Weligton · Biography

In the summer of 2007 Málaga CF, then in the Spanish second division, brought in a Brazilian centre-back from the Swiss league who was barely known in Spain. He was Weligton Robson Pena de Oliveira, born on 26 August 1979 in Fernandópolis, in the state of São Paulo. He arrived on loan from Grasshopper Zürich, signed by Juan Ramón Muñiz, and stayed with the Andalusian club for ten seasons, until 2017. He stood 1.86 metres tall, always wore the number 3, and the stands called him «the Marshal».

Early years in Brazilian football

His career began well away from the spotlight. Between 1997 and 2002 he played for several small Brazilian clubs: Olímpia, Campinense, Jalesense and Barretos. He started out as a forward and gradually dropped back into central defence. In 2002 he moved up to Paraná Clube, where he made nine appearances before crossing the Atlantic.

Penafiel and Grasshopper

On 13 August 2003 he joined FC Penafiel, then in Portugal's second tier. He helped them win promotion to the Primeira Liga and became a regular starter in defence. He played 90 matches over three seasons, until the club was relegated in 2006. That summer he moved to Switzerland to play for Grasshopper-Club Zürich. There he started regularly for a full season and scored his first professional goal in Europe. That form caught Málaga's attention.

Promotion in 2008

He made his Málaga debut in the second division in a 3-0 home win over Salamanca at La Rosaleda. In 2007-08 he played 38 league matches, all as a starter and 37 of them in full, alongside Hélder Rosário. He was a key part of the side that took the club back to La Liga in June 2008. On 18 June that year Málaga signed him permanently on a four-year deal.

A decade in Málaga's defence

In the top flight he scored his first goal for the club on 17 May 2009 at El Molinón against Sporting de Gijón, a ground where he would score several more times. On 14 March 2010 he suffered a serious ankle injury at Almería that ended his season. In October 2010 he reached 100 league games for Málaga in a 4-1 home defeat to Real Madrid. Under the Al-Thani ownership he was part of the side that finished fourth in 2011-12, the club's best league finish, and sixth in 2012-13. In August 2013 he broke his collarbone in a pre-season friendly against Aston Villa. He later reached 200 top-flight games for the club in a 2-0 win over Celta de Vigo at La Rosaleda.

The 2013 Champions League run

Fourth place in 2012 took Málaga into their first Champions League. In 2012-13 Weligton played at centre-back in the round of 16 against Porto: after a 1-0 defeat in Portugal, the team won 2-0 at La Rosaleda to reach the quarter-finals. There they went out to Borussia Dortmund after a goalless first leg in Málaga and a 3-2 loss in Germany, decided in stoppage time.

Captaincy, retirement and coaching staff

Over the years he became one of the captains of the dressing room. In September 2016 he injured the meniscus in his right knee and barely played that season. In January 2017 he gave up his non-EU registration so the club could register Adalberto Peñaranda. In February 2017 he joined the coaching staff as assistant to Marcelo Romero. He announced his retirement in May 2017 with 285 official matches for Málaga, at the time the third-highest total in the club's history, behind Duda (348) and Manolo Gámez (293). In La Liga he made 217 appearances and scored nine goals for the club.