Club Brazil Born in
Vitória, Espírito Santo, Nílson started his career at
Esporte Clube Vitória, signing with
Santa Cruz Futebol Clube in 1999 and achieving promotion from the
Campeonato Brasileiro Série B in
the same year. He then had loan spells, at
Sociedade Esportiva do Gama and
Associação Atlética Internacional (Limeira). Nilson was released by Santa Cruz in 2003, for financial reasons. After an injury-ridden stint with
Americano FC he joined
Clube Náutico Capibaribe, where he won the
Campeonato Pernambucano.
Vitória Guimarães In 2003, Nílson was spotted by
Vitória S.C. manager
Jorge Jesus and
agent António Texeira while playing
footvolley, with Jesus wanting him to play in Portugal. They lost touch, but later he was contacted again by Teixeira and agreed to move to Portugal that year after his
€90,000 release clause was paid, being first choice from the start but not being able to prevent, however, the
Guimarães side from
being relegated to the
Segunda Liga in his first season. After only missing two league games in
2006–07 as the
Minho team returned to the
Primeira Liga, Nilson played all matches
the following campaign as they achieved a third place, subsequently reaching the
third qualifying round of the
UEFA Champions League.
Persepolis On 17 July 2012, aged nearly 37, Nilson signed a two-year deal with
Iranian club
Persepolis FC. He helped his new team to finish second in
2013–14 and thus
qualify for the
AFC Champions League, keeping a
Pro League-best 18
clean sheets. Nilson extended his contract for another year on 24 May 2014, but was released on 1 January 2015.
Later years On 10 July 2015, Nilson returned to Portugal with
Moreirense FC. For
the following campaign, still in that country but in the second tier, he joined
C.F. União.
International Nilson played for
Brazil at
under-20 level, and was part of the squad that finished runners-up in the
1995 FIFA World Youth Championship although he did not play. In late May 2011, he was invited by Portuguese coach
Paulo Duarte to represent the
Burkinabé national team, with the nation risking sanctions due to
FIFA eligibility rules if he was selected; the following month, the player announced that he would no longer be eligible since a possible call up to the
2012 Africa Cup of Nations would have negative impact in his Vitória Guimarães career. ==Coaching career==