Pereira (footballer, born 1960)

Pereira
Personal information
Full name Luiz Carlos Pereira
Date of birth (1960-03-06) 6 March 1960
Place of birth Timburi, São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Defender
Youth career
Platinense
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1980 Platinense
1981–1985 Ituano
1985 → São Bento (loan)
1986–1988 Bahia 46 (2)
1989–1992 Guarani 92 (9)
1992–1995 Verdy Kawasaki 125 (9)
1996–1998 Consadole Sapporo 61 (8)
Total 324 (28)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Luiz Carlos Pereira (born 6 March 1960 in São Paulo), nicknamed "The Spanish Goose", is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a defender.

Career

Born in Timburi in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, Pereira began his career with Platinense of Santo Antônio da Platina in Paraná.[1] In 1981 he joined Ituano, as Platinense could no longer afford to pay his wages after two years with them.[1] Competing in the Campeonato Paulista Série A2, the team would train at night due to work commitments of the squad, with Pereira finding himself staying near the Estádio Álvaro de Souza Lima, where they trained.[1]

Ituano's squad grew in strength in 1983, and the club narrowly missed out on promotion to the Campeonato Paulista in 1984. The following year, Pereira was loaned to São Bento, and would have reportedly signed on a permanent basis, were it not for the high fee demanded by Ituano.[1] Instead, he drew the attention of Série A club Bahia, with whom he signed a contract ahead of the 1986 season.[1]

Initially a midfielder in his early career, Pereira was converted into a defender at Bahia, due to the club's lack of depth in that area at the time.[1] He helped the club to three Campeonato Baiano titles, as well as reaching the final of the 1988 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, being named in the Bola de Prata (Silver Ball) squad, an honour given by Placar magazine.[1] Despite this, he was unable to compete in the final matches of the tournament, as his contract expired before the games were played in February 1989.[1]

Without a club, Pereira joined Guarani, where his performances in the 1991 Série B helped the club return to Brazil's top flight.[1] His performances drew the attention of clubs in Japan, where football had begun to establish a foothold on the national sports scene, following the founding of the J.League in November 1991.[1] Having initially rejected bids from Japanese clubs for Pereira, former Brazilian international footballer Pepe spoke with Guarani club president Beto Zini, convincing him to allow Pereira to join Verdy Kawasaki; the club Pepe was managing at the time.[1]

Having featured for Verdy at the end of the 1992 season, he helped the club to the inaugural 1993 J.League title the following year, repeating this success the following year.[1] He adapted well to life in Japan, and was named J.League Most Valuable Player in 1994. After three full seasons with Verdy, he joined newly-formed club Consadole Sapporo ahead of the 1996 season alongside compatriot and teammate at Verdy, Alcindo Sartori.[1] A fifth place finish in the 1996 Japan Football League was followed by promotion to the J.League after finishing as champions of the 1997 Japan Football League.[1] After one more season in the J.League, Pereira retired in 1998, following surgery for a knee injury.[1]

Personal life

Pereira's son, Leonardo Mantovani Pereira, is a youth football coach, and having worked for Ituano between 2020 and 2023, he joined São Paulo in 2024, taking charge of the under-11 and under-12 teams – a position he held for a year, leaving in July 2025.[2][3]

Club statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League State League National Cup[a] League Cup[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bahia 1986 Série A 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
1987 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
1988 23 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 2
Total 46 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 46 2
Guarani 1989 Série B 18 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 22 1
1990 0 0 43[c] 5 0 0 0 0 43 5
1991 1 0 12[c] 1 0 0 0 0 13 1
1992 Série A 18 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 2
Total 37 3 55 6 4 0 0 0 96 9
Verdy Kawasaki 1992 – 5 1 11 1 16 2
1993 J1 League 32 1 – 3 1 7 0 42 2
1994 43 2 – 2 0 3 0 48 2
1995 50 6 – 3 0 – 53 6
Total 125 9 0 0 13 2 21 1 159 12
Consadole Sapporo 1996 Football League 23 7 – 3 0 – 30 7
1997 27 1 – 3 2 5 0 35 3
1998 J1 League 11 0 – 0 0 3 0 14 0
Total 61 8 0 0 6 2 8 0 75 10
Career total 269 22 55 6 23 4 29 1 376 33
  1. ^ Includes Copa do Brasil and Emperor's Cup
  2. ^ Includes J.League Cup
  3. ^ a b Appearances in the Campeonato Paulista

Honours

Individual Honors

Team Honors

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Pereira: o ex-jogador do Ituano que virou ídolo no Japão" [Pereira: the former Ituano player who became an idol in Japan]. Itu (in Portuguese). 13 May 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  2. ^ Ioni, Luca (31 July 2024). "São Paulo acerta a contratação de novo treinador" [São Paulo finalizes the hiring of a new coach]. Meu São Paulo. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  3. ^ Silveira, Laura (11 September 2025). "Por essa ninguém esperava: Técnico confirma saída do São Paulo" [Nobody expected this: Coach confirms departure from São Paulo]. Meu São Paulo. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
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