Born in Porto Alegre, Cristiano started at Grêmio in 1994, and spending two years in their youth system.
He was sparsely used in his first year, that ended with mixed results: relegation in the Primeira Divisão and the conquering the Portuguese Cup.
[8][9] He only made his debut on 3 November 2002 against Santa Clara,[10] but with the arrival of José Antonio Camacho, he began playing much more frequently, finishing the season with 14 appearances.
[11] The following season, Cristiano was set to reunite with Jesualdo Ferreira at Braga, but the loan deal fell through.
[17][18] Initially, he was an undisputed starter playing six games in a row, but an injury in late October,[19][20] cause him to lost his place to Cabral and José Sousa.
Shortly after the triumph, he became the head coach of Vietnam U17 and led the team to qualify for the 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup.