Zé Elias

José Elias Moedim Júnior, (born 25 September 1976 in São Paulo, SP), commonly known as Zé Elias, is a retired Brazilian footballer. A defensive midfielder, he played for 12 different teams, in seven different countries.

Club career

Elias was one of the youngest players to ever appear for Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, already gaining strong interest from PSV Eindhoven during 1993–94. Upon his debut for the team, he had not yet reached his seventeenth birthday. After becoming an undisputed starter at Corinthians and first appearing for the Brazilian national team at 19, Elias went overseas, representing, with moderate individual success, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, F.C. Internazionale Milano, Bologna FC 1909, Olympiacos FC (winning three Greek championships in a row, but playing sparingly) and Genoa CFC. After a return to Brazil with Santos FC, Elias had short-lived stints with FC Metalurh Donetsk, Guarani Futebol Clube, Omonia Nicosia and Londrina Esporte Clube. He retired as a player in March 2008 and assumed a scouting role in Brazil for Inter Milan. However, in June, Elias signed a contract with SC Rheindorf Altach for the 2008–09 season, before announcing his retirement again. Since his retirement he is a radio host for Rádio Globo. He made his debut at 8.7.2009.

International career

Elias was capped 22 times for Brazil. He received his first call-up on 29 March 1995, in a friendly against Honduras, which ended 1–1. He represented Brazil at the 1996 Summer Olympics, winning bronze and later at the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where Brazil were runners-up, losing 2–0 in the final to Mexico.