Stélvio Rosa da Cruz (born 24 January 1989), known simply as Stélvio, is an Angolan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Luxembourg Division of Honour club Luxembourg City.
Club career Stélvio was born in Luanda. A product of S.C. Braga's youth academy, he made his Portuguese Primeira Liga debut on 11 November 2007, coming on as a 60th-minute substitute in a 3–0 home win against Sporting CP.Sporting sofre derrota em Braga (Sporting suffer defeat in Braga); Açoriano Oriental, 11 November 2007 (in Portuguese)
On 4 July 2009, after two seasons in the first team with intermittent use, Stélvio was loaned to U.D. Leiria (recently returned to the top division) in a season-long loan. However, in late January 2010, he moved to his homeland and signed for C.D. Primeiro de Agosto, also on loan.Hugo Gomes deixa União de Leiria para jogar no Azerbaijão (Hugo Gomes leaves União de Leiria to play in Azerbaijan); Região de Leiria, 21 January 2010 (in Portuguese)
Stélvio was released by Braga on 31 August 2011.Stélvio acerta a rescisão (Stélvio agrees to termination); A Bola, 31 August 2011 (in Portuguese) He then joined C.R. Caála, returning to the Angolan Girabola.Stélvio e Garcia os destaques do novo plantel do Recreativo da Caála (Stélvio and Garcia highlights of the new Recreativo da Caála squad); Angola Press News Agency, 23 January 2012 (in Portuguese)
In July 2019, after six years in the Luxembourg National Division at the service of F91 Dudelange where he won several team honours,Stélvio anda pelo Luxemburgo... a marcar (Stélvio is in Luxembourg... scoring); O Jogo, 29 November 2015 (in Portuguese)Stelvio Cruz: «Mon rôle au F91 est fini» (Stelvio Cruz: "My role at F91 has ended"); Le Quotidien, 29 May 2019 (in French) the 30-year-old Stélvio moved to Belgium with R.E. Virton on a one-year contract.Un international angolais débarque à Virton (Angolan international touches land at Virton); L'Avenir, 2 July 2019 (in French)
International career Stélvio represented Portugal at under-21 level.Sub-21 perdem particular com Ucrânia (Under-21s lose friendly with Ukraine); Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, 14 October 2008 (in Portuguese) He switched allegiance to his native Angola in 2009, being part of the squad that appeared in the following year's Africa Cup of Nations.Manucho named in Angola squad; BBC Sport, 30 December 2009
In October 2018, after an absence of eight years, Stélvio was recalled to the national team ahead of a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Mauritania.Futebol: Stélvio regressa aos Palancas Negras (Football: Stélvio returns to Sable Antelopes); Angola Press News Agency, 5 October 2018 (in Portuguese) He was selected for the squad that reached the finals in Egypt by manager Srđan Vasiljević.Palancas Negras aumentam confiança de Srdjan Vasiljevic (Sable Antelopes increase Srdjan Vasiljevic's confidence); Jornal de Angola, 11 June 2019 (in Portuguese)
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