During his time at Werder Bremen, he was the club's fan favourite in the regular team. During his first few weeks at Bremen, fans likened him to an Ox due to his immense height and athletic build, as a result he was nicknamed The Beast, a name shared with players Júlio Baptista, Jonathan Parkin, Brian Jensen and Adebayo Akinfenwa. His teammate Tim Wiese described him as a best central defender in the league. His manager at Werder Bremen, Thomas Schaaf, described him as "probably the most talented defender in Brazil".