Léo Ceará

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is de Sousa and the second or paternal family name is Pereira.

Leonardo de Sousa Pereira (born 3 February 1995), commonly known as Léo Ceará, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Cerezo Osaka.

Léo Ceará

Personal information
Full name	Leonardo de Sousa Pereira
Date of birth	(1995-02-03) 3 February 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Cerezo Osaka
Number	9
Youth career
2009–2010	São Francisco-BA
2011–2015	Vitória
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2021	Vitória	64	(23)
2016	→ FC Ryukyu (loan)	23	(2)
2017	→ Campinense (loan)	6	(3)
2017–2018	→ Confiança (loan)	38	(14)
2019	→ CRB (loan)	32	(14)
2021–2022	Yokohama F. Marinos	58	(21)
2023–	Cerezo Osaka	6	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 December 2022, 4:11 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Fortaleza, Ceará, Léo Ceará joined Vitória's youth setup in 2011, from São Francisco-BA.^[1] He made his first team debut on 23 January 2014, coming on as a late substitute for Alan Pinheiro in a 3–1 away win against Confiança, for the year's Copa do Nordeste.^[2]

On 12 January 2016, after being rarely used, Léo Ceará was loaned to J3 League club FC Ryukyu for the season.^[3] Upon returning, he joined Campinense also in a temporary deal in February 2017,^[4] but moved to Confiança in May to play in the Série C.^[5]

Léo Ceará's loan with Confiança was renewed for a further year on 27 December 2017,^[6] and he subsequently scored 16 goals in all competitions for the club before being recalled by Vitória in August 2018.^[7]

Léo Ceará made his Série A debut on 23 August 2018, starting in a 0–1 away loss against Flamengo.^[8] He scored his first goal in the category three days later, netting the winner in a 1–0 home success over Atlético Mineiro,^[9] and subsequently renewed his contract until 2020 on the 28th.^[10]

On 15 May 2019, after the arrival of Neto Baiano, Léo Ceará was loaned to fellow Série B side CRB until December.^[11] He returned to Vitória in January 2020 after scoring 14 league goals for CRB, being the club's top goalscorer and the third-best overall, but was demoted to the under-23 squad after failing to agree new terms over a new contract.^[12]

Léo Ceará was only included back at Vitória's main squad in August 2020.^[13]

Yokohama F. Marinos announced on 23 January 2021 that Léo Ceará will be joining the club on a full transfer pending a medical to be performed upon arrival Japan (delayed for an indefinite period due to coronavirus immigration restrictions).^[14] He was included in the Vitória squad for the last time on 26 January 2021.^[15] Ceará left the club in 2022 after two years at Yokohama F. Marinos.

On 27 December 2022, Ceará officially transferred to Cerezo Osaka for the upcoming 2023 season.^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of the start from 2023 season.^[17]

Club	Season	League			State League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Vitória	2014	Série A	0	0	—		0	0	—		—		1^[a]	0	1	0
	2015	Série B	4	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0	4	0
	2018	Série A	17	5	—		—		—		—		—		17	5
	2019	Série B	1	0	9	2	1	0	—		—		7^[a]	1	18	3
	2020		33	16	0	0	4	2	—		—		5^[a]	2	42	20
	Total		55	21	9	2	5	2	0	0	0	0	13	3	82	28
FC Ryukyu (loan)	2016^[18]	J3 League	23	2	—		—		—		—		—		23	2
Campinense (loan)	2017	Série D	0	0	6	3	—		—		—		3^[a]	1	9	4
Confiança (loan)	2017	Série C	10	1	—		—		—		—		—		10	1
	2018		17	9	11	4	0	0	—		—		6^[a]	3	34	16
	Total		27	10	11	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	3	44	17
CRB (loan)	2019	Série B	32	14	—		—		—		—		—		32	14
Yokohama F. Marinos	2021	J1 League	27	10	—		1	1	4	2	—		—		32	13
	2022		31	11	—		2	1	2	2	4	2	—		39	16
	Total		58	21	0	0	3	2	6	4	4	2	0	0	71	29
Cerezo Osaka	2023	J1 League	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career total			195	68	26	9	8	4	6	4	4	2	22	7	261	94

1. Appearance(s) in Copa do Nordeste

Honours

Club

Yokohama F. Marinos

• J1 League: 2022^[19]

References

1. "Léo Ceará conta detalhes da carreira e fala sobre possível renovação de contrato com o Vitória" [Léo Ceará tells details of career and talks about possible contract renewal with Vitória] (in Brazilian Portuguese). PNotícias. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
2. "Com o time B, Rubro-Negro vence o Confiança por 3 a 1" [With a B-team, Rubro-Negro defeat Confiança by 3–1] (in Brazilian Portuguese). A Tarde. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
3. "Vitória empresta Léo Ceará para clube do Japão" [Vitória loan Léo Ceará to Japanese club] (in Brazilian Portuguese). BNews. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
4. "Campinense apresenta atacante Léo Ceará para a sequência da temporada" [Campinense present forward Léo Ceará for the remainder of the season] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
5. "Atacante revelado pelo Vitória vai defender o Confiança-SE na Série C" [Forward graduated at Vitória will play for Confiança-SE in the Série C] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Bahia no Ar. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
6. "Mais um que fica: Confiança confirma permanência do atacante Léo Ceará" [Another one who stays: Confiança confirm permanence of forward Léo Ceará] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 27 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
7. "De volta ao Vitória, Léo Ceará escolhe a camisa 18" [Back to Vitória, Léo Ceará chooses the number 18 shirt] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Bahia Notícias. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
8. "Diego marca, Flamengo vence o Vitória no Maracanã e cola nos líderes do Brasileirão" [Diego scores, Flamengo defeat Vitória at the Maracanã and get closer to the leaders of the Brasileirão] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
9. "Vitória e Galo protagonizam show de erros, mas baianos se safam e vencem com gol chorado" [Vitória and Galo star a show of errors, but baianos get the best out of it and win with a hard-won goal] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
10. "Léo Ceará renova contrato com o Vitória: "Pude dar a volta por cima"" [Léo Ceará renews contract with Vitória: "I could make the comeback"] (in Brazilian Portuguese). A Tarde. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
11. "Atacante Léo Ceará é emprestado pelo Vitória ao CRB" [Forward Léo Ceará is loaned by Vitória to CRB] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Lance!. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
12. "Afastado e visto como ativo, Léo Ceará já brilhou, mas tem números melhores fora do Vitória" [Separated and seen as an asset, Léo Ceará already shone, but has better numbers away from Vitória] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
13. "Sem contrato renovado, Léo Ceará é reintegrado e fica à disposição do Vitória para Série B" [Without a renewed contract Léo Ceará is brought back and is available to Vitória for the Série B] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
14. "Léo Ceará full transfer announcement | News". Yokohama F. Marinos Official Site (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-01-27.
15. "EC Vitoria lineup vs Botafogo-SP 2021/01/26". Twitter.
16. "レオ セアラ選手 完全移籍加入について". Retrieved 2022-12-27.
17. Léo Ceará at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
18. J.League Data Site
19. "J1横浜M 3年ぶりリーグ制覇 最終節で決める". Kanagawa Shimbun. Retrieved November 8, 2022.

External links

• Léo Ceará at J.League () (in Japanese)