Maycon Vinicius Ferreira da Cruz (born 29 July 1992), commonly known as Nikão, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Athletico Paranaense, on loan from São Paulo.

Nikão
Personal information
Full name Maycon Vinícius Ferreira da Cruz
Date of birth (1992-07-29) 29 July 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Montes Claros, Brazil
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
Athletico Paranaense (on loan from São Paulo)
Number 11
Youth career
2003–2010 Mirassol
2008–2009Palmeiras (loan)
2009–2010Santos (loan)
2010 Atlético Mineiro
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2014 Atlético Mineiro 4 (0)
2011Vitória (loan) 13 (9)
2011Bahia (loan) 7 (0)
2012Ponte Preta (loan) 29 (1)
2013América Mineiro (loan) 34 (5)
2014Linense (loan) 7 (0)
2014Ceará (loan) 28 (4)
2015–2021 Athletico Paranaense 209 (31)
2022– São Paulo 32 (4)
2023Cruzeiro (loan) 29 (4)
2024–Athletico Paranaense (loan)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 December 2023

Personal life

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Born in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Nikão did not know his father and lost his mother due to a cancer at the age of nine. He was raised by his grandmother, and after impressing in a local amateur team at the age of 12, he was brought up to Mirassol, São Paulo for a trial period.[1] At the age of 16, he also lost his grandmother, and two years later, his brother Thiago also died.[2]

Club career

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Early career

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Nikão began his career with Mirassol's youth setup, and subsequently had trials at CSKA Moscow and PSV Eindhoven; despite impressing, he was unable to stay at those clubs after not having a legal representative in those countries. In 2009, after a brief period at Palmeiras, he moved to Santos.

Atlético Mineiro

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On 16 April 2010, as Santos did not exercise the buyout clause on his loan contract,[3] Nikão signed for Atlético Mineiro.[4] He made his Série A debut on 10 October, coming on as a second-half substitute for Renan Oliveira in a 0–1 away loss against Internacional.

After appearing rarely, Nikão was loaned to Série B side Vitória on 9 February 2011.[5] He scored nine goals in only 12 appearances in the 2011 Campeonato Baiano, as his side lost the title to Bahia de Feira.

On 25 May 2011, Nikão moved to Bahia in the top tier, on loan until December.[6] He subsequently served another loan deals at Ponte Preta,[7] América Mineiro,[8] Linense and Ceará.[9]

Athletico Paranaense

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On 14 January 2015 Nikão signed a three-year deal with Atlético Paranaense.[10] He made his club debut on 26 February by playing the last 20 minutes of a 0–1 Campeonato Paranaense home loss against Foz do Iguaçu, and scored his first goal on 2 May by netting the third of 5–0 home routing of Nacional-PR.

On 6 June 2017, Nikão played his 100th match for Furacão.[11] On 14 July 2019, he reached his 200th match.[12]

On 10 October 2021, Nikão completed 300 matches for Athletico.[13]

Career statistics

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As of 13 October 2021[14]
Club Season League State League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Atlético Mineiro 2010 Série A 3 0 0 0 2[a] 0 5 0
2011 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2013 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 6 0
Vitória (loan) 2011 Série B 1 0 12 9 0 0 13 9
Bahia (loan) 2011 Série A 7 0 7 0
Ponte Preta (loan) 2012 Série A 29 1 29 1
América Mineiro (loan) 2013 Série B 29 3 5 2 4 1 38 6
Linense (loan) 2014 Paulista 7 0 7 0
Ceará (loan) 2013 Série B 28 4 8 3 36 7
Athletico Paranaense 2015 Série A 31 4 6 1 1 0 4[a] 1 42 6
2016 19 1 10 1 3 0 4[b] 0 36 2
2017 29 2 6 1 2 1 11[c] 3 48 7
2018 32 2 0 0 7 0 11[c] 4 50 6
2019 23 5 0 0 8 1 8[c] 0 3[d] 0 42 6
2020 26 3 7 6 1 0 3[c] 0 1[e] 0 38 9
2021 17 3 3 2 6 0 11[a] 3 37 8
Total 177 20 32 11 28 2 48 11 8 0 293 44
Career total 274 28 57 22 40 6 50 11 8 0 429 67
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in Primeira Liga
  3. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  4. ^ Two appearances in Recopa Sudamericana, one appearance in J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship
  5. ^ Appearance(s) in Supercopa do Brasil

Honours

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Atlético Mineiro

Ceará

Athletico Paranaense

São Paulo

References

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  1. ^ "Algoz do São Paulo, Nikão supera drama e tenta se firmar no Bahia" [São Paulo's hangman, Nikão overcomes personal drama and tries to settle at Bahia] (in Brazilian Portuguese). IG. 6 November 2011. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Nikão catava latinhas, fugiu do tráfico e superou o alcoolismo antes de virar herói do Athletico-PR na Copa do Brasil" [Nikão picked up cans, ran away from trafficking and overcame alcoholism before becoming Athletico-PR's hero in the Copa do Brasil] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Meia Nikão: 'Não jogo mais no time do Santos'" [Midfielder Nikão: 'I will not play at Santos anymore'] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Goal. 2 April 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Atlético-MG contrata Nikão, destaque do Santos na Copa São Paulo" [Atlético-MG sign Nikão, spotlight of Santos in the Copa São Paulo] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Mais novidades no Galo: clube contrata zagueiro e empresta meia" [More news at Galo: club sign stopper and loan out midfielder] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 9 February 2011.
  6. ^ "Nikão é a nova contratação do Bahia" [Nikão is the new signing of Bahia] (in Brazilian Portuguese). EC Bahia. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Sem corresponder no Galo, meia Nikão viaja para assinar com a Ponte Preta" [Without establishing himself at Galo, midfielder Nikão travels to sign with Ponte Preta] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Super Esportes. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Por empréstimo, Nikão fecha com o América-MG até novembro" [On loan, Nikão signs with América-MG until November] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 19 March 2015.
  9. ^ "De olho na Série B, Ceará encaminha acerto com meia e atacante" [Aiming the Série B, Ceará agree deal with midfielder and forward] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Lance!. 1 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Atlético-PR anuncia a contratação do meia Nikão, ex-América-MG e Ceará" [Atlético-PR announce the signing of midfielder Nikão, formerly of América-MG and Ceará] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 14 January 2015.
  11. ^ "Nikão chega à marca de 100 jogos pelo Atlético" [Nikão reaches the landmark of 100 matches for Atlético] (in Spanish). Furacão.com. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  12. ^ "200 vezes Nikão: meia-atacante completa marca pelo Athletico e elege Top 5 de principais jogos" [200 times Nikão: attacking midfielder completes landmark for Athletico and names Top 5 matches] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Nikão alcança marca histórica de 300 jogos pelo Athletico; relembre grandes momentos" [Nikão reaches historical landmark of 300 matches for Athletico; remember great moments] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Paraná Portal. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  14. ^ Nikão at Soccerway. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
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