Adriano | ||
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Personal information | ||
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Full name | Adriano Leite Ribeiro | |
Date of birth | February 17, 1982 | |
Place of birth | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 21⁄2 in)[1] | |
Playing position | Striker | |
Club information | ||
Current club | Internazionale | |
Number | 10 | |
Youth clubs | ||
1997–2000 | Flamengo | |
Senior clubs1 | ||
Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
2000–2001 2001– 2002 2002–2004 2008 |
Flamengo Internazionale → Fiorentina (loan) → Parma (co-ownership) → São Paulo (loan) |
119 (47) 15 (6) 37 (23) 0 (0) |
45 (14)
National team2 | ||
2000– | Brazil | 47 (29) |
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
Adriano Leite Ribeiro (born February 17, 1982 in Rio de Janeiro), known simply as Adriano, is a Brazilian striker who plays for Italian Serie A club Internazionale.
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Adriano started his career in 1999 on Flamengo's youth squad, and earned promotion to the senior squad one year later. Despite signing a two-year contract with Flamengo in June 2000, he secured a move to Internazionale for the 2001-02 season, and scored his first goal with the club against Real Madrid in a friendly match as a substitute.[2]
He was loaned out to league rival ACF Fiorentina for the 2001-02 season,[3] after which a two-year co-ownership deal with Parma F.C. was agreed, along with Matteo Ferrari.[4] He formed one of the most impressive striking duos of Serie A's last decade with Adrian Mutu, scoring 22 goals in 36 appearances.
He returned to the San Siro in 2004 on a 4-year contract[5] and scored a total of 15 goals in his 16 appearances during the '04-05 season. From July 11, 2004 through June 25, 2005, Adriano was in peak form as he scored an impressive total of 40 goals in both domestic and international competitions. In September 2005, Inter rewarded him for his efforts with an improved contract running until June 30, 2010.[6]
Since signing the new deal, Adriano's future at Inter has suffered due to poor performances in the past three seasons, fueled by questions and speculation regarding his work ethic, which was called into question when he was twice caught partying at nightclubs during the '06-07 campaign. Brazilian coach Dunga did not call Adriano up for a friendly against Ecuador on October 10, 2006, and called for him to "change his behavior" and "focus on football". On February 18, 2007, Adriano skipped a team practice due to effects from a lengthy celebration of his birthday the night before, which led to Inter manager Roberto Mancini benching him for the team's Champions League match against Valencia CF and subsequent Serie A fixture against Calcio Catania.
On November 16, 2007, Inter owner Massimo Moratti sent Adriano on unpaid leave to his native Brazil for the second time in eighteen months, as he was set to attend São Paulo FC's training center, due to his poor physical condition and a past battle with alcoholism. Though his agent denied Adriano's desire to return to Brazilian club football, Adriano claimed he was willing to leave Inter in the January transfer window in search of regular playing time, with the Italian press stating interest from West Ham United and Manchester City F.C.[7] In December 2007, Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra expressed interest in bringing Adriano to the club during the January transfer window, commenting, "Adriano was a top player, but he lost form when his father died, and he put on weight." [8] Moratti, however, stated that Adriano would remain with Inter. "I would like him back here in January, as strong and as good as he was." [9] On December 10, Inter technical director Marco Branca said that Adriano was expected to rejoin the team at the start of the new year. "[The] news has been good. We intend to leave him in peace until the end of the programme and then he will be treated like the other players." [10]
Inter finalized a deal on December 19 to loan Adriano to São Paulo for the remainder of the 2007-08 season in order to allow him to compete in the '07-08 Copa Libertadores. São Paulo fans were soon seen standing in long lines to buy his new number 10 jersey at the team's official merchandise retailer after Adriano was introduced and his shirt was unveiled at a team press conference.[11] Adriano celebrated his competitive debut with São Paulo by scoring both goals in their 2-1 victory over Guaratinguetá on the opening day of the 2008 Paulista tournament.
