Mario Jardel

Mario Jardel is undoubtedly one of the best strikers of his generation, but he will forever remain in the shadow of Ronaldo in the national team and the great strikers of the five major European championships.

Trophies

384

Goals

568

Games

1991/94 Vasco de Gama (BRE) 58 games, 20 goals

(Brazilian Championship: 15 games, 3 goals)

(Brazilian Cup: 9 games, 3 goals)

(Rio Championship/Río-São Paulo Tournament/Copa Río: 34 games, 14 goals)

1995/96 Gremio (BRE) 98 games, 61 goals

(Brazilian Championship: 13 games, 11 goals)

(Brazilian Cup: 18 games, 7 goals)

(Rio Grande do Sul Championship: 41 games, 22 goals)

(Copa Libertadores/Supercopa Sudamericana/Recopa Sudamericana: 26 games, 21 goals)

(Intercontinental Cup: 1 match)

1996/2000 FC Porto (POR) 175 matches, 168 goals

(Portuguese League: 125 matches, 130 goals)

(Portuguese Cup/Portuguese Super Cup: 18 matches, 19 goals)

(Champions League: 32 matches, 19 goals)

2000/01 Galatasaray (TUR) 43 matches, 34 goals

(Turkish League: 24 matches, 22 goals)

(Turkish Cup: 2 matches, 1 goal)

(Champions League: 16 matches, 9 goals)

(UEFA Super Cup: 1 match, 2 goals)

2001/03 Sporting CP (POR) 62 matches, 67 goals

(Portuguese League: 49 matches, 53 goals)

(Portuguese Cup: 7 games, 8 goals)

(UEFA Cup: 6 games, 6 goals)

2003/04 Bolton Wanderers (ENG) 12 games, 3 goals

(English Premier League: 7 games)

(English Premier League: 5 games, 3 goals)

2004 Ancona (ITA) (Loan) 3 games

2004/05 Newell’s Old Boys (ARG) 3 games

2005 Alavès (ESP) 1 game

2006 Goias EC (BRE) 15 games, 3 goals

(Brazilian Championship: 4 games, 1 goal)

(Goias Championship: 10 games, 2 goals)

(Copa Libertadores: 1 game)

2006/07 Beira Mar (POR) 13 games, 4 goals

(Portuguese Championship: 12 games, 3 goals)

(Portuguese Cup: 1 game, 1 goal)

2007 Anorthosis Famagusta (CHY) 7 games, 2 goals

2007/08 Newcastle Jets (AUS) 11 games

2008 Criciuma (BRE) 17 games, 6 goals

2009 Ferroviario (BRE) 11 games, 2 goals

2009 America de Fortaleza (BRE) 16 games, 12 goals

2010 EC Flamengo (BRE) 5 games

2010/11 Cherno More (BUL) 8 games, 1 goal

2011 Atlético Rio Negro (BRE)

With the National Team :

10 caps, 1 goal

(Friendly matches: 6 caps, 1 goal)

(World Cup qualifiers: 2 caps)

(Copa America: 2 caps)

1st cap: August 28, 1996 against Russia (2-2)

Last cap: July 23, 2001 against Honduras (0-2)

U20: 1 cap

Mario Jardel de Almeida Ribeiro

Born September 18, 1973 in Fortaleza (BRE)

Brazilian, forward, 1m88

Nicknames: Super Mario, Jardelão

A young player who is decisive in big matches

Mario Jardel was born in Fortaleza, Brazil in 1973. Brazilian, he is not the stereotype of the classic Brazilian striker, very tall, very physical, he is a fox in the box with a super-powerful shot. After a first adventure with Vasco da Gama, the explosion came during his time at Gremio. There, he scored a whopping 21 goals in 26 games in South American international competitions in 2 years. In total, he scored 61 goals in 98 games for the club. Enough to get noticed in Europe.

Porto's legendary striker

With an exceptional header and a monstrous vertical jump, he is one of the best headers in the history of football. In 1996, he was recruited by Porto where he would become a true legend. The one now nicknamed "Super Mario" would play 4 years at FC Porto.

In his first season in Portugal, he scored 30 goals in the league, enough to finish top scorer in the Portuguese league. He would keep this title of top scorer throughout his time at FC Porto, with 26 goals the following season, 36, then 38!

Forming a wonderful duo with the Yugoslav Ljubinko Drulović, he scored 130 goals in 125 Portuguese league games! In the Champions League, he scored 19 goals in 32 games for Porto. His peak with the club was the 1999-2000 season during which he scored 10 goals in 13 Champions League games, contributing to Porto's great run which was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich.

A mixed experience in Türkiye

But while we imagine the club leaving Porto for a European big name, he signed for Galatasaray at the age of 26, who had just won the Europa League against Arsenal. The Turkish club's objective was clear, with Jardel, the club wanted to position itself at the top of European football in a sustainable way.

However, the Brazilian player would only spend one season in Turkey, struggling to adapt to local life. However, on the pitch, he remained this formidable and clinical player, he scored a season with 34 goals in 43 matches including 6 goals in the Champions League.

A triumphant return to Portugal before sinking

In 2001, he decided to return to Portugal, but this time to the Sporting club. For his first season, he scored 42 goals in 30 Portuguese league matches, 7 goals in the national cup and 6 goals in the UEFA Cup. A crazy season of 55 goals! He was logically elected best player in Portugal and won the European Golden Shoe for the second time in his career.

The 2002/03 season was one of decline, the player who had started off on a very good footing was going to divorce. He had a very hard time with this divorce and it was felt on the pitch, which he no longer gave priority to. He finished his season with only 19 matches played for 11 goals.

A more than disappointing end to a career

From the summer of 2003, a new career began, he went from club to club and to exotic destinations. At the same time, he had lost a lot of his level following the many psychiatric problems and the many injuries he was going to experience. Mario Jardel would drag his extra pounds to Bolton, Ancona, Famagusta, or even Newcastle Jets in Australia. He continued his career as if nothing had happened and returned to his country to do what he did best, play football, no matter the level... Criciuma, Ferroviario, America and Flamengo followed one after the other.

In 9 years, he changed clubs 13 times and in 2011, at the age of 38, he ended his career. The player could have had a much better career, in total, he played 10 times for the Seleçao and scored 1 goal. Jardel was approached twice during his career by French Ligue 1 clubs, Marseille in 2001 and Nancy in 2005, but the coach at the time considered the player's condition "deplorable". A sad end to the career of one of the players who scored the most goals during the 90s.