Guilherme Finkler

Guilherme Finkler

Finkler playing for Melbourne Victory in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Guilherme Ozelame Finkler
Date of birth	(1985-09-24) 24 September 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth	Caxias do Sul, Brazil
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)[1]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
2000–2005	Juventude
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005	Juventude	6	(1)
2005	Cianorte	11	(2)
2006–2007	Juventude	18	(4)
2006–2007	→ Wolverhampton (loan)	0	(0)
2007	→ Mouscron (loan)	1	(0)
2007	Ituano	3	(0)
2008	Esportivo	14	(2)
2008–2009	Caxias	9	(0)
2009	Campinense	2	(0)
2010	Caxias	11	(1)
2010	São José-PA	0	(0)
2010–2011	Criciúma	17	(3)
2011	Brasil de Pelotas	5	(0)
2012	Criciúma	0	(0)
2012	→ ABC (loan)	3	(0)
2012–2016	Melbourne Victory	93	(20)
2016–2017	Wellington Phoenix	28	(7)
2018	Juventude	0	(0)
2018	Sūduva	10	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 March 2019

Guilherme Finkler (born September 24, 1985) is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, commonly known as Guilherme in Brazil and Gui Finkler in Australia and New Zealand.^[2]

Early life

Finkler was born in Caxias do Sul in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul in 1985.

Finkler has a wife, Karine, and a daughter, Rafaela.^[3]

Club career

Early career

Finkler played for Brazilian side Juventude, scoring four times in 15 appearances in the 2006 season. Upon returning from a long spell at Cianorte he played in three further matches in 2007. Finkler's subsequent Brazilian club was Juventude's city rival, Caxias.

England and Belgium

During the 2006-2007 season, Finkler played for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EFL Championship. After scoring several goals in pre-season games the club took the season-long loan option on Finkler.^[4] However, he never made a first-team appearance in any competitive game. His loan was then cut short in January 2007 by mutual consent. He continued his stay in Europe though, later in the 2006–2007 season he had a loan spell at Belgian Pro League club Mouscron.

Melbourne Victory

Finkler signed for Melbourne Victory on 22 June 2012, before the start of the 2012–13 A-League season.^[5]

Season 2012–2013

Finkler made his debut for the Victory against crosstown rivals Melbourne Heart. After playing regularly for the Victory, Finkler suffered a season-ending injury against A-League debutant club Western Sydney Wanderers. His anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was ruptured after a heavy tackle.^[6][7][8] The injury took Finkler out of the game for nearly a year. Before his injury, Finkler had been leading the A-League season 2012/2013 assists count with eight.^[9] He made his return to football in the 2013–2014 season.^[10]

Season 2013–2014

Gui Finkler training with Melbourne Victory in 2013.

Finkler scored his first goal for Melbourne Victory (also Victory's first goal of the season) in a 2–2 draw against Adelaide United.^[11]

On 4 January 2014, Guilherme Finkler was named in the Melbourne Victory starting XI for the first time since his knee injury.

Finkler taking a free kick for Melbourne Victory against Adelaide United in the FFA Cup, September 2015

Season 2014–2015

On 9 May 2014, Guilherme Finkler signed a two-year contract extension with Melbourne Victory.^[12]

The midfielder played injury-free, amassing 10 assists and 7 goals and helping his club win the A-league in Australia.

On 24 March 2016, Finkler advised the Victory that he would leave them at the end of the season to join Wellington Phoenix FC.^[13]

Wellington Phoenix

After he announced that he would leave Melbourne Victory at the end of 2015-2016 season, Guilerhme Finkler moved to Wellington Phoenix ahead of the 2016-2017 season.

During his maiden season with the Phoenix, Finkler made 24 appearances where he scored 6 goals and also provided 3 assists.

Honours

Melbourne Victory

• A-League Premiers: 2014-15
• A-League Championship: 2014-15
• FFA Cup: 2015

Individual

• A-League PFA Team of the Season: 2014-15
• A-League All Stars: 2014

References

1. "Gui Finkler". melbournevictory.com.au. Melbourne Victory FC. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
2. Davutovic, David (1 March 2014). "Gui Finkler on what could have been had he played in Australia long enough for citizenship". Herald Sun. News Limited. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
3. "Wellington Phoenix star to miss two games". 14 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
4. "Wolves sign Brazilian midfielder". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 25 July 2006.
5. "Brazilian Finkler joins Victory". Football Federation Australia. 22 June 2012.
6. "Finkler likely for Phoenix clash". Football Federation Australia. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
7. Windley, Matt (18 October 2013). "Melbourne Victory star Gui Finkler opens up on tough year coping with severe knee injury". news.com.au. News Limited. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
8. "Melbourne Victory lose midfielder Gui Finkler for 12 months after scans confirm ruptured ACL". Fox Sports. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
9. "Finkler injury blow for Victory". Sports News First. 3 January 2013. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
10. "Finkler to return better than ever : The World Game on SBS". Theworldgame.sbs.com.au. 4 July 2013. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
11. Maasdorp, James (18 October 2013). "Melbourne Victory stuns Adelaide United to snatch 2-2 A-League draw from two goals down". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
12. "Gui Finkler signs new two-year deal with Melbourne Victory". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
13. "Gui Finkler to leave Victory". Melbourne Victory. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.

External links

• Melbourne Victory profile Archived 12 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
• Ultimate A-league Statistics
• Guilherme Finkler at Soccerway
• soFIFA Profile