Keirrison de Souza Carneiro, better known in the football world only by his first name, was born on December 3, 1988 in the city of Dourados, and from an early age he realized that football would be his professional path.
It was at CENE’s under-15s that the striker took his first steps into the sport, in 2002, where he stayed until 2005, before moving to Coritiba, to join the under-17 team.
The following year, he ended up making his debut in the main team, playing six games and scoring three goals, at just 18 years old, something that convinced the coach of the Coritiba team to invest more in Keirrison the following season.
And the bet paid off, as in the two seasons that followed, the striker enchanted Brazil with a total of 62 goals scored and two assists in 106 matches played, deserving the attention of the greats of the Brasileirão, after winning a Serie B and a Campeonato Paranaense.
It was there that Palmeiras, in 2009, spent around 650 thousand euros to sign him, using Keirrison for only half a season, before Barcelona got ahead and recognized a prodigy from Canary Islands, paying a sum of around 1.4 million euros.
Player was presented at Barcelona, before heading to Benfica© Getty Images
However, his European journey did not begin at Camp Nou, as he was loaned to Benfica for a spell that did not go as expected, making just seven appearances and not scoring on any occasion, even though he won the I League with the Eagles.
The transfer ended in January, with his career heading to Italy, where he joined Fiorentina and scored his first goals on the Old Continent, scoring twice in 12 games played.
Keirrison scored his first two goals in Europe for Fiorentina© Getty Images
But he ended up returning to Brazil through Santos, in 2010, spending a season in the fish, where he saw his scoring streak begin to return, with 10 goals scored in 31 matches, where he ended up being an integral part of the team that won the Copa Libertadores in 2011, remaining on the bench for the decisive game. He was loaned to Cruzeiro again in 2011, without playing any games for Barcelona.
He returned to the house that gave him his professional debut in 2013© Getty Images
After that, he decided to return home, signing for Coritiba, staying for three consecutive years, before being released, so that Londrina would return him, where he played 30 games and scored eight goals, before returning to Portugal, where he played two games for Arouca.
However, the end of his career had a tragic reason. Keirrison’s second son, in 2015, had an infection and was taken to the hospital, where he ended up having a cardiorespiratory arrest a few hours after being admitted to the hospital in Brazil, ending up dying at just two years old.
“It was a very difficult moment, which took us a long time to overcome. These are things that unfortunately happen, the longing remains and, fortunately, other children came. God gave me a new life. Football will always be a passion, but, when this happened, we made the decision for me to stop playing. Football will always be my life but I had to take this break to be with my family. It was not an easy decision”, he said shortly after leaving football, in an interview with Globo Esporte.
What now, Keirrison?
Returning to the present, the former Brazilian player now has a football academy for the new generations which he named K9 Academy, for young people between six and 17 years old.
The former striker also founded a player agency, representing some of the young promises of Brazilian football, as well as other senior names, such as Anderson Leite or Arthur Rezende, who play for the Muharraq Club, in Bahrain.
Every week Desporto ao Minuto presents you with a new edition of the section ‘What is made of…?’, which aims to remember the journey of some personalities from the football world who ended up falling into oblivion.
