Thiago Silva

Thiago Silva was born in Brazil and began his soccer journey playing for the youth teams of Vitoria E.C (Bahia) and Gremio Osasco Audax (São Paulo). At 17, he moved to A.E. SantaCruzense, a second-division club in São Paulo, where he was offered his first professional contract. However, Thiago's path took an unexpected turn when he and his family relocated to the United States in search of better opportunities. In the U.S., Thiago spent five seasons in professional pre-seasons with teams from the MASL and PDL, including stints with the Philadelphia Kixx (twice) under coach Don D'Ambra, the California Cougars under coach Bernie Lilavois, the Harrisburg Heat under Hall of Famer Denison Cabral, and the Northern Virginia Royals under coach Tom Torres. Despite the interest, Thiago chose not to sign contracts, as rookie offers were unappealing to him at the time. Thiago also enjoyed a successful semi-professional career in the indoor soccer league, known at the time as PASL. Over five seasons, he played for the Winchester Impact (1 season), the Fredericksburg Generals (2 seasons), and A.C. Dulles (2 seasons). Notably, he won back-to-back conference titles with two different teams—Generals and A.C. Dulles. In addition to his playing career, Thiago Silva holds a USSF D license and has shared his passion for soccer by coaching numerous youth teams across Virginia and Maryland.