Willian
Willian Borges da Silva, commonly known as Willian, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger or as an attacking midfielder for the Brazil national team. Willian started his career at Corinthians, before joining Shakhtar Donetsk in August 2007 for a fee of €14 million. In his six years at the club, he won honours including five Ukrainian Premier League titles and the UEFA Cup in 2009. In 2013, he briefly signed for Anzhi Makhachkala before joining Chelsea for £30 million, winning the Premier League and League Cup in his second season in England. Willian made his debut for Brazil in 2011 and has since represented his country at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2015 Copa América, the Copa América Centenario, and the 2019 Copa América, a tournament Brazil won on home soil.
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As a member of the under-20 Brazil team, Willian made his debut in the 2007 South American Youth Championship against Chile on 7 January 2007, which Brazil went on to win. In 2007, he was also selected for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, but Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Spain. On 10 November 2011, Willian made his senior debut for Brazil in a friendly match against Gabon.[73] On 16 November 2013, he scored his first international goal in a 5–0 win over Honduras in Miami, Florida. On 7 May 2014, Willian was selected as part of the 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He came on at half-time in extra time of the round of 16 match against Chile in Belo Horizonte for his Chelsea teammate Oscar, and took a penalty in the shootout which he put wide of the goal, although Brazil nonetheless advanced. At the 2015 Copa América, Willian assisted Roberto Firmino’s decisive goal in the 2–1 win over Venezuela in Santiago, a result which sent Brazil into the quarter-finals as group winners. On 5 May 2016, he was named by Brazil manager Dunga among the 23-man list for the Copa América Centenario to be held in the United States. In May 2018 he was named in Tite’s final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 7 June 2019, he received a late call-up for the 2019 Copa América to replace the injured Neymar.
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These boots were worn by Willian during the Fifa World Cup “Russia 2018” qualifying game between Colombia and Brazil which took place in Barranquilla (Colombia), Metropolitano “Roberto Melendez” Stadium, on September 5th 2017. Brazil draw 1-1 and Willian scored an amazing goal. Willian donated his boots after the game to the charity foundation “Idolos Eternos” that auctioned them in their website together with a personal video message by the player stating the game he wore them.
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Willian is a fast, agile, hard-working and technically gifted player, Willian is known for his quick feet, acceleration, and explosive style of play, which allows him to dribble past opponents at speed whilst keeping close control of the ball; in typical Brazilian style, he has also been known to pull off feints and tricks, such as the elastico, in order to confuse and beat defenders. He primarily plays as a winger or as an attacking midfielder, and his high stamina, vision and creativity enables him to link-up play between the deeper midfielders and the forwards, and create goalscoring chances. During the 2015–16 season, while at Chelsea, he showed his prowess at direct free-kicks, with almost all his goals coming from set pieces. He improved the statistics of his attacking game, which led many to call him Chelsea’s top performer of the season. Willian is Afro-Brazilian and is married to Vanessa Martins. They have twin daughters, Valentina and Manuella. Like many Brazilian footballers, Willian is a devout Christian. In April 2016, Willian was named in the Panama Papers. On 13 October 2016, Willian’s mother, Dona Zezé, died at the age of 57. During the game against the Premier League champions, Leicester City, his teammates Diego Costa and Eden Hazard dedicated their goals to Willian and his mother. Along with his teammates, his manager, Antonio Conte also dedicated their victory to Willian and his family. In December 2019, Willian was voted by Chelsea fans in the Chelsea FC team of the decade
