# Rafaelson

Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes (born 30 March 1997), known mononymously as Rafaelson and also as Nguyễn Xuân Son, 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.

## Early life

Rafaelson was born in a poor family in Pirapemas. His father was a teacher and his mother was a farmer. At the age of 14, he moved alone to Salvador, where he joined the youth academy of Bahia. After two years, he joined the youth side of Vitória.

## Club career
### Vitória

A Vitória youth graduate, Rafaelson was accused of faking his age in April 2015, a claim later dismissed by the club. He was promoted to the first team in September, by manager Vagner Mancini.
Rafaelson made his professional debut on 5 September 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute for Robert in a 2–1 home loss against Botafogo for the Série B championship. His first goal came on 31 October, netting the last in a 3–2 home loss against Náutico. He contributed with seven appearances during the campaign, as his side achieved promotion to Série A.
On 30 June 2016, Rafaelson made his top tier debut, replacing Tiago Real in a 3–2 home win against Sport Recife.

### Vegalta Sendai

In February 2018, Rafaelson joined Japanese club Vegalta Sendai on a loan deal. A month later, he made his first appearance for the team in the J.League Cup game against Albirex Niigata, but suffered a serious injury in the match that required three months of recovery. In August 2018, his transfer to Vegalta Sendai was made permanent. However, in January 2019, he departed from the club after his contract expired, without having appeared in any league game.

### Næstved

On 13 April 2019, Rafaelson moved to Denmark and joined Næstved. He scored five goals after 24 league appearances for the team in two seasons.

### First spell at Nam Định

In December 2019, Rafaelson arrived in Vietnam. He went on a trial with V.League 1 club Nam Định. After two friendly games, Nam Định head coach decided to sign him. Næstved announced on 12 January 2020, that they had sold Rafaelson to Vietnamese club in the V.League 1. In the last matchday of the 2020 V.League 1, he scored the only goal for Nam Định in a 1–1 against Song Lam Nghe An, thus help the club avoid relegation. After one season at Nam Định, he netted 9 goals for the club after 20 appearances. However, he departed the team after one season as they were unable to meet his salary increase demands.

### SHB Đà Nẵng

Rafaelson joined V.League 1 fellow SHB Đà Nẵng for the 2021 season. He scored six goals for the team after the first 12 games of the season, before the league was cancelled due to the effects of COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. Due to financial difficulties, SHB Đà Nẵng terminated Rafaelson's contract in September 2021.

### Bình Định

In September 2021, Rafaelson moved to Topenland Bình Định as a free agent, signing a two-year contract. On 3 September 2022, he scored his first hattrick in V.League 1 in to help his team defeat the league's leading team Hanoi FC 3–0. He later lead his team to the 2022 Vietnamese Cup final, scoring a hattrick in the semi-final game against Đông Á Thanh Hóa. In the 2023 season, Rafaelson became the league top scorer, netting a total of 16 goals and was named in the team of the season.

### Return to Nam Định and dominance in V.League 1

On 28 August 2023, after his contract with Topenland Bình Định expired, Rafaelson made his return to Nam Định. Being paired with Hêndrio in the attack, he quickly became an influential goal scorer of the club. He registered 13 goals and 4 assists after the first half of the season, helping Nam Định top the league. On 26 May 2024, he scored five goals in a 5–2 victory against Đông Á Thanh Hóa, which tied the record for most goals scored by a single player in a single game in the V.League 1 history with Hoàng Anh Gia Lai's Nguyễn Đình Việt back in 2007. On 25 June 2024, Rafaelson netted a hat-trick in a 5–1 league win against Khánh Hòa, thus securing the first national league title for Nam Định since 1985. He finished the season as the league's top scorer with 31 goals, thus broke the record for most goals scored by a single player in a single V.League 1 season, previously held by Lê Huỳnh Đức (25 goals). In addition to the top scorer award, Rafaelson was also given the "Player of the season" award and featured in the league's team of the season for the second season in a row.
On 31 August 2024, Rafaelson scored a brace in the 2024 Vietnamese Super Cup final to contribute in Nam Định's 3–0 win against Đông Á Thanh Hóa, winning the trophy for the first time in the club's history. Shortly after the start of the 2024–25 season, he was granted Vietnamese passport and was registered for the league as a local player.

## International career

In November 2024, FIFA authorized Nguyễn Xuân Son to represent the Vietnam national team after five years of residency in the country. He was named in Vietnam's preliminary squad for the 2024 ASEAN Championship. He was later named in the final squad for the tournament.

