Jean Francisco Rodrigues (born 28 November 1977), commonly known as Jean Paulista, is a former Brazilian footballer who played as a forward or an attacking midfielder.
Club career
Born in Sertãozinho, São Paulo, Paulista played with modest Sport Club Corinthians Alagoano and Esporte Clube Taubaté in his country. In 1998, he moved to Portugal where he remained for the following seven years, representing S.C. Farense, S.C. Braga and Vitória F.C. in the Primeira Liga and C.D. Aves, Imortal D.C. and F.C. Maia in the second division. His best personal output, in the country and overall, came in the 2003–04 season, when he scored seven goals to help Aves to the eighth position.
From 2005 to 2008, Paulista competed in Poland's Ekstraklasa with Wisła Kraków, netting five times in 27 appearances in his second year. In July 2008 he signed a two-year contract with APOEL FC in the Cypriot First Division, making his official debut for his new club in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup; also in that competition, against Red Star Belgrade, he suffered a serious injury which sidelined him for almost a year.
Paulista returned to full fitness in 2009–10, scoring twice to help APOEL to the second position. He added three appearances in that campaign's UEFA Champions League.
After one year still in the country, with AEK Larnaca FC, 33-year-old Paulista moved to Poland where he played mostly in the lower leagues, starting with Polonia Bytom.
External links
1977 births
Living people
Footballers from São Paulo (state) Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Sport Club Corinthians Alagoano players Esporte Clube Taubaté players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players S.C. Farense players S.C. Braga players S.C. Braga B players C.D. Aves players Imortal D.C. players Vitória F.C. players F.C. Maia players Ekstraklasa players I liga players Wisła Kraków players Polonia Bytom players LZS Piotrówka players Skra Częstochowa players Cypriot First Division players APOEL FC players AEK Larnaca FC players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus People from Sertãozinho