José Kléberson

Kléberson
Personal information
Full name José Kléberson Pereira
Date of birth 19 June 1979 (1979-06-19) (age 32)
Place of birth Uraí, Brazil
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Centre midfielder
Club information
Current club Flamengo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1999–2003 Atlético Paranaense 100 (12)
2003–2005 Manchester United 20 (2)
2005–2007 Beşiktaş 45 (3)
2007– Flamengo 60 (9)
2011 → Atlético Paranaense (loan) 18 (2)
National team‡
2002– Brazil 32 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of January 2, 2012.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of January 2, 2012

José Kléberson Pereira (born 19 June 1979 in Uraí), commonly known as José Kléberson or simply Kléberson, is a Brazilian football centre midfielder who plays for Brazilian club Flamengo.

Contents

Club career

Kléberson was born and raised in the provincial town of Uraí in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná.

Atlético Paranaense

He began his football career with Atlético Paranaense. While at Atlético Paranaense, Kléberson won the Paraná State League in 2000 and 2001, and the Brazilian Série A title in 2001. His performances for Atlético Paranaense led to Luiz Felipe Scolari bringing him into the Brazilian national team for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

Manchester United

His World Cup performances led to Scolari declaring Kléberson the driving force behind Brazil's Cup winning side, and drew interest from several English and Scottish teams. Newcastle United, Leeds United and Celtic all expressed an interest. Leeds failed to secure the signing after Kléberson decided against leaving Brazil without his girlfriend, who he was unable to marry until her 16th birthday. Eventually, it was Manchester United who signed Kléberson for a fee of £6.5 million on 12 August 2003.[1] Seen as a replacement for Juan Sebastián Verón, Kléberson was injured in his second appearance for the club and made only 20 appearances in two seasons. He scored two league goals in his time at Manchester United, both coming in home wins against Blackburn Rovers[2] and Everton.[3]

Beşiktaş

On 8 August 2005, Rıza Çalımbay transferred Kléberson to Beşiktaş of Istanbul, Turkey, in a deal reported to be worth £2.5 million.[4] He signed a three-year deal, with the option of a further 12 months, and told reporters at a signing ceremony:

"I have come from one big club to another so I am very happy".

Flamengo

Kléberson signed with Flamengo on a free on August 2007,[5] but he was unable to play for the club until February 2008, due to problems related to his resignation from Beşiktaş.

His first matches for his new club were on the reserves team in several matches of the Rio State League. His climb to the first team started slowly as he began to play consistently in the Copa Libertadores. Kléberson earned an important spot in the midfield after the transfers of Renato Augusto and Marcinho.

After returning to the first team his good spell in 2009 was interrupted on 12 August, in a friendly match against Estonia. He suffered a foul and fell, causing him a dislocated shoulder. Kléberson had surgery and was expected to miss the rest of the year.[6] He managed to recover quickly being able to return on 22 November in a 0–0 draw against Goiás and also playing in the 2–1 win over Grêmio and winning the 2009 Brazilian Série A, the second in his career.

In the pre-season period of 2010 Palmeiras speculated the possibility of involving Kléberson in a trade for Vágner Love,[7] but Flamengo refused to accept the idea.[8]

International career

Kléberson made his first international appearance for Brazil in a friendly match against Bolivia on 31 January 2002. He also marked his debut by scoring Brazil's fourth goal in a 6–0 win. He was subsequently selected by Luiz Felipe Scolari for Brazil's squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was initially relegated to the bench for the first four matches in the tournament. He was brought into the starting line-up for Brazil's game against England, with Scolari feeling his tenacity would help counter the high work-rate of the English side. His tackle on his future team-mate Paul Scholes led to Brazil's equaliser before Brazil ended up winning 2–1. He then was included in the starting lineup for the rest of the tournament. Brazil defeated Germany in the final, with Kléberson setting up one of the two Brazilian goals, as Brazil won the World Cup for a record fifth time.

After the World Cup, he retained his starting position in Brazil's team under the new coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and was also included in Brazil's squad for 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, where Brazil were eliminated in the group stage. That summer, Kléberson moved to Europe to join Manchester United. He failed to achieve regular playing time with his club, and as a result he lost his position in the national team. He managed to be included in Brazil's squad for the Copa América 2004. He made five appearances in the tournament, starting in every match he played as Brazil went on to win the tournament.

