Curious case of Mario Jardel

Why did he fail so badly?Someone please explain...I was a kid back then and I remember some of his games but that's it...

Had his breakthough in Vasco,and moved to Gremio in 95,where he won Copa Libertadores the same year.

95/96 41 games - 31 goals

Next year he moves to Porto...

96/97 45 games - 37 goals
97/98 37 games - 37 goals
98/99 38 games - 38 goals
99/00 49 games - 54 goals

And then he goes to Galatasaray...Why did he do that?With that goalscoring record he could have gone anywhere...I don't remember how strong was Galatasaray then,but from Portugal to Turkey was certainly a step down IMO.

00/01 43 games - 34 goals

Still a great goalscoring record...Then he goes back to Portugal with Sporting.Why going back now?He was 26 then...

01/02 42 games - 55 goals
02/03 20 games - 12 goals

Now he moves to Bolton...Why Bolton?I don't get it at all...

There he plays 7 games no goals,the Ancona 3 games no goals,the Newell's 3 games no goals,then Deportivo Alaves where he didn't even play a game,then Goias 4 games 1 goal,the Beira Mar 12 games 3 goals,then Anorthosis 7 games 2 goals,then Newcastle Jets 11 games 0 goals,then Criciuma 17 games 6 goals,then Ferrovario 0 games,then America CE 0 games,then Flamengo 0 games,then Cherno more 8 games 1 goal,and now Rio Negro still 0 games...

WHAT THE F***?This is so confusing on many levels...And why is he still an active footballer?

attitude, weight issues, work rate

Let me start with the easiest question: he is still an active footballer because he likes money and someone is willing to pay him.

That's probably the same reason why he went to Galatasaray, because sometimes turk teams put money and he liked money.

Jardel was a great scorer, but I think big club were never that interested in him because he scored mostly headers and easy goals, and people thought that if you cut his supply he wouldn't be very effective. Plus, he was barely called up for Brasil.

My two cents.

Some players just scrape by without attracting much attention. He may like money but he's not a total attention whore like others are.

Definitely one of the best strikers Portugal ever saw...