Born in Santo Amaro da Imperatriz, Santa Catarina, Machado was just 18 when he made his Série A debut with Sport Club Internacional.
After three seasons the 20-year-old moved abroad, signing with Spanish club Valencia CF for 700 million pesetas[2] and first appearing in La Liga on 23 December 1996 when he came on as a second-half substitute for Goran Vlaović in a 3–0 home win over Hércules CF;[3] during his only season he notably scored once against Atlético Madrid (4–1 away success)[4] and twice against Athletic Bilbao (5–2, home),[5] and his team eventually finished in tenth position.
Subsequently, safe for three years at Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, Machado rarely settled with a team, playing with Internacional, FC Dynamo Kyiv, C.D.
He revived his career in South Korea with Ulsan Hyundai FC, scoring a career-best 13 goals in his first year and winning both the K League and the top scorer award in the process.
[8] Machado earned the first of his two caps for Brazil during the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup, needing only 11 minutes after replacing Sávio to score the final 4–1 in a group stage contest against Canada.