When Lyon began their quest for a fourth consecutive title in August 2004, Honorato da Silva Nilmar was plying his trade in the Brazlian First Division with modest outfit Internacional Porto Alegre.

But when Brazilian veteran Giovane Elber was seriously injured in Lyon’s opening match of the season then-Coach Paul Le Guen sent out the call for a replacement and it wasn’t long before Nilmar joined Elber, Claudio Caçapa, Juninho Pernambucano and Cris in Lyon’s ever-growing Brazilian contingent.

Unlike Elber, however, Nilmar had everything to prove on arrival, and at just 20 years of age, he made the perfect start.

Replacing Pierre-Alain Frau just 15 minutes from the end of Lyon’s match away to Rennes with the score locked at 0-0, Nilmar took just six minutes to open his Ligue 1 account, and another six minutes to double it as Lyon ran out 2-1 winners.

The new kid on the block was the toast of Lyon, but with Elber expected to be operational by the New Year, Nilmar was still considered too young for the rigours of European football and was earmarked for a return to Porto Alegre on loan for the second half of the season.

Nilmar has not gone unnoticed in his homeland either. World Champion at Under-20 level and a member of the Brazilian Olympic team at the Athens Games, his 15 goals in the 2004 Brazilian First Division also brought him to the attention of senior national team Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.

Nilmar cut his teeth for the ‘Selecao’ in the traditional testing ground of the Gold Cup but was retained by Parreira for the side’s World Cup qualifier against Bolivia in La Paz.

While Nilmar’s Ligue 1 playing time has been limited, his four strikes in Lyon’s 2004/05 Champions’ League campaign underlined his nose for goal.

With only five non-European Union players allowed, the club didn’t hesitate in giving Nilmar the nod over Elber when the former Bayern Munich legend fell out with Lyon officials over a second ankle operation, which the club medical staff considered unnecessary.

Nilmar is not a traditional penalty box predator. In many respects, a similar player to Frau, his slight frame is more regularly spotted pulling out wide to offer width and pace to Lyon’s trademark counterattacks and Le Guen has generally preferred to use him as a second-half substitute to terrorise tiring defences.