Flavio Paixao

Flavio Emanuel Lopes Paixao (born 19 September 1984) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Polish club Lechia Gdansk as a forward.

He never played professionally in his own country, and had his greatest successes in Poland, scoring over 50 Ekstraklasa goals for Slask Wroclaw and Lechia Gdansk. Additionally, he had spells in Spain, Scotland and Iran.

Club Career

Early years

Born in Sesimbra, Setubal District, Paixao spent his early career in Portugal and Spain, playing with lowly teams in both countries – his hometown's G.D. Sesimbra, FC Porto B,CF Villanovense, Real Jaen and Benidorm CF.

In the 2006–07 season, he scored ten goals for Villanovense but suffered relegation from Segunda Division B, the only level in which he competed in Spain.

Hamilton Academical

Paixao's first taste of professional football came in 2009 as he signed for Scottish Premier League club Hamilton Academical on 6 August, alongside twin brother Marco. He made his league debut nine days later, against Kilmarnock.

Paixao was released from his contract with immediate effect on 14 April 2011, alongside his sibling. He appeared in 61 official matches for the Accies, scoring 11 goals.

Tractor

On 2 August 2011, Paixao signed a one-year contract with Tractor S.C. in Iran, for an undisclosed fee. In his first season he netted a club-best ten goals in the Pro League, being voted by Goal.com as best player on the team.

Slask Wroclaw

Paixao then returned to Europe, joining Polish Ekstraklasa's Slask Wroclaw at the tail end of the 2013–14 campaign. In his first full season he scored 18 goals, bettered only by Kamil Wilczek from Piast Gliwice; this included a hat-trick on 25 October 2014 in a 4–1 win at Lechia Gdansk.

Lechia Gdansk

On 8 February 2016, Paixao moved to Lechia Gdansk for a fee of £100.000 with two years left on his con