Sérgio Antônio Soler de Oliveira Júnior (born 15 March 1995), commonly known as Serginho and Sai Erjini'ao (Chinese: 塞尔吉尼奥; pinyin: Sài Ěrjíní'ào) in China, is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or second-striker for Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan. Born in Brazil, he plays for the China national team.
Born in Monte Aprazível, São Paulo, Serginho joined Santos FC's youth setup in 2011, aged 15, after being released by rivals São Paulo FC due to a recurrent back injury.[2] He soon earned plaudits for his performances with the under-20's, being a key midfield unit during the 2014 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior winning campaign.
On 9 March 2014 Serginho made his first-team debut, coming on as a late substitute in a 4–1 home success over Oeste for the Campeonato Paulista championship.[3] He made his Série A debut on 11 September, again from the bench in a 1–3 away loss against Sport Recife.[4]
On 15 January 2016, Serginho renewed his contract – which was due to expire at the end of the year – until 2018.[5] On 7 July, he was loaned to fellow top tier club Vitória until the end of the year.[6]
Serginho scored his first professional goal 17 November 2016, netting Vitória's second in a 2–3 away loss against former club Santos.[7] The following 17 February he moved to Santo André, on loan until the end of the 2017 Campeonato Paulista.[8]
Upon returning, Serginho did not play a single minute until July 2017, in a 1–0 away win against Atlético Mineiro. He started to feature more regularly in late September, mainly used as a substitute.[9]
On 23 January 2018, Serginho was loaned to fellow top tier club América Mineiro for one year.[10] On 15 April, he scored a brace in a 3–0 home defeat of Sport.
On 29 July 2018, he moved to J1 League club Kashima Antlers.[11] Serginho made an impressive appearance with Kashima in the 2018 AFC Champions League.[12][13]
On 27 January 2025, Changchun Yatai announced that Serginho was released after the end of his contract.[14]
On 2 February 2025, fellow Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan announced that Serginho has completed the transfer to the club. Serginho chose to wear the number 7 shirt.[15] He debuted on 29 March 2025 in a 1–1 draw against Chengdu Rongcheng for the club in matchday 3 of Chinese Super League.[16]
His first goal for the club, a header from a corner situation, came on 15 April 2025 in a 4–4 league draw against Wuhan Three Towns.[17]
Although Serginho was born in Brazil, he did not represent the nation internationally at any level.
On 13 March 2025, Serginho became a naturalised citizen of China. He was subsequently called up by the Chinese national team in preparation for two of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier matches against Saudi Arabia and Australia.[18][19]
He debuted for the Chinese national team on 25 March 2025 in a 0–2 loss to Australia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier. He came on as a substitute at half-time.[20]
Santos
Kashima Antlers
Changchun Yatai