Robinho

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robinho
Personal information
Full name Robson de Souza
Date of birth January 25, 1984 (age 23)
Place of birth    Flag of Brazil São Vicente, Brazil
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Nickname Robinho (Little Robson),
Menino Robinho (Robinho Boy),
O Príncipe (The Prince)
Playing position Left Winger, Second Striker
Club information
Current club Flag of Spain Real Madrid
Number 10
Youth clubs
1996–2002 Flag of Brazil Santos
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2002–2005
2005—		 Flag of Brazil Santos
Flag of Spain Real Madrid		 106 (43)
51 (12)   
National team2
2003— Brazil 34 (5)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 28 August 2006.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 1 April 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Robson de Souza (born January 25, 1984 in São Vicente, Brazil), nicknamed Robinho (Little Robson), is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Robinho has earned praise for his expert use of the pedalada and field speed.

Contents

[edit] Youth programs

Born in Parque Bitaru, a poor neighborhood of São Vicente, he is from African Descent. He begun playing football (soccer) early. At six, he was signed to the Beira-Mar, a local escolinha. He and his team and they took the championship in his first year.[1] Whilst playing at the Beira-Mar, Robinho was claimed to look just like his teammate Marcelo, and the spanish fans called them "the twins".

In 1993, at the age of nine, Robinho drew attention by scoring 73 goals for the Portuários futsal team. Robinho joined the Santos youth program, which at the time was overseen by Brazilian football legend Pelé. Pelé brought Robinho into the Santos FC youth dorms, where he received his first regular schedule of three meals a day.[2]

[edit] Club career

In 2002, Robinho was promoted to the Santos first team. His work at the front helped them win the Brazilian National Championships in 2002 and 2004, as well as place second to Boca Juniors in the 2003 Copa Libertadores. Robinho's contributions to Santos attracted a great deal of attention from the top European football clubs. A world class player that looks to be on the verge of a European move.

Robinho's skill drew the offers of several European clubs, but it took the kidnapping of his mother in late 2004[3] to convince him to leave. On July 31, 2005, Robinho signed with Real Madrid for five years at $30 million and joined his fellow Brazilian internationals Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Júlio Baptista. He made his La Liga debut on August 28 in a 2-1 victory against Cádiz as a second half substitute for Thomas Gravesen. In his first season, Robinho scored eight goals, but the arrival of José Antonio Reyes has brought the length of Robinho's stay into question. One of his most recent performances though, in the "El Clásico" against Barcelona, which he earned the Man of the Match award may have impressed Fabio Capello.

Meanwhile, Robinho backed again that decision saying he'd like to triumph in Real Madrid, fulfill his contract and expand it if possible.

[edit] National team

Robinho playing against Switzerland
Robinho playing against Switzerland

In 2003, Robinho was called up to join the prestigious ranks of the Brazilian national football team. His first international appearance came in the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup final, where despite his team's loss, Robinho displayed his talent on the international stage.

Robinho played in each game of the 2006 FIFA World Cup group stage, but only started in the final game against Japan. Many fans say he should be on the starting lineup, but his small size is a disadvantage when playing against bigger players.

However, whenever he had the playing chance he showed impressive signs and managed to dribble past even the world class defenders.

[edit] Media coverage

Like many talented young Brazilian footballers, Robinho has been compared to his nation's great players by both fans and the sports media. Robinho's footwork and mercurial speed has many believing that he can carry on the mantle of Pelé, Garrincha and Romario in Brazilian football.

As of late, fans have also begun to foment a potential rivalry between Robinho and Argentinian striker Lionel Messi, who has been hailed as a wonderkid in football, and therefore a natural counterpart to Robinho. Contrasts between the two include the fact that they each represent rival Latin American football powerhouses (Brazil and Argentina); they play opposite each other in the premiere rival clubs of La Liga (Robinho for Real Madrid and Messi for FC Barcelona); and interestingly, there are the comparisons to the greatest living footballers in the world (Messi has been hailed by Argentinian fans and media as "the new Maradona" and Robinho with Pelé). He has never gone on record to say his club football desires, yet there has been speculation that he would like to go to either Italy or England in the future.

Robinho also shares the same birthday as the legendary Portuguese football player, Eusebio.

In February, 2007, Robinho was quoted as saying "Reports that I'd move to Tottenham are wide of the mark. If I had to leave Real, I'd choose to join another big club. I don't regard Tottenham Hotspur as a big club."[4]

[edit] Statistics

As of April 2, 2007

All-Time Club Performance
Club Season Domestic League Domestic Cup European Competition Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Santos 2002 29 9 - - - - 29 9
2003 32 9 - - - - 32 9
2004 37 21 - - - - 37 21
2005 8 4 - - - - 8 4
Total 106 43 - - - - 106 43
Real Madrid 05-06 37 8 6 4 8 0 51 12
06-07 23 3 4 1 7 1 34 5
Total 60 11 10 5 15 1 85 17
Career Totals 166 54 10 5 15 1 191 60

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.ofutebol.com/view.asp?ArticleId=9
  2. ^ http://www.ofutebol.com/view.asp?ArticleId=9
  3. ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2004/SPORT/football/11/09/brazil.robinho/index.html
  4. ^ Moore, Glenn. "'We're there for the taking' admits Jol as the pressure starts to mount", The Independent, 2007-02-17. Retrieved on March 9, 2007.

[edit] External links


Flag of Brazil Brazil squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists Flag of Brazil

1 Dida | 2 Cafu | 3 Lúcio | 4 Juan | 5 Emerson | 6 Roberto Carlos | 7 Adriano | 8 Kaká | 9 Ronaldo | 10 Ronaldinho | 11 Zé Roberto | 12 Rogério Ceni | 13 Cicinho | 14 Luisão | 15 Cris | 16 Gilberto | 17 Gilberto Silva | 18 Mineiro | 19 Juninho | 20 Ricardinho | 21 Fred | 22 Júlio César | 23 Robinho | Coach: Parreira
Real Madrid - Current Squad

1 Casillas | 2 Salgado | 3 Roberto Carlos | 4 Ramos | 5 Cannavaro | 6 Diarra | 7 Raúl | 8 Emerson | 10 Robinho | 11 Cicinho | 12 Marcelo | 13 López | 14 Guti | 15 Bravo | 16 Gago | 17 van Nistelrooy | 18 Cassano | 19 Reyes | 20 Higuaín | 21 Helguera | 22 Pavón | 23 Beckham | 24 Mejía | 25 Miñambres | 26 Javi García | 27 De la Red | 36 Nieto | 38 Torres | 39 Valero | Coach Capello
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../r/o/b/Robinho.html"