Early career Mineiro was born in
Porto Alegre,
Rio Grande do Sul. Having not been taken on by
Grêmio or
Internacional, the
two major teams of his home city, his agent Jorge Machado took him to the interior of
São Paulo state to the youth team of
Rio Branco in 1996. A year later, he began his professional career at
Guarani.
São Paulo At the start of 2005, Mineiro signed for
São Paulo on a two-year contract under
Émerson Leão, who had given him his international debut. He won the Campeonato Paulista, as well as the
Copa Libertadores and the
FIFA Club World Championship in the same year. On 18 December 2005, he scored the only goal in the
latter's final at
International Stadium Yokohama in Japan, against European champions
Liverpool. The team also won the
2006 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.
Hertha BSC Mineiro's contract at São Paulo expired at the start of 2007, and the club offered him a four-year deal with a salary of 150,000
Brazilian reais a week, as well as a career plan after he finished playing. On 31 January, transfer deadline day, he moved abroad for the first time and signed an 18-month deal with
Hertha BSC of the German
Bundesliga, where international teammate
Gilberto was already playing. He was signed by compatriot manager
Luiz Felipe Scolari, who likened him to former Chelsea defensive midfielder
Claude Makélélé. Despite already having played for Chelsea he was not formally revealed to the press until 7 November during a
press conference at Chelsea's
training ground in
Cobham, Surrey. During the press conference it was confirmed that Mineiro was on a contract to play as Chelsea's third-choice
defensive midfielder, behind Essien and
Mikel John Obi. Mineiro played just twice for Chelsea, and his only start was against
Burnley in the
League Cup fourth round on 12 November, a 1–1 draw and defeat
on penalties.
Schalke 04 On 11 August 2009, Mineiro returned to Germany for the medical check and later signed with
Schalke 04. He made his Schalke debut on 16 August 2009 in their first home game of the
2009–10 Bundesliga season, a 3–0 win against
VfL Bochum, playing the entire match. At the end of the season, he left Schalke. On 6 September 2011,
TuS Koblenz, playing in the
fourth tier of
German football, surprisingly announced his signing, giving him a contract until the end of the season. ==International career==