José Kléberson

José Kléberson Pereira (born 19 June 1979), commonly known as José Kléberson or simply Kléberson, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Fort Lauderdale Strikers. He played for Brazil 32 times and was part of the squad that won the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Atlético Paranaense

Kléberson was born and raised in the provincial town of Uraí in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná. He began his football career with Atlético Paranaense. While at Atlético Paranaense, Kléberson won the Paraná State League in 2000 and 2001, and the Brazilian Série A title in 2001. His performances for Atlético Paranaense led to Luiz Felipe Scolari bringing him into the Brazilian national team for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

Manchester United

His World Cup performances led to Scolari declaring Kléberson the driving force behind Brazil's cup-winning side, and drew interest from several European teams. Barcelona, Newcastle United, Leeds United and Celtic all expressed an interest. Leeds United failed to secure the signing after Kléberson decided against leaving Brazil without his girlfriend, who he was unable to marry until her 16th birthday. Eventually, it was Manchester United who signed Kléberson for a fee of £6.5 million on 12 August 2003. Seen as a replacement for Juan Sebastián Verón, Kléberson was injured in his second appearance for the club and made only 20 appearances in two seasons. He scored two league goals in his time at Manchester United, both coming in home wins against Blackburn Rovers and Everton.

Philadelphia Union

The Philadelphia Union is an American professional soccer team based in Chester, Pennsylvania which competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Eastern Conference of the league. The team plays their home matches at Talen Energy Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, on the banks of the Delaware River. Jim Curtin is the Union's head coach.

The Union finished as runners-up in the 2014 and 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournaments. In the 2014 edition, they lost to Seattle Sounders FC, 3–1 in overtime and to Sporting Kansas City on 6-7 penalties in after a 1–1 draw in the 2015.

History

Drive for expansion

Despite being one of the ten largest metropolitan areas in the country and a top-five media market, the Philadelphia area was not represented when Major League Soccer kicked off in 1996. The first effort to bring soccer to the Delaware Valley commenced in 2001, when a group of investors attempted to bring an MLS franchise to Trenton, New Jersey. The centerpiece of their efforts was a $31 million soccer-specific stadium to be built across the street from the Sun National Bank Center and with access to the under-construction NJ Transit River Line. "Union FC" was the intended name for the Trenton MLS team if it came into fruition. However, MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls) held the right to block a franchise in Trenton, as it would infringe on their 75-mile competition-free zone.