Isaías Marques Soares

Isaías

Personal information
Full name	Isaías Marques Soares
Date of birth	November 17, 1963 (1963-11-17) (age 48)
Place of birth	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1987	Cabofriense	?	(?)
1987–1988	Rio Ave	30	(5)
1988–1990	Boavista	67	(22)
1990–1995	Benfica	124	(53)
1995–1997	Coventry City	12	(2)
1997–1999	Campomaiorense	57	(18)
2000–2001	Cabofriense
2002–2003	Friburguense
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Isaías Marques Soares (born 17 November 1963), simply Isaías, is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a forward.

Football career

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Isaías started his career with lowly Associação Desportiva Cabofriense, then moved to Portugal in 1987, gradually moving up the ranks: first with Rio Ave FC, then Boavista FC, arriving at S.L. Benfica in 1990.

At Benfica, he quickly became a fan favourite at Estádio da Luz, being also referred to as a "force of nature", due to his stamina and combativeness. He also found the net with frequence, being the owner of a powerful long-range shot. Arguably his greatest moment with the Lisbon club came on November 6, 1991, in the last round prior to the group stage of the European Cup: against Arsenal, at Highbury Park, he assisted and scored twice in a 3–1 success (4–2 aggregate).

However, Isaías would be left out of the Benfica squad in 1995, by then-coach Artur Jorge. The manager was proceeding to a team reshuffle that would result in the darkest period in the club's history. At that time, the veteran was still one of the squad's most influential players and top scorers.

Subsequently, Isaías moved to England with Coventry City for £500.000, signing a two-year contract with the Sky Blues, and becoming the first Brazilian to ever play in the Premier League. He played in just 12 league games for the team over a period of two seasons, scoring twice.^[1]

In 1997, aged nearly 34, Isaías returned to Portugal with S.C. Campomaiorense, after which he retired in his country at almost 40, playing amateur football. Subsequently, he appeared in a few games with the Portuguese beach soccer team, courtesy of his previously obtained citizenship.

Honours

• Benfica:
  • Portuguese League: 1990–91, 1993–94
  • Portuguese Cup: 1992–93

• Campomaiorense:
  • Portuguese Cup: Runner-up 1998–99

References

1. ^ Club-by-club guide: The prospects, the players to watch, the arrivals and departures; The Independent, 13 August 1995

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)
• Isaias career stats at Soccerbase

Persondata
Name	Isaias Marques Soares
Alternative names	Isaias
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	17 November 1963
Place of birth	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death
Place of death