Rafael Marques (footballer, born May 1983)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Marquesand the second or paternal family name is Mariano.

Rafael Marques

Rafael Marques in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Rafael Marques Mariano
Date of birth	(1983-05-27) 27 May 1983 (age 42)
Place of birth	Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position	Forward
Team information
Current team	Primavera (head coach)
Youth career
0000–2001	Ferroviária
2003	Ponte Preta
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001	Ferroviária
2002	Independente de Limeira
2003	Campinas	18	(14)
2003	Ponte Preta	1	(1)
2004	Palmeiras	11	(0)
2005	Inter de Limeira	14	(5)
2005	Marília	25	(8)
2005–2006	Samsunspor	30	(7)
2006–2009	Manisaspor	70	(24)
2009–2012	Omiya Ardija	83	(24)
2012–2013	Botafogo	62	(14)
2014–2015	Henan Jianye	21	(5)
2015	→ Palmeiras (loan)	48	(13)
2016–2017	Palmeiras	30	(5)
2017–2018	Cruzeiro	21	(2)
2018	Sport Recife	22	(1)
2018	São Caetano	11	(1)
2019	Figueirense	28	(5)
2020	Ventforet Kofu	23	(2)
2021	Botafogo-SP	15	(0)
2022	Primavera	12	(2)
Managerial career
2023–2025	Primavera (assistant)
2023	Primavera (interim)
2024	Primavera (interim)
2026–	Primavera
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rafael Marques Mariano (born 27 May 1983), known as Rafael Marques, is a Brazilian football coach and former player who played as a forward. He is the current head coach of Primavera.

Marques gained Turkish citizenship with the name Rafet El ^[1] when playing for Manisaspor.

Career

Early career

Born in Araraquara, São Paulo, Rafael Marques started his senior career with hometown side Ferroviária. He later played for Campinas FC, before joining Série A side Ponte Preta; initially a member of the under-20 team, he made his debut and scored his first goal for the club on 8 October in a 2–2 home draw against Atlético Paranaense. ^[2]

In 2004 Rafael Marques signed for Palmeiras, but acted mainly as a backup to Muñoz and Vágner Love during his spell. He subsequently represented Inter de Limeira, which he left on 18 April 2005. Two days later, he joined Marília.

Turkey

In 2005 Rafael Marques moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing with Samsunspor. He made his Süper Lig debut on 11 September in a 1–1 home draw against Manisaspor, and scored his first goal late in the month in a 2–1 home loss against Galatasaray.

In August 2006, after his team's relegation, Rafael Marques agreed to a contract with Manisaspor, suffering the same fate in his second season. During the 2008–09 campaign, he contributed with twelve goals as his side was crowned champions and returned to the first division at first attempt.

Omiya Ardija

Rafael Marques playing for Omiya Ardija in 2011

In August 2009, Rafael Marques was announced at Omiya Ardija. ^[3] He scored regularly for the side during his spell, including a ten-goal mark during the 2011 season; highlights included a brace in a 3–1 away defeat of Kashiwa Reysol on 25 September 2011.

Botafogo and Henan Jianye

On 10 July 2012, Rafael Marques signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Botafogo back in his home country. ^[4] After spending his first six months without scoring, he finished the 2013 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with ten goals, being the club's top goalscorer.

On 21 January 2014, Rafael Marques switched teams and countries again, joining Henan Jianye in the Chinese Super League. ^[5]

Palmeiras

Rafael Marques with Palmeiras in 2015

On 12 January 2015, Rafael Marques returned to Palmeiras on a one-year loan deal. ^[6] A regular starter, he featured in 32 league matches and scored seven goals during the year.

On 13 January 2016, Rafael Marques signed a permanent two-year deal with Verdão. ^[7] However, he would spend the campaign as a backup to Róger Guedes and Gabriel Jesus as his side lifted the league trophy after 22 years.

In March 2017, after the arrival of Miguel Borja, Rafael Marques was being deemed surplus to requirements by manager Eduardo Baptista, being transfer-listed by the club. ^[8]

Cruzeiro

On 13 May 2017, Rafael Marques signed an 18-month contract with fellow top tier club Cruzeiro, with Mayke moving in the opposite direction on loan. ^[9]

Later career

In December 2018, after a spell with Sport Recife, Rafael Marques joined Campeonato Paulista side São Caetano. ^[10] On 24 April 2019, he was presented at Figueirense. ^[11]

Rafael Marques playing for Primavera in 2022

On 6 February 2021, after one season at J2 League side Ventforet Kofu, Rafael Marques was announced at Botafogo-SP. ^[12] On 6 January of the following year, he moved to Primavera, ^[13] and retired with the side at the age of 39 in November 2022. ^[14]

Coaching career

Immediately after retiring, Rafael Marques became an assistant coach at his last club Primavera. ^[15] In March 2024, he became an interim head coach after Roger Silva left the club. ^[16]

Back to the assistant role after the arrival of Fernando Marchiori, Rafael Marques was appointed as permanent head coach of Primavera on 2 December 2025, shortly after Marchiori's departure. ^[17]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition ^[18]

