[1] Serginho initially began his professional footballing career in his home country and played for clubs Cruzeiro, Bahia and São Paulo.

[3] The 2005 Champions League Final was a reversal of fortune, however, as Milan surrendered a 3–0 lead at half-time and eventually lost on penalties to Liverpool, with Serginho whistling his shot over the crossbar.

Serginho earned ten caps with the Brazil national team between 1998 and 2001, with his sole goal scored in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup Final.

Internationally, Serginho represented his nation at the 1999 Confederations Cup,[8] where his team won a runners-up medal, and at the 1999 Copa América, winning the latter tournament.

In addition to his speed and energy, he was also known to be an excellent crosser of the ball, and for having a knack for making overlapping runs and getting into good attacking positions, which allowed him to regularly contribute to his team's offence with several assists and even goals.