Taison was born on January 13, 1988 in Pelotas, the eighth of 11 children in the family. He took his first steps in Progreso. That was until 2005, when the then 17-year-old Taison found himself facing Internacional in a state championship game. A 3-2 win, a hat trick and the transfer to the opposition was sealed before the end of the game.

A period of training in the club’s academies and the second team followed, and in 2008 he made his debut with the senior side. Since then he has never looked back, and within two years he became one of the most promising players in the country.

He won a Copa Sudamericana and a Copa Libertadores, got his name in all of the scouts black books all over Europe, but Metalist Kharkiv won the race to sign him and gave him the ticket to cross the Atlantic.

And so in 2010, he went to Ukraine and started… to shine from day one. With Metalist, he made 83 appearances, scored 20 goals, provided 26 assists and attracted the interest of Shakhtar Donetsk, who at that time were dominating the domestic league and playing well in Europe.

His transfer was almost 13,000,000 euros. Taison made history with Shakhtar. He played in 299 games, scored 55 goals, provided 78 assists, won six championships, five national cups, four Super Cups, played in the Champions League and Europa League, and became one of the most important players in the team’s history.

In 2016 came a great moment in Taison’s career as he was called up to the Brazilian national team. He played eight times for the Seleção, scoring a goal in a friendly against Australia.

In 2021, his heart spoke to him. Internacional invited him to come back. Although he had offers from several other clubs, he couldn’t refuse the call of home. He took a significant pay cut and returned to his former club, where he played a total of 155 games, scoring 17 goals and contributing 14 assists.

Taison ended his contract with Internacional in January 2023 and accepted PAOK’s proposal for a one-and-a-half year contract.

In his two years at the club, Taison has made 96  appearances, scoring 16 goals and providing 17 assists. The Brazilian is pivotal for Razvan Lucescu’s team, both on and off the pitch. As well as his excellent performances, he is also a role model for the younger players, whom he is always close to and makes sure to guide and advise them, while he also has one Stoiximan Super League winners’ medal from the 2023-24 season.

Happy Birthday, Taison!