Lima (footballer, born 1983)
Brazilian footballer
Rodrigo José Lima dos Santos (born 11 May 1983), known as Lima, is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a striker.
He spent the better part of his professional career in Portugal, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 176 matches and 86 goals over six seasons, representing mainly Braga and Benfica and winning six major titles with the latter club, notably the treble in 2014.
Club career
Early years
Born in Monte Alegre, Pará, Lima played for nine clubs in his country, without settling at any. In the 2008 edition of the Série A he did not manage to score for Santos FC, who ranked in 15th position.
In the middle of 2009, after failing to sign with Ukrainian side FC Metalist Kharkiv, Lima moved to Portugal with C.F. Os Belenenses, scoring regularly for the Lisbon team but also suffering relegation from the Primeira Liga.
Braga
Afterwards, Lima joined another club in the country, S.C. Braga – which was filled with several of his compatriots – signing a three-year contract. On 24 August 2010, after coming on as a substitute, he netted a hat-trick against Sevilla FC in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, in a 4–3 away win (5–3 on aggregate).
Lima was crowned Portuguese League top scorer at the end of the 2011–12 campaign with 20 league goals – joint with S.L. Benfica's Óscar Cardozo– as the Minho side finished third and returned to the Champions League. Highlights included three against Gil Vicente FC (3–0 away win), braces against F.C. Paços de Ferreira (5–2, home) and Vitória de Setúbal (3–0 at home), and a penalty kick equaliser at Benfica (1–1); he also scored two against eventual champions FC Porto, but in a 2–3 defeat at the Estádio do Dragão.
Benfica
On 31 August 2012, the very last day of the summer transfer window, Lima signed a four-year contract with Benfica, in a deal that saw Michel move in the opposite direction.
The public source identifies “Lima (footballer, born 1983)” as brazilian footballer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Lima, footballer and born.
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