Edmundo is nicknamed "The Animal"

Edmundo will serve the four-and-a-half year sentence in a semi-open prison, where he will be allowed out during the day but has to return at night.

Edmundo's lawyers say they will appeal for the footballer to be allowed leave at weekends to play for his team, Vasco da Gama, who hoped to get the sentence reduced or suspended.

The footballer - full name Edmundo Alves de Souza - was charged after a crash in December 1995 in a Rio de Janeiro suburb. He was driving a truck and suffered only bruises.

Firebrand

In 1999, he was sentenced in his absence for "culpable homicide" but appeals have kept him from serving his sentence.

Edmundo, who returned to Vasco after playing in Japan and previously in Italy, has been dubbed "The Animal" in the past for his wild behaviour and difficult character.

The Brazilian firebrand was once sent off seven times in a season.

He was also hit by a paternity suit by a Brazilian TV presenter and once angered animal rights supporters by getting a chimpanzee drunk at his son's birthday.