Born in Rio de Janeiro, Emerson started playing with Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, but he soon moved to Coritiba Foot Ball Club in search of first-team football. In 1991 he began his extensive overseas spell, first with C.F. Os Belenenses in Portugal. After several impressive displays, Emerson secured a move to FC Porto. Under the management of former England coach Bobby Robson, he won successive Primeira Liga titles, appeared in the UEFA Champions League and won the 1996 Portuguese Player of the Year award. By now, Emerson's performances had attracted interest from major European clubs, and eventually he signed with Premier League side Middlesbrough, completing a £4 million move. It is alleged that the deal was done without manager Bryan Robson's knowledge, the manager only finding out after it was unwittingly mentioned by chief scout Ray Trainn; Emerson's cousin Fábio was also acquired, but played just one game in his 14-month spell. However, things turned sour quickly with Emerson's former manager Bobby Robson, now at FC Barcelona, expressing his interest in bringing the player to the Camp Nou – this unsettled the midfielder, who by this time had already endured relegation to Division One in addition to difficulties in adjusting to life on Teesside. He travelled to Brazil for a break at the end of 1997, and once there threatened that he would not return to the club. Eventually the dispute was resolved with a move to CD Tenerife in January 1998, for around £4.25 million. Surprisingly, Middlesbrough chief executiveKeith Lamb later stated that he had tried to re-sign Emerson after Tenerife were relegated, and the latter remained in the Canary Islands until 2000 when he moved to Deportivo de La Coruña, after the Galicians' 2000 conquest of the La Liga title. He often partnered compatriot Mauro Silva in his first year, but played sparingly in the following. After further one-year stints with Atlético Madrid and Rangers, where he became the first ever Brazilian to play for the Scottish, scoring once against Panathinaikos FC in the 2003–04 Champions League, Emerson moved to Greece, joining Skoda Xanthi F.C. in the summer of 2005. After having stayed there only six months, he transferred to another club in the country, AEK Athens FC, in January 2006. On 23 May 2007, Emerson was released by AEK and signed for 2006–07 Cypriot First Division champions APOEL FC. However, in January of the following year, he returned to Brazil and ended his career playing for lowly Madureira Esporte Clube, at the Rio de Janeiro State League.
