

1. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Cup
3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
5. Appearance(s) in Recopa Sudamericana

Honours

Figueirense

• Campeonato Catarinense: 2006

Fluminense

• Copa do Brasil: 2007
• Primeira Liga: 2016

São Paulo

• Copa Sudamericana: 2012

Grêmio

• Copa Libertadores: 2017
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2018