The last straw was when Lincoln disappeared in spring 2004; it turned out that he had headed back to his native Brazil as he felt it would be better for an injury he was apparently suffering from.

However, his game flourished while at the Ruhrgebiet club, and he was one of the strongest pillars in the surprising Schalke 2004–05 campaign that earned them second place in the Bundesliga.

[2] Lincoln scored five times in his first season in the 2007–08 Turkcell Süper Lig and he made a few important assists, showing great performances both in domestic play and UEFA Cup games.

Karl-Heinz Feldkamp took Lincoln and teammate Hakan Şükür out of the match squad because they had broken the camp rules by bringing family and friends to training.

After the 2–1 win, thanks to the goals of Hakan Balta and Shabani Nonda (penalty), some have called Feldkamp a braveheart and a hero, but many other supporters criticised him because of the decision.

[citation needed] He was later released from the Turkish side and his squad number 10 was issued to the newly appointed captain, Arda Turan.