Fábio Henrique Simplício (born 23 September 1979) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He appeared in 243 Serie A games for three clubs and scored 43 goals, having played for nearly a decade in the country.

Club career

São Paulo and move to Italy

Born in São Paulo, Simplício started his career with hometown's São Paulo FC, going on to remain five years with the club and winning two State Leagues. In 2004, he moved to Italy and signed for Parma FC, after having been discovered by its director of football Arrigo Sacchi.

Simplício made his Serie A debut on 22 September 2004 in a 1–2 home loss against Bologna FC 1909, one day shy of his 25th birthday (16 minutes played), and finished his first season with four goals in 34 games, bettering that total to ten in the following campaign.

Palermo

On 14 June 2006 Simplício joined fellow top division side U.S. Città di Palermo, moving alongside Parma teammate Mark Bresciano. He was priced at €7.1 million, with €4.6 million being to his previous team.

During his four-year spell with the Sicilian club, Simplício appeared in more than 26 league matches, adding eight UEFA Cup appearances in two separate seasons combined (two goals). In January 2010, his agent Gilmar Rinaldi announced he would not extend his contract with Palermo, set to expire in June.

Roma

On 1 June 2010, Simplício moved to AS Roma on a three-year contract worth €1.8m per season, effective as of 1 July. He scored four league goals from 24 appearances in his debut campaign, adding the 2–1 winner against S.S. Lazio for the Coppa Italia as the capital side reached the semifinals.

In 2011–12, Simplício netted the same number of goals, including one in a Derby del Sole against SSC Napoli in a 3–1 away triumph, but Roma could only finish seventh, thus not qualifying for any European competition.

Cerezo Osaka

On 27 July 2012, Simplício joined J1 League's Cerezo Osaka. He made his official debut on 4 August against Consadole Sapporo, contributing to the 4–0 victory.

International career

On 17 November 2009, aged 30, Simplício earned his first and only cap for Brazil, in a friendly match with Oman. He came on as a substitute for Felipe Melo in the second half of the 2–0 win.

Business career

Simplício owned American soccer team Miami Dade FC and software Ginga Scout, alongside fellow former footballers such as Emerson, Roberto Linck or Roberto Carlos.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[citation needed]
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
São Paulo2000Série A255100000265
2001230600000290
2002251700000321
2003377500000427
20041120000110222
Total121151900011015115
Parma2004–05Serie A3641090464
2005–063710414111
Total73145100908715
Palermo2006–07Serie A3352060415
2007–083252020365
2008–0937810388
2009–1027331304
Total1292181008014522
Roma2010–11Serie A2444130315
2011–121941020224
Total438510050539
Cerezo Osaka2012J1 League1532010183
20133143151396
Total467516100579
Career total412654246133049370

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Brazil200910
Total10

Honours

São Paulo

Individual

External links

  • at Sambafoot (archived)
  • at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
  • at National-Football-Teams.com
  • at J.League () (in Japanese)