The first round of the Chinese Super League has aroused the interest of the majority of fans, many national football players have warmed up in the Super League, Wu Lei scored 2 goals alone, Zhang Yuning and Tan Long also scored, but Ackerson, who played in Chengdu Rongcheng, was pressed on the bench by South Korean coach Xu Zhengyuan and did not get a minute to play. Although Chengdu Rongcheng defeated Qingdao Manatee 2:0 and made a good start to the Chinese Super League, Ackerson's sense of loss was written all over his eyes. The former Chinese Super League superstar and Evergrande's AFC Champions League god has reached the end of the hero's moment.
Born in July 1989 in Coellonetto, Brazil. Like many Brazilian football superstars, he played for Brazilian football clubs in his early days, playing for FC Victoria in 2009 and winning the Brazilian state championship. In 2010, Elkeson scored six goals and eight assists to help the team defend the state title.
In 2011, Elkeson joined Botafogo FC in Brazil, and scored 8 goals and 10 assists that season, and was praised as "100 demons" and "samba genius" by Brazil. In the 2012 season, Elkeson ranked in the top 10 scorers in the Brazilian league with 11 goals and 4 assists, and immediately attracted the attention of Guangzhou Evergrande scout Lippi Jr., who highly recommended the football talent to his father Lippi, who was the head coach of Guangzhou Evergrande at the time. In the competition with the Italian giants Juventus, Guangzhou Evergrande had the last laugh, and finally recruited the Brazilian hopeful star with a transfer fee of 5.7 million euros and an annual salary of 2 million euros.
However, Elkeson's journey to football in China has not been easy, and his debut in Chinese football came to an end. In March 2013, the Chinese Football Association Super Cup, Guangzhou Evergrande lost at home to Jiangsu Shuntian, although Jiangsu Shuntian's investment that year was only one-tenth of Evergrande's, but Evergrande's performance was unsatisfactory. Elkeson, who had high hopes, was substituted in the 56th minute because of his mediocre performance, ending his debut in China early.
However, Elkeson soon ushered in the highlight moment of Evergrande. In the subsequent Chinese Super League games, he was like a god soldier, scoring 6 goals in the first three Chinese Super League games, and scoring in 7 consecutive Chinese Super League games. At the end of the 2013 season, Elkeson scored a total of 24 goals and was undisputed as the top scorer in the Chinese Super League. In the 2014 season, Elkeson broke Li Jinyu's eight-year record of 26 goals in a single season with an excellent performance of 28 goals, and became an impressive football superstar in the golden era of Chinese football.
Elkeson not only performed brilliantly in the Chinese Super League, but even in the AFC Champions League, he was the god of victory for Guangzhou Evergrande. In the 2013 season when Guangzhou Evergrande won the AFC Champions League for the first time, Elkeson scored a key goal in the second leg of the championship match with Seoul FC in South Korea, thus helping Evergrande draw 1:1 with the opponent, and the total score of the two legs was 3:3. In the 2015 AFC Champions League final, Guangzhou Evergrande played a key role in the second leg of the home match with Al Ahh of the United Arab Emirates, and through his winning goal, Guangzhou Evergrande won 1:0 against the opponent, thus reaching the top of the AFC Champions League for the second time.
In January 2016, Elkeson moved to Shanghai Port, but it was a turning point in his career. In the 2016 season, Elkeson scored 11 goals and his goalscoring efficiency dropped significantly, but in the AFC Champions League he made nine appearances, scoring four goals and providing one assist. In the 2017 season, Elkeson scored 11 goals in the Chinese Super League, five goals and three assists in the AFC Champions League, and helped Shanghai Port advance to the last four of the AFC Champions League. In the 2018 season, although Elkeson's goals in the Chinese Super League continued to decline, he scored four goals in eight appearances in the AFC Champions League and still maintained a high efficiency.
In the 2019 season, Elkeson returned to Evergrande, and until the 2021 season, Elkeson broke the record for the most goals in China's top league with 120 goals. In April 2022, Elkeson briefly joined Gremio FC in the Brazilian second division, and in April 2023, Elkeson returned to the Chinese Super League and joined Chengdu Rongcheng.
Elkeson is physically strong, has incredible speed, can shoot with both left and right feet, and has outstanding ball control, not only with the delicate dribbling skills of a South American player, but also with the simplicity and efficiency of a European player. On the court, Elkeson's best role is an attacking striker, in addition to riding alone to break through the city, attacking the city, but also often delivering cannonballs for his teammates, is a rare all-round player. Violent long-range shots and direct free-kicks are Elkeson's two major scoring weapons.
In August 2019, Elkeson completed the naturalization procedures and changed his name to Exxon. In the last World Cup qualifying cycle, Elkeson represented the national football team and scored two goals against the Maldives, completing the first goal of a naturalized non-blood player. In the 7-0 win over the national football team, Elkeson also scored 1 goal. But in the top 12 matches with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia and other teams, Elkeson's performance was mediocre, and fans had to face the reality that Aikeson is no longer the god he was 10 years ago, and his decline in form is an indisputable fact.
In this year's Asian Cup, the national football team scored 0 goals in three games, which was strongly criticized by fans. While questioning the inefficiency of the national football team's goals, many fans were unhappy with Ackerson's defeat and thought that he should be selected for the national team. However, last year, most of the games in the Chinese Super League were substitutes, and the national team coach would not take the risk to recruit him to the team if he couldn't play the main team in the Chinese Super League, so Jankovic's choice still made some sense.
Ackerson has said that in his ten years in China, he has achieved all the professional glory, but unfortunately did not score more goals for the Chinese national team. Now the national football team, under the leadership of new coach Ivankovic, is preparing for the round of 36 of the World Preliminary Championships, and many fans are still calling for Exxon to be re-recruited into the national team. However, looking at the choice of Chengdu Rongcheng head coach Xu Zhengyuan, this part of the fans may understand the future of Exxon in the national football team.
Heroes will also be twilight, youth will be white, and ten years will be a flick of a finger. Now, at the age of 36, Ackerson is in the twilight of his career, and we should be honored to be one of the witnesses who dedicated his best football years to Chinese fans. In the hearts of Chinese fans, Exxon will always be the legend of the AFC Champions League and the Chinese Super League, and the god of war in the hearts of fans. It's a pity that Ackerson, who is now in a worrying state, has not only become a marginal player in Chengdu Rongcheng, but also probably has not many opportunities to play for the national football team.
Fans, what do you think of Exxon's selection for the national football team? Welcome to share your opinions and discuss together.