Rafael Scheidt was born on 10 February 1976. Standing at 6 feet tall (1.84m) and weighing 12st 12lb (82kg), Scheidt claimed the role of a central defender during his football career. His journey is an intriguing one that has crossed continents from Brazil to Scotland, and back.
In January 2000, Rafael Scheidt joined Celtic in the Scottish Premiership from Brazilian club Gremio for a fee of £4.8m, in a deal that would become arguably the worst signing in Celtic's history. In his debut season (1999-2000), Scheidt made first team appearances in only three league matches for Celtic before heading back to Brazil, on loan to Corinthians in Serie A.
Following two seasons with Corinthians, Scheidt transferred to Atletico Mineiro in the Brazilian Série A on loan in March 2003. It looked like the Brazilian turf had a more favourable air and his performance soared. In season 2003 at Atletico Mineiro, the central defender drew the net twice and made 35 first team appearances.
Scheidt's stride with Atletico Mineiro was short-lived, and in December 2003, he transferred again, this time joining Botafogo in Série A in June 2004. His performance here was marked by more frequency in first team appearances and he even scored a league goal. In his 2004 season at Botafogo, he appeared 22 times and scored a goal, in 2005 this run amplified to 36 appearances and in 2006, he made appearances in 14 first-team league matches before being released in December 2006.
