Rafaelson
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Xuân Son in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Nguyễn Xuân Son | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 30 March 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pirapemas, Maranhão, Brazil | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Thep Xanh Nam Dinh | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Bahia | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Vitória | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Vitória | 12 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | → Vegalta Sendai (loan) | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Vegalta Sendai | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Næstved | 24 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Nam Dinh | 18 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | SHB Da Nang | 12 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Topenland Binh Dinh | 39 | (21) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Thep Xanh Nam Dinh | 31 | (38) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Vietnam | 5 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 November 2024, 16:27 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 January 2025, 18:21 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁafaɛwˈsõ beˈze.ʁɐ feʁˈnɐ̃.d͡ʒis], born 30 March 1997), known mononymously as Rafaelson and also as Nguyễn Xuân Son (Vietnamese pronunciation: [ŋwiən˦ˀ˥ swən˧˧ sɔn˧˧]), is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for the V.League 1 club Thep Xanh Nam Dinh. Born in Brazil, he represents the Vietnam national team.
Rafaelson began his football career in his native Brazil. He went playing abroad from 2018 and had unsuccessful spells in Japan and Denmark. In 2020, he moved to Vietnam, signing for Nam Định. In this country, he blossomed as a goalscorer, finishing as V.League 1's top scorer in the 2023 and 2023–24.
Rafaelson is a dual citizen of Brazil and Vietnam. After five years of residency in Vietnam, he was granted Vietnamese citizenship in September 2024. Later in the year, he featured in the 2024 ASEAN Championship for Vietnam and scored a brace in his debut against Myanmar. Later, he finished as the top goalscorer of the tournament and assisted Vietnam in their win of the title; he went on to receive the best player award for his performances.