Johor Bahru: Brazilian centre-back Mauricio dos Santos Nascimento has completed his transfer to Malaysian Super League side Johor Darul Ta’zim, the club announced on Wednesday.
More commonly known as Mauricio, the 30-year-old has an extensive record of playing in Brazil’s top tier league, Campeonato Paulista, where he earned his first league title in 2008 with Palmeiras.
Mauricio is also no stranger to clubs outside of Brazil, having played with Portugal’s Sporting CP and securing the Taca de Portugal in the 2014/15 season, before transferring to Italy’s Lazio.
His career as a professional footballer has seen him on loan to various clubs, but he has also proven himself to be an essential part of a team and assisted those clubs in clinching domestic titles, namely for Spartak Moscow of Russia in 2017 and Poland’s Legia Warsaw in 2018.
Now playing for JDT, 2015 AFC Cup winners and five-time Malaysian champions, much is to be expected from him as the club venture into their first AFC Champions League appearance next year.
With the ranks bolstered, JDT will look to make an impact in the 2019 AFC Champions League after being drawn in Group E with Korea Republic’s Gyeongnam FC, and two yet-to-be decided opponents, who will be making their qualification through the play-offs.
Photo: Johor Darul Ta'zim
WELCOME TO THE JDT FAMILY
We would like to welcome Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club's new foreign player from Brazil, Mauricio dos Santos Nascimento. Luaskan Kuasamu Johor. pic.twitter.com/P2y3XCmYw3
— JOHORSouthernTigers (@OfficialJohor) December 5, 2018
Source: the-afc.com