Jamshedpur FC retain Brazilian Alex Lima for ISL 2021-22 season

The midfielder played 19 games for the Men of Steel last year.

Indian Super League side Jamshedpur FC successfully retained the services of Brazilian midfield maestro Alexandre  Monteiro de Lima, known fondly as Alex, as the club continued to build its side for the  upcoming football season. The midfielder signed an extension of one year, keeping him at the  club till May 2022.  

The 32-year-old midfielder was delighted to be back with Jamshedpur as he said, “I enjoyed the  previous season a lot. The fans, even though I haven’t met them, are so passionate. I would read  everything they would say, and they love the team so much. I want to give my best in the upcoming  season and repay the faith put on me by the Gaffer, the club and the fans and help us win the ISL  trophy.” 

The midfielder started and played 19 matches for Jamshedpur in ISL 2020-21, thereby  underlining the importance of his presence in Owen Coyle’s system.  

Jamshedpur FC Head Coach, Owen Coyle was happy to have retained the midfielder. The Gaffer  said, “Alex is a phenomenal player and will have a big part to play in the coming season. He is  someone who can help us over the line in tight encounters and help us control and dominate the  midfield in our games along with a spark of creativity to assist our forward line. Alex showed  fantastic character and team spirit last season as he picked up an injury and rather than let the  team down took pain killing injections to help the team. Now that he is injury free, there is more  to come from him.” 

The 31-year-old has the experience of playing in Asia with stints in the highly competitive K  League 2 (South Korea) with Suwon FC and FC Anyang and most recently with Ho Chi Minh  City FC in V.League 1 (Vietnam). The midfielder has amassed a total of 43 goals and 23 assists  in a total of 337 appearances in his career. 

The Brazilian began his career in the youth system of Grêmio Mauaense in Brazil. In 2008, he  went on to sign as a professional player for FC Wohlen in Switzerland where he spent four  seasons. 

The big moment for Alex came in 2012 when the USA’s Major League Soccer (MLS) club  Chicago Fire FC signed him. He was influential from the beginning as in the 2012 season; the  club progressed to the MLS Playoffs. He went on to represent them on 82 occasions. 

In April 2015, he was signed by Houston Dynamo, under the tutelage of Owen Coyle and played  for the club till 2017. Again, he was a catalyst as the team qualified for the MLS Playoffs in 2017  and subsequently progressed to the Western Conference Finals. However, they missed out on  the MLS Cup final by a whisker with a loss to Seattle Sounders FC. 

Alex Lima will don squad number 14 in the upcoming season for Jamshedpur FC and will join  his teammates for pre-season scheduled to begin in the coming weeks. 

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Twitter, Instagram and join our community on Telegram.