 Chiquinho was born in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.He began his football career at local team União São João de Araras and was, in 1997, on the brink of sealing a transfer to German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, after Dortmund was alerted to the player's talents by their former Brazilian international Júlio César.This transfer did not work out as fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach rushed through an agreement with União São João to sign the player on a three-year contract for 2.2 million DEM.