After more than four years in the international wilderness, Kléberson was recalled to the national team by Dunga on May 28, 2009. He was recalled to replace Anderson in two matches for 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.[9] After recovering from his shoulder surgery once again Kléberson was called up for the national team on February 9, 2010 for a friendly match against Ireland on 2 March, in London.[10]

Kléberson was then called up to Brazil's 2010 World Cup squad by Dunga on the 11 May.[11] The 23-man squad was almost exactly the same as the squad against Ireland but included one additional player, Heurelho Gomes.

Career statistics

Club statistics

As of December 5, 2011.[12][13][14][15][16]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Atlético Paranaense 1999 14 1 3 2 – – – 17 3
2000 24 4 2 0 – – – 26 4
2001 29 3 7 1 – – – 36 4
2002 21 4 – – – 6 1 27 5
2003 12 0 2 1 – – – 12 0
Total 100 12 14 4 – 6 1 120 16
Manchester United 2003–04 12 2 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 16 2
2004–05 8 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 14 0
Total 20 2 1 0 4 0 5 0 0 0 30 2
Beşiktaş 2005–06 31 3 – 6 0 37 3
2006–07 14 0 – 5 1 19 1
Total 45 3 – 11 1 56 4
Flamengo 2008 24 5 – – – 8 0 131 11 45 6
2009 15 1 5 2 – – – 162 32 36 6
2010 21 3 – – – 8 0 133 33 42 6
Total 60 9 5 2 – 16 0 42 7 123 18
Atlético Paranaense (loan) 2011 18 2 1 0 – – – – – 19 2
Total 18 2 1 0 – – – – – 19 2
Career total 247 29 21 6 4 0 38 2 42 7 352 42

International statistics

As of 28 June 2010.[17][18][19]
National team Club Season Apps Goals
Brazil Atlético Paranaense 2002 13 2
2003 7 0
Manchester United 2003–2004 6 0
2004–2005 1 0
Beşiktaş 2005–2006 0 0
2006–2007 0 0
Flamengo 2008 0 0
2009 4 0
2010 1 0
Total 32 2

Honours

International

References

  1. ^ "Kleberson signs for Man Utd". BBC Sport. 12 August 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/3142903.stm. Retrieved 1 July 2009. 
  2. ^ "Man Utd see off Blackburn". BBC. 22 November 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3273231.stm. Retrieved 15 September 2009. 
  3. ^ "Man Utd 3–2 Everton". BBC. 26 December 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3316125.stm. Retrieved 15 September 2009. 
  4. ^ "Kleberson completes Besiktas move". BBC Sport. 8 August 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/4130796.stm. Retrieved 1 July 2009. 
  5. ^ "Flamengo signs World Cup champion Kleberson". Xinhua News Agency. 27 September 2007. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-09/27/content_6799143.htm. Retrieved 1 July 2009. 
  6. ^ Kleberson se contunde durante amistoso entre Brasil e Estônia 12 August 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2010. (Portuguese)
  7. ^ Belluzzo admite que Palmeiras quer Kleberson: 'Um jogador muito interessante' 30 December 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2010. (Portuguese)
  8. ^ Flamengo não cede Kleberson ou qualquer outro jogador para ter Love 30 December 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2010. (Portuguese)
  9. ^ "Anderson blow for Brazil". Sky Sports. 29 May 2009. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_5353909,00.html. Retrieved 1 July 2009. 
  10. ^ "Dunga convoca seleção e deixa Ronaldinho fora da lista e longe da Copa" (in Portuguese). Globoesporte.com. 9 February 2010. http://globoesporte.globo.com/Esportes/Noticias/Times/Selecao_Brasileira/0,,MUL1482852-15071,00.html. Retrieved 9 February 2010. 
  11. ^ Brazil leave out star duo Sky Sports. 11 May 2010.
  12. ^ Player profile (in Portuguese). Flamengo.com.br.
  13. ^ Flapédia (in Portuguese). Flapédia.
  14. ^ Player profile (in Portuguese). Flaestatística.
  15. ^ Futpédia (in Portuguese). Futpédia.
  16. ^ zerozerofootball.com zerozerofootball.com.
  17. ^ Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2002–2003
  18. ^ Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2004–2005
  19. ^ Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2008–2009

External links

Flamengo – current squad