Early career Edu started his career in
Série A with
Corinthians. While with Corinthians, Edu won the 1998 and 1999 Brasileiro championships, and the
2000 FIFA Club World Championship.
Arsenal After initially planning to join
Arsenal in 2000, his transfer was put on hold after it was realised that he was in possession of a fake Portuguese passport. Months later, after qualifying for a
European Union (EU) passport (aided by Italian lineage on his father's side), he signed for Arsenal on 16 January 2001 for £6 million. He had a turbulent time early on as his sister was killed in a car accident. His Arsenal debut came in 2001 in a goalless draw tarnished by an injury after 15 minutes against
Leicester City. He had replaced
Freddie Ljungberg at half time only to be replaced by
Dennis Bergkamp minutes later. It was an unfortunate start and he only managed to play in four more matches for the club during that season, one of which was a 0–3 defeat at home to
Middlesbrough in which he contributed an own goal. His first goal for the club came against Grimsby in the League Cup on 27 November 2001. He went on to make a substitute appearance in the
2002 FA Cup Final as Arsenal emerged victorious. He also contributed 14 league appearances, and a goal against
Aston Villa, as Arsenal won the
2001–02 Premier League, with Edu becoming the first Brazilian to win the
Premier League. In 2002–03 Edu made 18 appearances in the Premier League and featured heavily as Arsenal reached the FA Cup final for the third year running. Edu scored in Arsenal's fifth round win against
Manchester United at
Old Trafford, however injury issues in the latter part of the season meant he was left out of the squad for the
final.
2003–04 season in midfield for Arsenal was seen as his finest season so far in football, he was part of the team which went
49 games unbeaten, (the whole
2003–04 Premier League season without defeat). He appeared in 30 League games and scored 2 goals, both against
Chelsea, he scored the fourth of Arsenal's 5 in a 5–1 historic win against
Inter Milan in the
UEFA Champions League in November 2003, he made a career high 48 appearances and 7 goals for Arsenal in all competitions. Edu was on the pitch as Arsenal clinched the 2003–04 Premier League title at
White Hart Lane on 25 April 2004. During the season, he made his 100th appearance for Arsenal. Edu enjoyed mixed fortunes in the 2004–05 season. He missed the start of the season because he was away with Brazil at the Copa América. This was followed by speculation over his future at the club as he was in the last year of his contract with Arsenal. Talks with
Valencia of Spain in January 2005 failed as the
Mestalla outfit were not able to pay the fee Arsenal demanded. Edu only scored two goals for Arsenal in 2004–05, both coming in May – one was a fine chip in the 2–0 away win at
West Bromwich Albion, and the other a penalty kick in a 7–0 win over
Everton. He did however come on as an extra time substitute as Arsenal won the
2005 FA Cup Final.
Valencia In May 2005, it was confirmed that he would leave Arsenal in the summer on a
Bosman ruling free transfer. Valencia,
Juventus, Inter Milan, and
Barcelona were hot favourites to secure the signature of Edu, and on 30 May, Valencia announced it had signed him to a five-year deal. Shortly after signing, Edu suffered a pre-season injury that ruled him out of first-team action until 4 April 2006, when he made his debut in the 5–3 victory over
Cádiz. On 3 July 2009, the Brazilian midfielder left Valencia through contractual termination.
Corinthians After being released in Spain, Edu signed a contract with his former club Corinthians on 6 August 2009, which was to last until 31 December 2011. After playing four matches during the 2010 season, his contract was terminated by mutual consent, and Edu announced his retirement from professional football. ==International career==