Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1978)

Helton (footballer)

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In 32 languages
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Key facts

date of birthMay 18, 1978

height186cm

occupationassociation football player, association football coach

place of birthSão Gonçalo

mass77 kg

All data from the card 15

Full name: Helton da Silva Arruda
Date of birth: 18 May 1978
Place of birth: São Gonçalo, Brazil
Height: 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position: Goalkeeper
1993–1994: São Cristóvão
1995–1998: Vasco da Gama
Years: Team
1999–2002: Vasco da Gama
2003–2005: União Leiria
2005–2016: Porto
2020–2021: União Leiria
2000: Brazil U23
2006–2007: Brazil
2018: Freamunde

Helton da Silva Arruda (born 18 May 1978), known simply as Helton, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

After starting out at Vasco da Gama, he went on to spend his career in Portugal, representing União de Leiria and Porto and winning 18 major titles with the latter club. Over 14 seasons, he appeared in 299 Primeira Liga games.

Helton appeared for Brazil at the 2007 Copa América.

Club career

Vasco

Born in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Helton emerged through Vasco da Gama's youth system. He first attracted attention after winning the Série A and the Copa Mercosur with the club in 2000.

União de Leiria

In 2002, Helton's contract with Vasco expired and he signed with Portuguese club União de Leiria in January of the following year. He made his official debut on 9 March 2003 in a 3–1 home win against Académica de Coimbra in the Taça de Portugal, and backed up Paulo Costinha in his first season.

At the end of the 2004–05 campaign, having been first-choice in his last two years, Helton joined Porto.

Porto

It seemed that Helton was destined to spend a long time bench-warming, as Porto legend Vítor Baía barred his way into the first team. However, he got his chance sooner than expected when Dutch coach Co Adriaanse summarily dropped Baía after a mistake against Estrela da Amadora cost the team a goal and a 2–1 away loss on 15 January 2006.

After initial criticism, Helton became first-choice courtesy of several solid performances. He won a domestic double (Primeira Liga and cup) in his first season at the club.

Helton continued to be an undisputed starter for Porto in the following years, as they won four consecutive domestic championships. In 2008–09's Portuguese Cup, however, he stayed on the bench as Nuno Espírito Santo was the starter for the eventual winners.

From 2009 to 2011, Helton totalled 77 games and his team claimed six titles. In October 2010, he was awarded Portuguese citizenship.

On 18 May 2011, Helton celebrated his 33rd birthday by keeping a clean sheet in the final of the UEFA Europa League, a 1–0 victory over fellow Portuguese Braga. Following the departure of Lucho González to Marseille in summer 2009, he was also appointed captain.

Helton played 30 matches in the 2012–13 campaign, winning his seventh league. On 16 March 2014, however, the 35-year-old suffered an achilles tendon injury to his right leg during a 1–0 defeat at Sporting CP, being sidelined for several months.

On 17 February 2014, Helton was condemned to pay a €60,000 fine for assaulting two stewards at the Estádio da Luz, following a tunnel brawl during the 1–0 loss against Benfica on 20 December 2009. After returning to action, he played second-fiddle to both Fabiano and Iker Casillas.

Helton terminated his contract on 12 October 2016 at the age of 38. He announced his retirement the following year, but returned shortly after to play as a forward for the veteran side of amateurs Canidelo.

Helton started his coaching career in January 2018, being appointed at Portuguese third division club Freamunde. He briefly returned as a player in October 2020, rejoining União Leiria who now competed in the third tier.

International career

After competing in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, Helton was a member of the Brazilian team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He appeared in all four matches as the nation was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Cameroon.

Helton received his first call-up to the full side in 2006, taking part in an unofficial exhibition game against Kuwait on 7 October. His competitive debut came on 15 November that year when he started a friendly with Switzerland, and he was also featured against England in June 2007, in what was the first international to be played at the new Wembley Stadium.

Helton was a member of the squad who won the 2007 Copa América, but did not feature once in the tournament as he was second choice to Roma's Doni.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Cups		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Vasco da Gama	1999	Série A	0	0	0	0	–	–	8	0	8	0
	2000	Série A	23	0	0	0	5	0	1	0	29	0
	2001	Série A	25	0	0	0	8	0	4	0	37	0
	2002	Série A	4	0	1	0	–	–	3	0	8	0
	Total		52	0	1	0	13	0	16	0	82	0
União Leiria	2002–03	Primeira Liga	9	0	3	0	–	–	–	–	12	0
	2003–04	Primeira Liga	28	0	1	0	4	0	1	0	34	0
	2004–05	Primeira Liga	30	0	0	0	–	–	6	0	36	0
	Total		67	0	4	0	4	0	7	0	82	0
Porto	2005–06	Primeira Liga	11	0	2	0	0	0	–	–	13	0
	2006–07	Primeira Liga	30	0	0	0	8	0	1	0	39	0
	2007–08	Primeira Liga	25	0	0	0	7	0	1	0	33	0
	2008–09	Primeira Liga	26	0	1	0	9	0	1	0	37	0
	2009–10	Primeira Liga	24	0	1	0	7	0	1	0	33	0
	2010–11	Primeira Liga	25	0	2	0	16	0	1	0	44	0
	2011–12	Primeira Liga	29	0	0	0	8	0	2	0	39	0
	2012–13	Primeira Liga	30	0	1	0	8	0	1	0	40	0
	2013–14	Primeira Liga	23	0	0	0	9	0	1	0	33	0
	2014–15	Primeira Liga	7	0	4	0	0	0	–	–	11	0
	2015–16	Primeira Liga	2	0	10	0	0	0	–	–	12	0
	Total		232	0	21	0	72	0	9	0	334	0
União Leiria	2020–21	Campeonato de Portugal	5	0	2	0	–	–	–	–	7	0
Career total			356	0	28	0	89	0	32	0	505	0