Andre Bahia

Andre Luiz Bahia dos Santos Viana (born 24 November 1983) is a former Brazilian footballer who played as a defender.

Club Career

Flamengo

Bahia started his football career at the Escolinha Julio Cesar, a football school run by the former Flamengo player. After daily visiting the escolinha for two years he was asked to do a trial at Flamengo Categories of Base in 1994. Bahia joined Flamengo, where he initially played as a left-winger before switching to left-back position before playing in the central defense. It was the central defence position that meant his breakthrough in professional football.

In the 2001 season, he made his professional debut for Flamengo, where he started the whole game, in a 2–1 loss against Santa Cruz on 2 September 2001. After this, he received a handful of first team appearances throughout September by Manager Mario Zagallo. On 10 October 2001, Bahia scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against Botafogo. At the end of the 2001 season, Bahia went on to make ten appearances and scoring once for the side in all competitions.

In the 2002 season, Bahia became a first team regular after Manager Lula Pereira gave him more playing time. After the sacking of Pereira, Bahia continued to remain in the first team under the new management of Evaristo de Macedo. At the end of the 2002 season, he went on to make 24 appearances in all competitions.

In the 2003 season, Bahia continued to be in the first team by new manager Oswaldo de Oliveira. On 30 March 2003, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Coritiba. Bahia then spent the rest of the year, establishing himself in the centre–back position for the side. At the end of the 2003 season, he went on to make 35 appearances and scoring once in all competitions.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Андре Баия (russian)