Sonny Anderson da Silva Nilmar (September 19, 1970) was a Brazilian attacker of, among others, FC Barcelona, Olympique Lyonnais, AS Monaco and the Brazilian national team. Became a real crowd favorite at Lyon. After his active career, he returned to Olympique Lyonnais to start as a striker coach there.
Sonny Anderson came to Europe in 1992 to play at Servette FC. After two seasons, in which the attacker scored 31 times, he left for France, where he played for Olympique Marseille (1993/94) and AS Monaco (1994-1997). In 1997 Louis van Gaal brought Sonny Ânderson for 25.8 million euros to FC Barcelona.
Due to strong competition from Rivaldo and later also Patrick Kluivert, Sonny Anderson was unable to keep his promise at the Catalan club. At the end of the season he was allowed to leave the club from Barcelona. Anderson was in the interest of many major clubs, but in 1999 he left for 18 million euros for the ambitious Olympique Lyonnais.
The arrival of Anderson reverses the club and ensures that Lyon finishes as vice-champion in the 2000/2001 season, winning two league titles in the following two seasons. With four successful years, consisting of 71 goals in the league, participation in the Champions League and two league titles, the crowd favorite became one of the most emblematic players in club history. This was partly due to laying the foundation for the great Lyon that dominates the Ligue 1 in the early years of the 21st century.
Nevertheless, Anderson suffered more and more injuries, and after consultation with Lyon decided in 2003 to leave for the Spanish Villarreal CF. For this club he scored 12 goals in 38 games. From 2004, Sonny Ânderson played with Al-Rayyan and Al-Gharrafa in Qatar after financial problems.
After his active career, Sonny returned to Olympique Lyonnais to start as a striker coach there.
(Photo: Wikipedia)