Al Ain: Bani Yas have announced the signing of 32-year-old Brazilian central defender Eder Guterres Silveira, aka Gaucho, from Sharjah, on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
Gaucho joins the club's two other foreign players, Omani midfielder Fawzi Al Bashir and Senegalese striker Andre Senghor who continue their contracts into the new campaign with the Al Ain-based club. Eder's nickname in Portuguese denotes his origins from the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, it often appears after the name of the state's residents, but can commonly be confused with the Hispanic North American meaning "cowboy".
Having spent last year at Sharjah Club, Gaucho moves to only his second UAE outfit following a spell in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 2008 with Al Nasser Club.
He started his career alongside Ronaldinho at Brazilian Serie A side Gremio in 1997 under world-renowned coach Luis Felipe Scholari where he lifted the Brazilian Cup in his first season and the Gaucho Championship in 1999.
Gaucho then joined Portugal's Uniao Leiria in 1999 staying for three seasons before switching to northern Portuguese club Boavista in 2002.
Russian outfit FC Terek Grozny took him for the 2005/06 season, before Sertaozinho tempted him back to Brazil as they breached top flight football in the Campeonato Paulista for the first time.
Return to Portugal
He returned to Portugal with Uniao Leiria for the 2007/08 season where he scored against Hajduk Kula in the Intertoto Cup to qualify the team to the Europa League. Gaucho has joined the squad with other new signings Yousuf Jaber and Mohammad Fawzi from Al Ahli Club, for a pre-season training camp spread across Paris and Tunis from July 11 to August 18.
Their choice of destination is largely dictated by Tunisian coach Lotfi Al Benzarti, who continues his role after a promising 2009/10 campaign, which saw the newly promoted team finishing a surprising fourth.
