Choco (footballer, born 18 January 1990)

Choco

Choco playing for Ludogorets Razgrad in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Guilherme de Souza
Date of birth	(1990-01-18) 18 January 1990 (age 35)
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Right-back
Youth career
	Corinthians
	São Paulo
	Santos
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2010	Santos	0	(0)
2010	→ Red Bull Brasil (loan)
2011–2014	Ludogorets Razgrad	71	(2)
2015–2016	APOEL	0	(0)
2016	→ Sampaio Corrêa (loan)	2	(0)
2016	→ AO Itabaiana (loan)	7	(0)
2016	Montana	18	(0)
2017	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	7	(0)
2017	Sūduva	6	(0)
2018	Juventude	10	(0)
2019	Ituano	1	(0)
2019–2020	Lokomotiv Sofia	14	(4)
2020	Ludogorets Razgrad II	13	(0)
2021	Kauno Žalgiris	36	(0)
2022	Riteriai	24	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 September 2022

Guilherme de Souza (born 18 January 1990), commonly known as Choco, is a Brazilian footballer. He normally plays in the right-back position, but can also play on the right side of midfield.

Career

Ludogorets Razgrad

Choco went through the youth academy of Santos Futebol Clube. On 7 January 2011, he moved from Santos to Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract and becoming the team's first foreign signing of the Domuschiev era.[1]

Choco scored his first goal for Ludogorets on 15 October 2011, netting the second goal in a 4–1 home win over Minyor Pernik.[2] He was primarily a starter during the 2011–12 season, being a key part of Petev's team that won its first top division title, but made only very sporadic appearances over the course of the 2012–13 championship. He continued to feature only on rare occasions during the 2013–14 (though he did play a part in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage, appearing in three of their victories) and 2014–15 campaigns (not being registered for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage). Choco left the team by mutual consent at the end of November 2014. He stated that Ludogorets will always remain in his heart.[3]

Following his release from Ludogorets, Choco attracted interest from the Kazakhstan Premier League,[4] but eventually he didn't complete any move there.

APOEL

On 27 May 2015, Choco signed a two-year contract, with the option of a further season with APOEL from Cyprus.[5] His contract with APOEL was terminated in December 2015, leaving the team after only seven months and without managing to appear in any official match.[6]

Sampaio Corrêa

On 23 December 2015, he moved back to his country and signed a contract with the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B club Sampaio Corrêa.[7]

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

On 19 December 2016, Choco signed with Bulgarian First League club Lokomotiv Plovdiv.[8] In May 2017, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.[9]

Sūduva Marijampolė

On 5 September 2017, Choco signed with A Lyga club Sūduva Marijampolė.[10]

Return to Ludogorets

In July 2020 Choco returned to Ludogorets, but this time he signed with their double – Ludogorets Razgrad II, to help the young players.[11]

FK Kauno Žalgiris

In January 2021 he returned back to Lithuania and became a member of FK Kauno Žalgiris.[12][13]

Career statistics

As of 17 October 2014[14]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Continental[a]		Other[b]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ludogorets	2010–11	B Group	10	0	0	0	—		—		10	0
	2011–12	A Group	27	1	5	0	—		—		32	1
	2012–13		6	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	2013–14		23	1	5	0	4	0	0	0	32	1
	2014–15		5	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	7	0
	Total		71	2	12	0	5	0	0	0	88	2
APOEL	2015–16	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career total			71	2	12	0	5	0	0	0	88	2

1. Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.
2. Includes Bulgarian Supercup and Cypriot Super Cup matches.

International career

On 26 October 2011, Choco received a Bulgarian passport and potentially became able to play for Bulgaria.[15]

Honours

Club

Ludogorets

• Bulgarian A Group: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
• Bulgarian Cup: 2011–12, 2013–14
• Bulgarian Supercup: 2012, 2014

Sūduva

• A Lyga: 2017

References

1. "Бразилският суперталант подписа с Лудогорец" (in Bulgarian). football24.bg. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
2. "Ludogorets 4–1 Minyor". soccerway.com. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
3. "Лудогорец се раздели с първия чужденец в новата история на клуба" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
4. "Бразилец Шоко интересен трем казахстанским клубам". sports.kz/ (in Russian). sports.kz/. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
5. "Σύναψη συμφωνίας με τον Guilherme De Souza (Choco)" (in Greek). APOEL FC. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
6. Προσθαφαιρέσεις στην λίστα Α' (in Greek). APOEL FC. 7 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
7. "Choco faz planos com a camisa Tricolor" (in Portuguese). sampaiocorreafc.com.br. 23 December 2015. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
8. "Локомотив подписа с Гилерме де Соуза – Шоко" (in Bulgarian). lokomotivpd.com. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
9. "Шоко се махна от Локо" (in Bulgarian). blitz.bg. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
10. ""Sūduvoje" – brazilas Choco" (in Lithuanian). fksuduva.lt. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
11. "Лудогорец взе Шоко" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
12. "Choco sugrįžo žaisti į Lietuvą" (in Lithuanian). sportas.lt. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
13. ""Kauno Žalgirio" naujokas – patyręs brazilas Choco" (in Lithuanian). alfa.lt. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
14. "Soccerway profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
15. "Choco is Bulgarian now". ludogorets.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2011.

External links

• APOEL official profile
• Choco at Soccerway