São Paulo and move to Italy Born in
São Paulo, Simplício started his career with hometown's
São Paulo FC, going on to remain five years with the club and winning two
State Leagues. In 2004, he moved to Italy and signed for
Parma FC, after having been discovered by its
director of football Arrigo Sacchi. Simplício made his
Serie A debut on 22 September 2004 in a 1–2 home loss against
Bologna FC 1909, one day shy of his 25th birthday (16 minutes played), and finished
his first season with four goals in 34 games, bettering that total to ten in
the following campaign.
Palermo On 14 June 2006 Simplício joined fellow top division side
U.S. Città di Palermo, moving alongside Parma teammate
Mark Bresciano. He was priced at €7.1 million, with €4.6 million being to his previous team. During his four-year spell with the Sicilian club, Simplício appeared in more than 26 league matches, adding eight
UEFA Cup appearances in two separate seasons combined (two goals). In January 2010, his agent
Gilmar Rinaldi announced he would not extend his contract with Palermo, set to expire in June.
Roma On 1 June 2010, Simplício moved to
AS Roma on a three-year contract worth €1.8m per season, effective as of 1 July. He scored four league goals from 24 appearances in
his debut campaign, adding the
2–1 winner against
S.S. Lazio for the
Coppa Italia as the
capital side reached the semifinals. In
2011–12, Simplício netted the same number of goals, including one in a
Derby del Sole against
SSC Napoli in a 3–1 away triumph, but Roma could only finish seventh, thus not qualifying for any
European competition.
Cerezo Osaka On 27 July 2012, Simplício joined
J1 League's
Cerezo Osaka. He made his official debut on 4 August against
Consadole Sapporo, contributing to the 4–0 victory. ==International career==