The Philadelphia Union made a major addition to their midfield on Wednesday, when they announced the signing of 30-year-old Brazilian wide man Ilsinho to a two-year deal using Targeted Allocation Money.
Ilsinho has been without a club since June, when he wrapped his second three-year stint with Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk. He appeared a total of 176 times during his six years with the club, recording 22 goals and 19 assists while helping the team to five league titles.
He has extensive experience in European competitions, making 19 UEFA Champions League appearances and helping Shakhtar qualify for the knockout rounds in 2012-13 and 2014-15 and leading the club to the 2009 UEFA Cup title.
Ilsinho has been training with the Union for several weeks this preseason and bagged both assists in a 2-0 friendly win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday.
“We’re extremely excited to land a player of Ilsinho’s caliber and that he chose Philadelphia over other options,” Union sporting director Earnie Stewart said in a statement released by the club. “For a player with experience at the highest level in this sport, he came into our preseason camp with a tremendous work rate and that speaks to the type of person he is and who we want at our club. His elite-level attacking ability speaks for itself and we’re confident he’ll have an immediate impact.”
Ilsinho began his career in his native Brazil, turning pro with Palmeiras in 2006. He moved to Sao Paulo later that same year, eventually transferring to Shakhtar for the first time in 2007. He moved back to Sao Paulo in 2010 and joined fellow Brazilian side Internacional in 2011 before returning to Ukraine in 2012.
A member of Brazil’s bronze medal squad at the 2008 Olympics, Ilsinho made one career appearance with Brazil’s senior national team in March 2007. He joins a Union midfield group that includes Maurice Edu, Tranquillo Barnetta, Chris Pontius, Sebastien Le Toux, Vincent Nogueira and fellow offseason acquisition Roland Alberg.
