Victor (footballer, born 1983)

Victor

Victor in action with Atlético Mineiro in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Victor Leandro Bagy [1]
Date of birth	(1983-01-21) 21 January 1983 (age 41) [1]
Place of birth	Santo Anastácio, Brazil
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) [1]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1997	São Paulo
1998–2002	Paulista
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2007	Paulista	66	(0)
2002	→ Ituano (loan)	0	(0)
2008–2012	Grêmio	218	(0)
2012–2021	Atlético Mineiro	325	(0)
Total		609	(0)
International career
2009–2014	Brazil	6	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Victor Leandro Bagy (born 21 January 1983), known as Victor, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Having started his career with Paulista, where he spent his first six professional years and won the Copa do Brasil in 2005, Victor moved to Grêmio in 2008, where he finished as runner-up of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in his first season, receiving the Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão twice and the Bola de Prata once as best goalkeeper in the league during his spell with the club. He then joined Atlético Mineiro in 2012, where he won the Copa Libertadores in 2013 (being selected as the best goalkeeper of the tournament) and the Copa do Brasil in 2014, while again finishing as runner-up of the Brasileiro twice.

Victor has represented the Brazil national team since 2010, being part of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup winning squad, also being included in the 2011 Copa América and 2014 FIFA World Cup teams.

Club career

Paulista

Born in Santo Anastácio, Victor joined São Paulo FC's youth setup in 1997, aged 14. However, a year later he moved to Paulista FC, due to the limited prospect of playing in the first-team. Victor was called up to the main squad in 2000, but had to wait until 2003 to make his senior debut. He served his first years mostly as a backup to Rafael Bracalli, but in 2006, after the latter's move to C.D. Nacional, he was chosen as first-choice; Victor also was a part of the squad which won the 2005 Copa do Brasil, but remained as a substitute for both legs of the final. ^[2]

Grêmio

On 18 December 2007, Victor joined Grêmio, ^[3] with the Tricolor paying R$400,000 for a half of his registration rights. ^[4] He retained a starting spot during his first games at the club, but suffered an injury on 24 February 2008, being sidelined for one and a half month. ^[5] Victor returned from injury and was an undisputed starter during the year, appearing in all matches during the Brasileirão and winning the Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão for best goalkeeper of the tournament. In 2009, he was again the championship's best, winning both the Bola de Prata and the Craque do Brasileirão, but his contribution was reduced due to call-ups to the national side. In the summer, Victor was linked to Bari ^[6] and Benfica, ^[7] but nothing came of it.

On 18 June 2010, he signed a new contract with Grêmio, running until 2015. ^[8] Victor remained in the starting eleven, and his side finished fourth. However, in the following years, Grêmio struggled to keep the same levels of the past seasons, but he appeared 32 times in 2011.

Atlético Mineiro

On 29 June 2012, Victor joined Atlético Mineiro for a €3.5 million fee, signing a five-year contract. ^[9] He immediately became the first-choice goalkeeper in his new club, appearing in 29 matches as Galo finished second in the 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro. In 2013, Victor was one of the key figures of Atlético Mineiro's 2013 Copa Libertadores winning run. An iconic moment for him and the club happened in the second leg of that competition's quarter-finals, when a penalty kick was awarded to Club Tijuana in injury time. It would have meant elimination for Atlético if it had been scored, but was saved by Victor with his foot. ^[10] The save, according to sports commentators and fans, represented the kicking out of the club's historic "bad luck". ^{[11] [12]} Victor also made saves in the penalty shoot-outs against Newell's Old Boys ^[13] in the semi-finals and Club Olimpia in the finals, and was elected the competition's best goalkeeper. ^[14]

International career

Victor (# 22) at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

On 21 May 2009, Victor was called up for the second time (2005 was the first) to the Brazil national team for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. On 10 August 2010, he made his debut with the main squad, starting in a 2–0 friendly match win against United States. ^[15] He was included as a substitute goalkeeper in the Brazilian squad for 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. Also, he was part of the squad for 2011 Copa América. ^[16] On 7 May 2014, Victor was included among the 23-man squad ahead of 2014 FIFA World Cup. ^[17]

Personal life

Victor is Roman Catholic. ^{[18] [19] [20]}

Career statistics

Club

As of 28 February 2021 ^[21]

Club	Season	League			State League		Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Paulista	2004	Série B	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	2005		1	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	2006		28	0	2	0	—		0	0	—		30	0
	2007		37	0	18	0	—		—		—		55	0
	Total		66	0	21	0	0	0	0	0	—		87	0
Grêmio	2008 [22]	Série A	38	0	8	0	1	0	—		—		47	0
	2009 [22]		28	0	16	0	—		10 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		54	0
	2010 [22]		35	0	21	0	9	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		66	0
	2011 [22]		32	0	14	0	—		8 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		54	0
	2012 [22]		6	0	20	0	10	0	0	0	—		36	0
	Total		139	0	79	0	20	0	19	0	—		257	0
Atlético Mineiro	2012	Série A	29	0	—		—		—		—		29	0
	2013		29	0	13	0	2	0	14 [lower-alpha 1]	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	60	0
	2014		32	0	10	0	8	0	7 [lower-alpha 1]	0	2 [lower-alpha 4]	0	59	0
	2015		38	0	15	0	2	0	8 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		63	0
	2016		32	0	10	0	7	0	8 [lower-alpha 1]	0	2 [lower-alpha 5]	0	59	0
	2017		36	0	3	0	4	0	4 [lower-alpha 1]	0	2 [lower-alpha 5]	0	49	0
	2018		38	0	15	0	8	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		63	0
	2019		10	0	10	0	4	0	10 [lower-alpha 6]	0	—		34	0
	2020		1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	—		4	0
	2021		0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	Total		245	0	80	0	35	0	53	0	8	0	421	0
Career total			450	0	180	0	55	0	72	0	8	0	776	0

1. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
2. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
3. Appearance(s) in FIFA Club World Cup
4. Appearance(s) in Recopa Sudamericana
5. Appearance(s) in Primeira Liga
6. Nine appearances in Copa Libertadores, one appearance in Copa Sudamericana

International

As of 12 March 2020 ^[23]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	2009	0	0
	2010	4	0
	2011	1	0
	2013	1	0
	2014	0	0
Total		6	0

Honours

Club

Paulista

• Copa do Brasil: 2005

Grêmio

• Campeonato Gaúcho: 2010

Atlético Mineiro

• Copa Libertadores: 2013
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2014
• Copa do Brasil: 2014
• Campeonato Mineiro: 2013, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021

International

Brazil

• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2009

Individual

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2008, 2009 ^{[24] [25]}
• Bola de Prata: 2009
• Copa Libertadores Goalkeeper of Year: 2013 ^[14]

References

1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
2. "Ex-companheiros de Victor e Réver no Paulista torcem pelo Atlético-MG" [Victor's and Réver's former teammates in Paulista support Atlético Mineiro]. Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 17 July 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
3. "Grêmio anuncia goleiro Victor" [Grêmio announces goalkeeper Victor]. Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense (in Portuguese). 18 December 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
4. "Grêmio confirma Victor, do Paulista, como seu novo goleiro" [Grêmio confirms Victor, from Paulista, as their new goalkeeper]. UOL Esporte (in Portuguese). 18 December 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
5. "Goleiro Victor, com lesão renal, fica um mês e meio afastado" [Goalkeeper Victor, with a kidney injury, stays one and a half month sidelined]. UOL Esporte (in Portuguese). 25 February 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
6. "Jornal italiano diz que Bari estaria interessado em Victor, do Grêmio" [Italian newspaper says that Bari is interested in Victor, from Grêmio]. Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 8 May 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
7. "Benfica quer tirar o goleiro Victor e o zagueiro Réver do Grêmio" [Benfica wants to take away goalkeeper Victor and stopper Réver from Grêmio]. Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 27 July 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
8. "Goleiro Victor renova contrato com o Grêmio até 2015" [Goalkeeper Victor renews contract with Grêmio until 2015]. Placar (in Portuguese). 18 June 2010. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
9. "Atlético-MG contrata goleiro Victor, ex-Grêmio" [Atlético Mineiro signs goalkeeper Victor, former Grêmio player]. O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). 29 June 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
10. "'Salvador', Victor é exaltado após defesa 'mais importante da vida'" ['Savior', Victor is glorified after 'most important stop of life']. Ogol (in Portuguese). 31 May 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
11. Beting, Mauro (31 May 2013). "Atlético Mineiro 1 x 1 Tijuana – Victor e vitória" [Atlético Mineiro 1 x 1 Tijuana – Victor and victory]. Lance! (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 October 2015.
12. "Kalil chora com defesa de Victor e diz: "Porcarias saíram, só tem time bom"" [Kalil cries with Victor's save and says: "The sludge is off, only good teams now"]. Internet Group (in Portuguese). 31 May 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
13. "Lutar, lutar, lutar! Atlético-MG bate Newell's nos pênaltis e vai à final" [Fight, fight, fight! Atlético-MG defeats Newell's in penalties and goes to the final]. Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 11 July 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
14. "Santander entrega a Victor Leandro Bagy, del Atlético Mineiro, el Trofeo Santander al mejor portero de la Libertadores 2013". Fútbol Santander. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
15. "USA Falls to Brazil 2-0 in Front of 77,223 Fans at The New Meadowlands Stadium". US Soccer. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
16. "Dunga convoca Seleção Brasileira para jogos das Eliminatórias e Copa das Confederações" [Dunga calls up Brazilian National Team ahead of Qualifications and Confederations Cup games] (in Portuguese). Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF). 21 April 2009. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
17. "World Cup 2014: Kaka and Robinho omitted from Brazil squad". BBC Sport. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
18. "Homem de Fé: Goleiro Victor virou santo após ganhar a Libertadores" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
19. "Terço atirado por torcedora vira amuleto para Victor nas cobranças de pênaltis".
20. "Jogadores católicos testemunham a fé na Copa" (in Portuguese). 8 July 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
21. Victor at Soccerway. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
22. "Victor Leandro Bagy" (in Brazilian Portuguese). GrêmioPédia. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
23. "Victor". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
24. "Hexacampeão, São Paulo domina também o Prêmio Craque Brasileirão". Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 8 December 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
25. "Hexacampeão, Flamengo recebe troféu de campeão nacional". Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 8 December 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2009.

External links

• Official website (in Portuguese)