Marcos Júnior

The nickname says most of it: in Japan they called Marcos Júnior "Kuririn", after the bald, diminutive Dragon Ball character.

He came up through Fluminense's academy and stayed at the club for the best part of a decade, interrupted by loan spells at Vitória and Volta Redonda, the latter ending in a Série D title. Across roughly 240 appearances in Rio he built the profile that would travel well: a right-footed forward comfortable drifting into midfield, but capable of both.

The move that changed his career came in January 2019, when he joined Yokohama F. Marinos as a free agent. He won the J1 League twice with the club, in 2019 and 2022, added two League Cups and a Japanese Super Cup, and in 2020 finished as the competition's top scorer, sharing the honour with Urawa Red Diamonds' Pedro on 15 goals. Over more than 160 appearances for Yokohama he scored 41 times.

In August 2023 he switched to Sanfrecce Hiroshima, again as a free agent, before his contract expired. He returned to Brazil in May 2026, signing for Cuiabá.

At youth level he represented Brazil at Under-18 and Under-20, including the 2013 South American Under-20 Championship, but never progressed to senior international football.