Ederson was born in Parapuã (San Paolo) Brazil, on January 13, 1986.
At 15 he started playing for the RS Futebol youth sector and in January 2004 was loaned to Internacional. He played three matches and the team from Porto Alegre won the Gaucho league. He was then loaned to Juventude (Caixas do Sul) where he played five games and scored his first goal.
In January 2005 his big European opportunity came up. At 19 he was loaned to Nice in Ligue 1, in France. He made his league debut on February 5 against Metz as a substitute and two weeks later scored his first goal, a shot from 45 metres out against Monaco.
The following season he played 20 matches and scored two goals but it was in the 2006-07 season that he really started to shine. He made 30 appearances and scored 6 goals, his performances began to attract the attention of some big clubs. He stayed on with “Les Aiglons” (The Eaglets) for one more season playing 36 games with 7 goals.
In January 2008 he signed for French champions Olympique Lyonnais but first finished the season with Nice. So, in June he went to Lyon and on August 10 made his league debut against Toulouse. He took part in the Champions League campaigns, reaching the semi-final in 2010 (knocked out by Bayern Munich) and winning the French Cup in 2012.
After four years with “Les Gones” (The Kids) of Lyon, 82 appearances and 11 goals, he signed for Lazio.
He arrived at Lazio in the summer of 2012. His debut for the Biancocelesti was on September 16 in an away game in Verona against Chievo. In his first season in Rome, under manager Vladimir Petkovic, he played 15 league games with 1 goal (Siena) and 8 Europa League games with 2 goals (Maribor, Stuttgart). He was on the bench on the unforgettable 26th of May when Lazio lifted the trophy beating historic city rivals Roma in the final of Coppa Italia.
In his second year, he again played 15 games in Serie A with 1 goal (Catania), 1 game in Coppa Italia, 5 in Europa League and 1 in the Italian Supercoppa. He and Lazio started the season with Petkovic and finished with Edy Reja.
His last year in Rome was plagued with injuries and he only played 4 league games with 1 goal (Cagliari) and 1 game in Coppa Italia. Lazio had a great season under Stefano Pioli coming 3rd and qualifying for the Champions League preliminary round and another Cup Final (lost to Juventus 2-1 in extra time, after Filip Djordjevic had hit two posts with one shot).
In the summer of 2015 Ederson left Lazio and Europe and returned to his homeland to play for Flamengo. In three years for the ‘Rubro-Negro’ he played only 21 league games with 4 goals and 16 in various cup games. In 2017 they won the Carioca league. As at his time at Lazio he was hampered by knee problems and later also recovered from testicular cancer (as Francesco Acerbi and Abidal). Flamengo was his last club and due to persistent physical problems, he retired at 32.
As a teenager, Ederson played 6 games for Brazil U-17's and scored 2 goals, winning the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2003. With the major Brazilian national team, he won one cap. The match was a friendly against the United States in 2010 but Ederson was forced off injured after only a few minutes. An event which can sum up his career, talented enough to be called up by the 'Seleção' but physically fragile.
Ederson was a skilful midfielder. He was 1.81 and well-built and this strength combined with his technical ability made him potentially an excellent player. He was however, as mentioned, injury prone and lacked continuity. At Lazio he showed flashes of his talent but never really imposed himself as a regular first team choice. He had probably already reached the peak of his career in France and at Lazio he never really fulfilled his potential. His top performances and goals were few and far between. He played a total of 50 games for the Biancocelesti with 5 goals. He will not be remembered as one of their better midfielders but, in his favour in the history books, he was in the squad that gave Lazio eternal glory on the 26th May 2013. Ederson was lucky enough to have a front row seat.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2012-13 | 23 (3) | 15 (1) | - | 8 (2) | - |
2013-14 | 22 (1) | 15 (1) | 1 | 5 | 1 |
2014-15 | 5 (1) | 4 (1) | 1 | - | - |
Total | 50 (5) | 34 (3) | 2 | 13 (2) | 1 |
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