### 2024 ASEAN Championship

Xuân Son made his debut for the Vietnam national team on 21 December 2024 where he scored two goals and made 2 assists in a 5–0 victory against Myanmar in the last group stage game in the 2024 ASEAN Championship. He thus became the first Vietnamese naturalized player to score in an official game.
In the first leg semi-final at Jalan Besar Stadium, he scored the second goal, securing a 2–0 victory for Vietnam against Singapore. In the second leg game at Việt Trì Stadium, Xuân Son netted another two goals, contributing significantly to Vietnam's 3–1 win.
Xuân Son continued his scoring streak by adding two more goals in Vietnam's 2–1 win against Thailand in the first leg of the ASEAN Championship final. During the second leg of the final at Rajamangala Stadium, he broke his fibula and tibia bone and was substituted off and sent to the hospital in the 32nd minute. Later, Vietnam won the final with a 5–3 aggregate score against Thailand. With 7 goals scored during the ASEAN Championship campaign, Xuân Son won the Top scorer and Best player award.
After a successful surgery, Xuân Son is expected to take an 8 months absences. According to doctors, it will take only two months for his bones to heal after surgery and an additional six months of rehabilitation and training. However, he will miss the first two matches of the final round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification.

## Personal life

Rafaelson married Marcele Seippel in January 2018 and has two children.
In August 2024, after five years of residency in Vietnam, Rafaelson applied for Vietnamese citizenship at the Nam Định Department of Justice, expressing his wish to represent the Vietnam national team in the future. A month later, on 20 September 2024, he officially obtained Vietnamese citizenship with the Vietnamese personal name Nguyễn Xuân Son.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 29 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | State League | State League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Vitória | 2015 | Série B | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 1 |
| Vitória | 2016 | Série A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Vitória | 2017 | Série A | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| Vitória | 2018 | Série A | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Vitória | Total | Total | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| Vegalta Sendai | 2018 | J1 League | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Næstved BK | 2018–19 | 1st Division | 6 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 1 |
| Næstved BK | 2019–20 | 1st Division | 18 | 4 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 4 |
| Næstved BK | Total | Total | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 5 |
| Nam Định | 2020 | V.League 1 | 18 | 6 | — | — | 2 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 9 |
| SHB Đà Nẵng | 2021 | V.League 1 | 12 | 6 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 6 |
| Topenland Bình Định | 2022 | V.League 1 | 21 | 5 | — | — | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 8 |
| Topenland Bình Định | 2023 | V.League 1 | 18 | 16 | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 17 |
| Topenland Bình Định | Total | Total | 39 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 25 |
| Thép Xanh Nam Định | 2023–24 | V.League 1 | 24 | 31 | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 27 | 32 |
| Thép Xanh Nam Định | 2024–25 | V.League 1 | 7 | 7 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 14 |
| Thép Xanh Nam Định | Total | Total | 31 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 40 | 46 |
| Total career | Total career | Total career | 136 | 77 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 160 | 92 |
* ↑ Appearance in J.League Cup
* ↑ Appearance in AFC Champions League Two
* ↑ Appearance in Vietnamese Super Cup

### International

    As of match played 5 January 2025
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Vietnam | 2024 | 3 | 5 |
| Vietnam | 2025 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 5 | 7 |
List of international goals scored by Nguyễn Xuân Son :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 21 December 2024 | Việt Trì Stadium, Việt Trì, Vietnam | Myanmar | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
| 2. | 21 December 2024 | Việt Trì Stadium, Việt Trì, Vietnam | Myanmar | 4–0 | 5–0 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
| 3. | 26 December 2024 | Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore | Singapore | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
| 4. | 29 December 2024 | Việt Trì Stadium, Việt Trì, Vietnam | Singapore | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
| 5. | 29 December 2024 | Việt Trì Stadium, Việt Trì, Vietnam | Singapore | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
| 6. | 2 January 2025 | Việt Trì Stadium, Việt Trì, Vietnam | Thailand | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
| 7. | 2 January 2025 | Việt Trì Stadium, Việt Trì, Vietnam | Thailand | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |

## Honours

Vitória
* Campeonato Baiano: 2016
Topenland Bình Định
* Vietnamese Cup runners-up: 2022
Thép Xanh Nam Định
* V.League 1: 2023–24
* Vietnamese Super Cup: 2024
Vietnam
* ASEAN Championship: 2024
Individual
* V.League 1 top scorer: 2023, 2023–24
* V.League 1 Team of the Season: 2023, 2023–24
* V.League 1 best player of the Year: 2023–24
* ASEAN Championship best player: 2024
* ASEAN Championship top scorer: 2024
* ASEAN Championship Allstar XI: 2024
* Third-class Labor Order: 2025
* Vietnamese Golden Ball: Best Foreign Player Award winner (2024)
* Dedication Awards: Sports Face of the year Award winner (2025)