Day: Jan 11, 2019

January 7, 2019 by Kenneth Russo –

Real Salt Lake added some veteran depth to its squad, acquiring Brazilian midfielder Everton Luiz on a season-long loan from Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor (S.P.A.L.) in Italy’s Serie A for the 2019 season. He will join RSL in preseason, pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and US work Visa.

Luiz joins RSL in preseason. He has made 21 appearances during the calendar year of 2018.

Luiz, 30, is a defensive midfielder who’s career has taken him through the ranks in Brazil. This will be the sixth different country he has played in. In Brazil, he has passed through Ponte Preta, Palmeiras, Marília, Bragantino, CRB and Criciúma. He has also played in Romania ( for Gloria Buzau), in México (for San Luís), Switzerland (for FC Lugano and St. Gallen) and Serbia (with Partizan Belgrade).

That led to a transfer to S.P.A.L., where he helped the club avoid relegation from a Serie A in the 2017-18 season.

He has scored seven goals in 155 league matches and ten goals in 246 matches across all competitions.

“Over the past several years we have restructured our roster with a young core.  Now is the right time to complement our young core with more experienced players in order to challenge for greater results.   Everton is the type of player that we feel can assist in helping us mature beyond being a competitive team and into one that challenges for bigger and better things,” RSL General Manager Craig Waibel said.  “He fits into the culture we are creating and is the type of player that our fans will enjoy watching as his on-field commitment is a standard they will surely appreciate.  His playing resume speaks for itself and his addition will allow the coaching staff to explore more options in squad selection each week.”

Disse o jogador Éverton Luiz:

“A Major League Soccer tem crescido muito e está cada vez mais competitiva. Chego a um clube estruturado e com muito potencial para chegar cada vez mais longe. Consegui realizar meu sonho de jogar em uma das ligas mais respeitadas e dividir o campo com grandes jogadores. Não estava jogando tanto quanto eu queria. Procurando novos desafios, decidi, junto aos meus empresários, trocar de time, e vi no Real Salt Lake uma grande oportunidade de seguir crescendo na carreira.”

“MLS is a league that is growing a lot and becoming more and more competitive.  I am coming to a structured club that is full of potential to go further,” Luiz said.  “I’ve reached my dream of playing in one of the biggest leagues on the planet and share the pitch with many of the best players.  I wasn’t playing as much as I wanted and I’m looking forward to new challenges and saw in Real Salt Lake a huge opportunity to keep growing in my career.”