Born in
Porto Alegre, Tinga started playing professionally with local
Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, receiving his
nickname from the name of the
Restinga quarter where he grew up. In 1999 he was loaned to
J2 League club
Kawasaki Frontale, moving to
Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas in
the following year, also on loan. In January 2004, following a wages dispute, Tinga left Grêmio and signed with
Sporting Clube de Portugal, for the rest of
that season and two more. However, he would only serve as third-choice in the
Portuguese capital side, although he scored in a 2–0 home win against
SK Rapid Wien in the club's
runner-up run in the
UEFA Cup. Tinga returned to Brazil in December 2004, being sold to
Sport Club Internacional and being instrumental in the team's
Copa Libertadores success in
2006 as he scored against
São Paulo FC in a 4–3 aggregate win. Following these displays, he signed a three-year contract with
Borussia Dortmund in Germany for
R$8 million. On 26 August he
assisted and was
booked in his first game, a 3–1 win at
VfB Stuttgart, going on to only miss four
Bundesliga matches combined in his first two campaigns and adding eight goals. On 1 April 2010, after not having his contract with Borussia renewed, the 31-year-old Tinga left the club. He re-joined former club Internacional the following month and, on 17 May 2012, moved to
Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. On 30 April 2015, Tinga announced his retirement after his Cruzeiro contract ended. ==International career==