Adriano Leite Ribeiro (born
February 17, 1982 in Rio de Janeiro), known simply as Adriano, is a
popular Brazilian footballer. Some of his clubs include Flamengo,
Fiorentina, Parma, and his current club, Internazionale of Milan.
Adriano, weighs 91 kg and is 189 cm tall. He is known for his agility,
strength, balance, and ball control.
Biography of Adriano Leite Ribeiro
Adriano began his career in the youth squad of Flamengo, and played in
the pro squad between 1999 to 2001.
Adriano entered the national youth teams as a teenager. He won the 1999
edition of the FIFA U-17 World Championship, and helped the Brazil team
to the Quarter Finals of the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship; he was
the top scorer for Brazil with 6 goals and won the silver boot award for
the competition, with 5 goals, just behind the golden boot winner,
Argentinian striker Javier Saviola.
Adriano came to international fame in his first appearance for Inter
Milan, when he scored against Real Madrid in the 2001 Santiago Bernabeu
Trophy with a powerful free kick. With Inter already boasting
first-class strikers, they loaned him out to Fiorentina during 2002.[1]
In the summer of 2002, a 2 year co-ownership deal with Parma of the
player was agreed.[2] In Parma, he formed one of the most impressive
striking duos of Serie's A last decade with Adrian Mutu. They scored
more than 15 goals with assists from each other. Adriano's kicks are
strong and accurate, though sometimes lacking technical execution.
He returned to the Nerazzurri in 2004 and signed 4 and a half year
contract and has since been an asset to the team.[3] He has scored a
total of 15 goals in his 16 appearances during the 2004-05 season. While
playing for the Brazilian national team, he won the 2004 Copa América in
Peru. Adriano was the leading goal scorer of the tournament and was
selected as the best player.
Adriano is often considered as the long-term successor to Ronaldo in the
Brazillian national team. When he scores a goal, he looks to the sky in
memory of his recently deceased father. In Italy, he is known by the
nickname of "L'Imperatore" ('The Emperor'), referring to the Roman
emperor Hadrian (Adriano in Italian).
He had been linked with moves to Chelsea and Real Madrid, but this rumor
was put to rest after Adriano signed a four-year contract extension in
2005 that will keep him with Inter until 2010. "It's flattering that so
many prestigious clubs want him," Giacinto Facchetti, Inter Milan's club
president, told journalists, "but we're keeping tight hold of him."
However, after a somewhat dissapointing 2005/2006 season with only 13
league goals and some poor performances, he has again been linked with a
move away to Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter's city rivals, AC Milan as
they look for a replacment for Andriy Schevchenko. During the 2005
Confederations Cup, Adriano was named Player of the Tournament and was
the competition's leading scorer with five goals. In the final, he
steered Brazil to an unforgettable victory. Two outstanding goals helped
Brazil to beat Argentina 4-1, the first one coming from a blistering
left-footed shot in the 11th minute. The second came as a result of a
Cicinho cross, with Adriano heading it in. This goal was also impressive
because Brazil's players passed the ball among themselves for more than
one minute, with most of the players 'participating' in the goal.
From 11 July 2004 through 25 June 2005, Adriano has scored an impressive
total of 40 goals. They have come from an assortment of matches (28)
including appearances in: Serie A, Coppa Italia & Champions League games
for Inter in 2004/05; Copa America, South American World Cup qualifying,
and Confederations Cup games for Brazil.
Adriano was called up to the Brazilian National side ahead of the World
Cup in Germany. He is expected to line-up alongside Ronaldo, Ronaldinho
and Kaka in an impressive attacking foursome. Brazil are favourites to
lift the cup.
Career
Season
Team
Championship
European cups
italian's cup
Presences
Gol
Presences
Gol
Presences
Gol
2000
Flamengo
32
10
2001
Flamengo
13
4
01/gen 02
Inter
8
1
5
0
1
0
gen02/02
Fiorentina
15
6
0
0
2002/03
Parma
28
15
2
2
1
0
2003/gen04
Parma
9
8
2
1
2
0
gen04/04
Inter
16
9
0
2
3
2004/05
Inter
30
16
9
10
3
2
TOTALS
151
69
18
13
9
5
Palmares
1 Americans' Cup (with Brazil) (2004)
1 World Cup Under 17 (with Brazil) (1999)
2 Italian's Cups (with Inter) (2005,2006)
1 Confederations Cup (con il Brasile) (2005)
1 Italian's Supercup (con l'Inter) (2005)