Club	Season	League			State League		Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Campinas	2003	Paulista B2	—		18	14	—		—		—		18	14
Ponte Preta	2003	Série A	1	1	—		—		—		—		1	1
Palmeiras	2004 [19]	Série A	6	0	5	0	2	1	—		—		13	1
Inter de Limeira	2005	Paulista	—		14	5	—		—		—		14	5
Marília	2005	Série B	25	8	—		—		—		—		25	8
Samsunspor	2005–06	Süper Lig	29	6	—		7	2	—		—		36	8
	2006–07	TFF First League	1	1	–		—		—		—		1	1
	Total		30	7	—		7	2	—		—		37	9
Manisaspor	2006–07	Süper Lig	14	8	—		6	1	—		—		20	9
	2007–08		27	4	—		5	1	—		—		32	5
	2008–09	TFF First League	29	12	—		5	0	—		—		34	12
	Total		70	24	—		16	2	—		—		86	26
Omiya Ardija	2009	J. League 1	14	4	—		—		—		2 [a]	0	16	4
	2010		23	8	—		4	2	—		2 [a]	3	29	13
	2011		31	10	—		1	0	—		1 [a]	0	33	10
	2012		15	2	—		4	0	—		–		19	2
	Total		83	24	—		9	2	—		5	3	97	29
Botafogo	2012	Série A	15	0	—		—		2 [b]	0	—		17	0
	2013		37	10	10	4	9	5	—		—		56	19
	Total		52	10	10	4	9	5	2	0	—		73	19
Henan Jianye	2014	Chinese Super League	21	5	—		1	0	—		—		22	5
Palmeiras	2015	Série A	32	7	16	6	8	2	—		—		56	15
	2016		19	1	10	3	3	1	2 [c]	0	—		34	5
	2017		0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	—		1	1
	Total		51	8	27	10	11	3	2	0	—		91	21
Cruzeiro	2017	Série A	19	1	—		—		—		—		19	1
	2018		0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	—		2	1
	Total		19	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	—		21	2
Sport Recife	2018	Série A	22	1	—		—		—		—		22	1
São Caetano	2019	Série D	—		11	1	—		—		—		11	1
Figueirense	2019	Série B	28	5	—		—		—		1 [d]	1	29	6
Ventforet Kofu	2020	J2 League	23	2	—		—		—		—		23	2
Botafogo-SP	2021	Série D	8	0	7	0	—		—		5 [e]	0	20	0
Primavera	2022	Paulista A2	—		12	2	—		—		8 [e]	1	20	3
Career total			439	96	106	37	55	15	4	0	19	5	623	153

1. Appearances in Emperor's Cup
2. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
3. Appearances in Copa Libertadores
4. Appearance(s) in Recopa Catarinense
5. Appearance(s) in Copa Paulista

Honours

Manisaspor

• TFF First League: 2008–09

Botafogo

• Campeonato Carioca: 2013

Palmeiras

• Copa do Brasil: 2015
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2016

References

1. Naturalized Turks #21
2. "118 anos de Ponte Preta: Os atacantes revelados nas quatro últimas décadas" [118 years of Ponte Preta: The forwards groomed in the last four decades] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Só Dérbi. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
3. ファエル選手加入のお知らせ [Player announcement: Rafael] (in Japanese). Omiya Ardija. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
4. "Atacante Rafael Marques assina com o Botafogo" [Forward Rafael Marques signs with Botafogo] (in Portuguese). O Globo. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
5. "Rafael Marques acerta com clube chinês e deixa o Botafogo" [Rafael Marques signs with Chinese club and leaves Botafogo] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
6. "Palmeiras fecha contratação do atacante Rafael Marques por um ano" [Palmeiras sign forward Rafael Marques for one year] (in Portuguese). SE Palmeiras. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
7. "Após longa negociação, Rafael Marques renova com o Palmeiras" [After lengthy negotiations, Rafael Marques renews with Palmeiras] (in Portuguese). O Estado de S. Paulo. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
8. "Palmeiras diz que Rafael Marques pode procurar outro clube" [Palmeiras urge Rafael Marques to look after another club] (in Portuguese). Rede Bandeirantes. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
9. "Cruzeiro acerta com o Palmeiras a troca de Rafael Marques por Mayke" [Cruzeiro agree with Palmeiras the exchange of Rafael Marques for Mayke] (in Portuguese). Cruzeiro EC. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
10. "Agora no Azulão, Rafael Marques quer repetir sucesso dos tempos de Palmeiras" [Now at the Azulão, Rafael Marques wants to repeat the success of his time at Palmeiras] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Associação Desportiva São Caetano. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
11. "Figueirense anuncia a contratação do atacante Rafael Marques" [Figueirense announce the signing of forward Rafael Marques] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
12. "Rafael Marques é o 1º reforço do Botafogo para a temporada 2021" [Rafael Marques is the 1st addition of Botafogo for the 2021 season] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Botafogo FC. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
13. "Aos 38 anos, Rafael Marques, ex-Palmeiras e Botafogo, vai disputar A2 do Paulista pelo Primavera" [At the age of 38, Rafael Marques, formerly of Palmeiras and Botafogo, will play in the Paulista A2 for Primavera] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
14. "Rafael Marques, ex-Palmeiras e Botafogo, para de jogar aos 39 anos e inicia nova carreira no futebol" [Rafael Marques, formerly of Palmeiras and Botafogo, stops playing at the age of 39 and starts new career at football] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 17 November 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
15. "Paulista A2: Primavera reforça comissão técnica com ex-atacante Rafael Marques" [Paulista A2: Primavera bolster technical staff with former forward Rafael Marques] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Futebol Interior. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
16. "Auxiliar técnico Rafael Marques assume o comando do Primavera em substituição a Roger Silva" [Assistant coach Rafael Marques takes over the command of Primavera in the place of Roger Silva] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Mais Expressão. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
17. "Ex-atacante de Palmeiras e Botafogo inicia carreira de técnico no caçula do Paulistão" [Former Palmeiras and Botafogo forward start coaching career in Paulistão's newbie] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
18. Rafael Marques at Soccerway . Retrieved 15 January 2018.
19. "2004" (in Portuguese). Futebol 80. Retrieved 15 January 2018.

External links

• Rafael Marques at J.League ( archive ) (in Japanese)
• Palmeiras' Official Profile