Adriano was sent off after head butting Santos fullback Domingos on February 10, 2008, and was suspended for two matches after initially risking a suspension of eighteen months.[12] He was fined by São Paulo on February 29 after arriving thirty minutes late for training, then leaving early and exchanging words with a photographer. According to team sporting director Marco Aurelio Cunha, Adriano “left the training ground because he wanted to. The team does not miss him. If he is not happy at São Paulo he is free to go."[13]
On June 17, São Paulo sporting director Carlos Augusto de Barros e Silva announced that Adriano was returning to Inter ahead of schedule. "We have a balanced squad and it was better for Adriano to go back, given that we won’t be able to count on him for the rest of the campaign.”[14]
On Tuesday September 14, 2008 Adriano came on as a Subsitute in the 81 st minute against Panathinaikos FC, and scoring a wonderful goal on a one-on-one against the goalkeeper Mario Galinović. He followed this performance with a start versus Torino F.C. were he set up both Maicon and Mancini in Inter's 3-1 win and was named Man Of The Match by Sky Sports Italia. In the next home fixture vs Serie A new boys Adriano set up Zlatan Ibrahimovics' beautiful backheel with a cross, then converting a penalty to help Inter win 2-1. With that goal Adriano has now scored 100 domestic goals in Serie A and Brasilian League A. On October 22nd 2008 Adriano scored the winner in a 1-0 win over Anorthosis, and with this goal, Adriano scored his 18th Champions league goal, and 70th for the club. [15] However, indifferent club performances led to uncertainty over his future, culminating on November 17th when Arrigo Sacchi suggested a transfer to regularly linked Premiership side Chelsea may well come to fruition in the 2009 January window. [16]
Adriano, with 41 caps and 27 goals to his credit, was often considered as the long-term successor to Ronaldo in the Brazilian national team. During the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, Adriano was named Player of the Tournament and received the Golden Boot Award as the competition's leading scorer with five goals. In the final, he steered Brazil to victory, scoring two goals in a 4-1 victory over Argentina.[17]
He was called up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, scoring his first goal on June 18 2006 in a 2-0 win against Australia and his second in a 3-0 victory against Ghana. Despite his two goals, Adriano's World Cup campaign was considered a disappointment, as he shot the ball only five times all tournament, while Brazil as a whole were unable to find the right mix between defence and attack.[18]
Adriano has featured only once for Brazil under Dunga's regime since the conclusion of the World Cup, as a halftime substitute during a 2-0 friendly loss to Portugal on February 6, 2007. On May 15, 2008, Adriano was called up for Brazil's upcoming friendly matches against Canada and Venezuela. [19]
Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
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Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
Brazil | League | Copa do Brasil | South America | Total | ||||||
2000 | Flamengo | Série A | 19 | 7 | - | 8 | 1 | 321 | 101 | |
2001 | - | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 142 | 22 | |||
Italy | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Total | ||||||
2001-02 | Internazionale Milano | Serie A | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
2001-02 | Fiorentina | Serie A | 15 | 6 | - | - | 15 | 6 | ||
2002-03 | Parma | Serie A | 28 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 17 |
2003-04 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 9 | ||
2003-04 | Internazionale Milano | Serie A | 16 | 9 | 2 | 3 | - | 18 | 12 | |
2004-05 | 30 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 42 | 28 | ||
2005-06 | 30 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 47 | 19 | ||
2006-07 | 23 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 6 | ||
2007-08 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 1 | ||||
Brazil | League | Copa do Brasil | South America | Total | ||||||
2008 | São Paulo | Série A | - | - | 10 | 6 | 283 | 173 | ||
Italy | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Total | ||||||
2008-09 | Internazionale Milano | Serie A | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 3 | ||
Total | Brazil | 19 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 7 | 744 | 294 | |
Italy | 171 | 75 | 20 | 6 | 37 | 19 | 228 | 100 | ||
Career Total | 235 | 100 | 20 | 6 | 37 | 9 | 292 | 125 |
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