Taison Freda

Taison Freda Biography

Taison Barcellos Freda is a Brazilian football player who plays for FC Shakhtar Donetsk as winger or attacking midfielder in the Ukrainian Premier League. He was born on 30 January 1988 in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil. The veteran has five international caps to his name.

Early club career

Freda started his career with Brazilian club Internacional, playing for their youth team. His pace and skills saw him rising through the ranks and he made his debut for the club in 2009. In the same season he finished as the top scorer in the Campeonato Gaucho- Rio Grande do Sul’s top league- with 15 goals. Internacional won the cup as well with a 8-1 win over Caxias.

Taison won the Suda Americana in 2009 with Internacional. He also has a 2010 Copa Libertadores medal when his side triumphed over Mexican club Guadalajara in 5-3 aggregate victory to lift the trophy, with Taison being a key player in the matches. He has made 91 appearances for the club.

Freda moved to Ukrainian club Metalist Kharkiv for a transfer fee around 6 million euros in 2010. He played for three years at the club and made 83 appearances, scoring 20 goals and assisting 26 times. Taison established himself as a talented winger in Ukraine after he won the ‘Best Foreign Player’ award. He also caught the eyes of many European clubs like Napoli, Wolfsburg, Chelsea to name a few.

Rise to glory

After impressive performances at Metalist Kharkiv, Taison was bought by FC Shakhtar Donetsk, one of Ukraine’s top clubs. The transfer amount was 12.4 million pounds and Freda completed the move on 1 January 2013. His time at Shakhtar brought him many awards and accolades, as well as a national team call up.

Taison made his debut with Shakhtar against FC Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, with the result 2-2. He scored his first goal for the club, on 19 May 2010, in a 3–3 draw with Metalurh Zaporizhya. Taison scored the equaliser in injury time and won the Man of the Match award.

Taison has 188 appearances for the club and has 31 goals and 48 assists to his name. He has won the Ukrainian League and Ukrainian Cup three times with Shakhtar. Freda scored a goal in the final of Ukrainian Super Cup in 2013, with Shakhtar Donetsk winning the match 3-1. The club then won the Super Cup for the next two consecutive years.