Liédson da Silva Muniz (born 17 December 1977), known simply as Liédson, is a former footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed Levezinho ("Slender one") due to his light frame (63 kg), he spent the bulk of his professional career in Portugal representing Sporting CP, scoring nearly 120 goals in more than 200 competitive matches, winning four major titles with the club and helping it to four Champions League participations. Born in Brazil, Liédson became a Portuguese citizen in 2009 and appeared with the national team at the 2010 World Cup, already in his 30s. Club career Early years Born in Cairu, Bahia, Liédson started his professional career at Coritiba Foot Ball Club, aged 22. Before that he played amateur football on weekends, working at a supermarket during the week. Liédson continued his career at Clube de Regatas do Flamengo and Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, traditional big clubs at Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo respectively, with relative individual success. Sporting Liédson was signed by Sporting CP for €2 million on 31 August 2003, giving manager Fernando Santos a new option following injuries and sales. On his debut, the "S" in his name was printed in reverse, which he took as a good omen and maintained it like that for the rest of his career. Liédson was crowned top scorer in the Primeira Liga in his second season, scoring 25 goals while also netting nine in 14 games as his team reached the final of the UEFA Cup – this included a hat-trick in a 4–0 win at FC Dinamo Tbilisi in the group stage. The following year he finished second in the scoring race, scoring 15 times from 31 appearances (28 of which he played the full 90 minutes) with an impressive mark of 2,899 minutes played; he was top scorer again in 2006–07, but the Lions only conquered one domestic cup during that timeframe. Considered by many as one of the greatest strikers in Sporting history since the early performances of Fernando Peyroteo, Héctor Yazalde, Manuel Fernandes, Rui Jordão, Fernando Gomes, Alberto Acosta and Mário Jardel, Liédson was also regarded as the club's top trademark player since the departures of Luís Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Ricardo Quaresma. He also ranked team top scorer in the UEFA Champions League, after scoring the lonely goal in the 2008–09 group stage contest against FC Shakhtar Donetsk on 22 October 2008.