Pedro Geromel

Pedro Tonon Geromel (born 21 September 1985) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Geromel also holds an Italian passport because of his grandfather.

Club career

Early years

Born in São Paulo, Geromel moved to Portugal from Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras along with Elias. He signed with G.D. Chaves at only 18 and finished his footballing formation there, after which he made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season, with the northern team in the second division.

Vitória Guimarães

Geromel's performances there attracted the attention of Primeira Liga club Vitória SC. At Guimarães, after making his debut in a 2–0 derby home loss against S.C. Braga, he eventually became an undisputed first-choice, as the Minho side promoted from the second level and achieved qualification to the UEFA Champions League in just two seasons.

1. FC Köln

In an online voting, Geromel was considered as 2007–08's best player in the Portuguese League, beating FC Porto's Lisandro López and Lucho González. On 30 June 2008, he moved to Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln, recently promoted to the top division.

An undisputed first-choice from the beginning, Geromel impressed enough during his first two years in Germany, reportedly being courted by Real Madrid from La Liga. Eventually, nothing came of it.

On 23 August 2012, Geromel signed a four-year loan deal with RCD Mallorca in Spain. In his first season he contributed with 29 starts and one goal (2,612 minutes of action), but the Balearic Islands team were relegated from the top flight; in December 2013 he rescinded his agreement and returned to his country, to sign for two years and a half with Grêmio while still owned by Köln.

International career

On 27 August 2016, Geromel was called up for the Brazil national team by coach Tite, replacing the injured Rodrigo Caio. His first cap arrived the following 25 January, when he played the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 friendly win over Colombia at the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos.

In May 2018, Geromel was selected for that year's FIFA World Cup in Russia.