| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Giovanni Silva de Oliveira | ||
| Date of birth | February 4, 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Abaetetuba, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Playing position | Second Striker , Attacking Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1991 | Tuna Luso | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1991 | Taça Luz | 23 | (29) |
| 1992 | Tuna Luso | 47 | (24) |
| 1993 | Remo | 15 | (5) |
| 1993 | Paysandu | 12 | (6) |
| 1994 | Sãocarlense | 18 | (8) |
| 1994–1996 | Santos | 36 | (18) |
| 1996–1999 | FC Barcelona | 68 | (18) |
| 1999–2005 | Olympiacos | 129 | (109) |
| 2005 | Santos | 27 | (4) |
| 2006 | Al-Hilal | 20 | (17) |
| 2006–2007 | Ethnikos | 8 | (3) |
| 2007–2008 | Sport | 15 | (4) |
| 2008–2009 | Mogi Mirim | 12 | (6) |
| 2010 | Santos | 8 | (1) |
| National team | |||
| 1995–1999 | Brazil | 20 | (6) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Giovanni Silva de Oliveira (born February 4, 1972 in Abaetetuba), better known as Giovanni, is a retired football player from Brazil. He was also capped for the Brazilian national team.
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Born in Abaetetuba, Giovanni started his career in 1991 at Tuna Luso. In 1993, he scored 24 goals, before joining Remo, Paysandu and Sãocarlense before moving to top Brazilian club Santos in 1995.
Pelé himself paid for his transfer, and proclaimed him the "new Pelé".
In his first season he scored in half of the games he played, while in his second he notched 25 goals in 19 games. The peak of his career wearing Pelé's number 10 jersey was when he led Santos to the second place in the Brazilian Championship. In the semi-finals against Fluminense, Santos lost 4–1 in the first leg away, and Giovanni dyed his hair red to show faith in the team.
He displayed a splendid game in the second leg and Santos managed to win 5–2, with Giovanni scoring twice and assisting on the final Marcelo Passos goal. Unfortunately, he could not help Santos overcome Botafogo in the final game. Nonetheless, he is still known to many Santos supporters as "Messias" (Messiah) and his fans named themselves "Giovanni's witnesses" – similar to a religion, "Jehovah's witnesses".
After Santos FC, he moved to the Spanish club FC Barcelona in 1996. He was a first team regular for two seasons and scored 18 goals overall. Barcelona fans still remember him for his ability to score game-winning goals against Real Madrid. In his first year with Barcelona he won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.[1] When Louis Van Gaal took the lead, however, he eventually fell out of favor, alongside Sonny Anderson, in his third year at the club, despite scoring crucial goals in games such as the 1997 UEFA Super Cup second leg game against Borussia Dortmund.[2] Therefore he left for Greek club Olympiacos for a record transfer bid of 10.800.000 £ in the summer of 1999.[3] Later on in his career, he caused some controversy, by referring to Van Gaal as a Hitler for Brazilians, and an egomaniac.[4]
In Greece, he soon established himself as one of the best players of the Greek league.
A flamboyant striker, he was known for his inventive dribbling, his passing range, his ability to lob the goalkeeper and pass the ball through defender's legs (nutmeg). His technique and the variety of fascinating moves made Olympiacos fans think of him as one of the most talented players in their team and love him as a hero. His skills earned him the nickname "magos" (magician) in Greece.
He was the leading goalscorer in Greece in the 2003–2004 season with 21 goals.
In 2005 Giovanni returned to Santos, playing alongside Robinho. With discrete performances in 29 games, he was told to leave at the end of the season by trainer Vanderlei Luxemburgo.
After his short return in Brazil, the striker went into anonymity, playing for smaller clubs like, Al-Hilal, Ethnikos, Sport Club do Recife and Mogi Mirim Esporte Clube, finally, he decided to return to Santos again, where he still maintained his godlike status, even though he didn't play well in 2005.
After passing the medical exams, Giovanni returned to Santos in January 2010. Although playing very few matches, he finally managed to win his first title with Santos, the Campeonato Paulista. In 04/06 announced retirement.[5]
Giovanni has earned 20 caps with the Brazilian national team. He has scored 6 goals for the "seleção". He played during the 1998 World Cup in France.[6]
Clube do Remo
FC Barcelona
Olympiacos
Santos FC