Brazilian footballer (born 1984)
Gerlem Willian de Jesus Almeida (born August 7, 1984), known as just Gerlem Willian, is a Brazilian professional footballer.
Career.
Early career.
Gerlem Willian was born on 7 August 1984 in Linhares, Espírito Santo, Brazil, playing on 15 June 2003 his first Série A game, appearing for Bahia when coach Evaristo sent him on the field at half-time in a 2–1 home win over Vitória.
In 2005 he went to play in the Portuguese second league for Estoril where in his first season he showed an appetite for goal, scoring seven goals in 20 matches. In the middle of the following season, Gerlem had to leave the team after having a conflict with the coach.
Farul Constanța and Vaslui.
In 2007, Farul Constanța paid 100.000€ to Estoril in order to transfer Gerlem. He made his debut in the first tier of the Romanian league, Liga I on 14 April 2007 when coach Basarab Panduru sent him on the field in the 68th minute to replace Cosmin Băcilă in a 2–1 home loss with Rapid București. He scored his first goal in the league on 13 May when he closed the score in a 2–0 win over Politehnica Iași. In the following season on 21 September, Gerlem received a red card in a game with Pandurii Târgu Jiu because of an altercation with Constant Djakpa, after which he got in a verbal conflict with one of the assistant referees, for which he received a ban for the following eight games. After the ban, he scored three goals in three victories against Universitatea Craiova, Vaslui and Dacia Mioveni until the end of the season. In the first half of the 2008–09 season he scored a goal in a loss with "U" Craiova and the only goal in a win with Vaslui with a spectacular shot from outside the penalty box, being named Farul's footballer of the year in 2008. In the second half of the season, Gerlem scored one goal in a 2–0 win over Gaz Metan Mediaș but the team relegated.
Following Farul's relegation, Gerlem moved to Vaslui for a transfer fee of 700.000€. In his first season, he scored once in each of the three victories against Astra Ploiești, Unirea Urziceni and Pandurii and one in a loss with Steaua București, also he started playing in European competitions, helping "The Yellow-Greens" eliminate Omonia Nicosia in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, being eliminated by AEK Athens in the play-off. In the next two seasons he played rarely, scoring only one goal in August 2011 in a 2–1 away win over FC Brașov, also he helped the team together with coach Viorel Hizo eliminate Sparta Prague and reach the 2011–12 Europa League group stage where he played only one game, a 2–0 away loss in front of FC Zürich. Gerlem made his last Liga I appearance on 4 December 2011, playing for Vaslui in a 1–0 home win with Oțelul Galați, having a total of 83 matches with 12 goals scored in the competition, also having six games without scoring in the Europa League.
Late career.
In 2012, Gerlem returned to Brazil, playing in the lower leagues. He had a brief return to Europe when in 2013 he went to play in the Swedish top-league for Syrianska, making his debut when coach Özcan Melkemichel sent him on the field in the 73rd minute in order to replace Anders Bååth in a 6–1 away loss in front of IFK Norrköping, the team relegating by the end of the season, with him making only seven appearances but continuing to play for them in the second league. After playing in 2014 for AFC United in the Swedish third league, Gerlem returned to play in the Brazilian lower leagues until the end of his career.
References.
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