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 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite | ||
| Date of birth | April 22, 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Brasília, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Real Madrid | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–2000 | São Paulo | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2003 | São Paulo | 59 | (23) |
| 2003–2009 | Milan | 193 | (70) |
| 2009– | Real Madrid | 20 | (7) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002– | Brazil | 73 | (26) |
Early life
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite was born in Brasília to Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite (a civil engineer) and Simone Cristina Santos Leite.[citation needed] He had a financially-secure upbringing that allowed him to focus on both school and football at the same time.[3] His younger brother Rodrigo (known as Digão), elder cousin Eduardo Delani is also a professional footballer.When he was seven, his family moved to São Paulo.[4] His school had arranged him in a local youth club called "Alphaville," who qualified to the final in a local tournament.[5] There he was discovered by hometown club São Paulo FC, who offered an assignment.[6]
At the age of 18, Kaká suffered a career-threatening and possibly paralysis-inducing spinal fracture as a result of a swimming pool accident,[7] but remarkably made a full recovery. He attributes his recovery to God and has since tithed his income to his church.[8]
Club career
São Paulo
Kaká began his career with São Paulo at the age of eight. He signed a contract at fifteen and led the São Paulo youth squad to Copa de Juvenil glory. He made his senior side debut in January 2001 and scored 12 goals in 27 appearances, in addition to leading São Paulo to its first and only Torneio Rio-São Paulo championship, in which he scored two goals in two minutes as a substitute against Botafogo in the final, which São Paulo won 2–1.He scored 10 goals in 22 matches the following season, and by this time his performance was soon attracting attention from European clubs. Kaká made a total of 58 appearances for São Paulo, scoring 23 times.
Milan
Kaká and Brazilian President Lula.
Kaká was a part of the five-man midfield in the 2004–05 season, usually playing in a withdrawn role behind striker Andriy Shevchenko. He scored seven goals in 36 domestic appearances as Milan finished runner-up in the Scudetto race. Despite Milan losing the 2004–05 Champions League final to Liverpool on penalties, he was nonetheless was voted the best midfielder of the tournament.
2005–06 saw Kaká score his first hat-tricks in domestic competition. On 9 April 2006, he scored his first Rossoneri hat-trick against Chievo; all three goals were scored in the second half. The following season, he scored his first Champions League hat-trick in a 4–1 group stage win over the Belgian side Anderlecht.
Andriy Shevchenko's departure to Chelsea for the 2006–07 season allowed Kaká to become the focal point of Milan's offense as he alternated between the midfield and striker positions. He finished as the top scorer in the 2006–07 Champions League campaign with ten goals. One of them helped the Rossoneri eliminate Celtic in the quarter-finals on a 1–0 aggregate, and three others proved fatal for Manchester United in the semi-finals, despite Milan losing the first leg.
Kaká added the Champions League title to his trophy case for the first time when Milan defeated Liverpool on 23 May 2007. Though he went scoreless, he won a free kick that led to the first of Filippo Inzaghi's two goals, and provided the assist for the second. For his stellar play throughout the competition, he was voted the Vodafone Fans' Player of the Season in a poll of over 100,000 UEFA.com visitors. On 30 August, Kaká was named by UEFA as both the top forward of the 2006–07 Champions League season and UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.[11]
He played his 200th career match with Milan in a 1–1 home draw with Catania on 30 September, and on 5 October, he was named the 2006–07 FIFPro World Player of the Year. On 2 December 2007, Kaká became the eighth Milan player to win the Ballon d'Or, as he finished with a decisive 444 votes, long ahead of runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo.[12] He signed a contract extension through 2013 with Milan on February 29, 2008.[13]
Due to his contributions on and off the pitch, Time magazine named Kaká in the Time 100, a list of the world's 100 most influential people, on 2 May.[14] On 14 October, he cast his footprints into the Estádio do Maracanã's sidewalk of fame, in a section dedicated to the memory of the country's top players.[15] He won the honor again in 2009.[16]
The BBC reported on 13 January 2009 that Manchester City made a bid for Kaká for over £100 million. Milan director Umberto Gandini replied that Milan would only discuss the matter if Kaká and Manchester City agreed to personal terms.[17] Kaká initially responded by telling reporters he wanted to "grow old" at Milan and dreamed of captaining the club one day, but later said, "If Milan want to sell me, I’ll sit down and talk. I can say that as long as the club don’t want to sell me, I'll definitely stay."[18] On 19 January, Silvio Berlusconi announced that Manchester City had officially ended their bid after a discussion between the clubs, and that Kaká would remain with Milan.[19] Milan supporters had protested outside the club headquarters earlier that evening, and later chanted outside Kaká's home, where he saluted them by flashing his jersey outside a window.[20]
Real Madrid
Kaká celebrates during the match between Real Madrid and Deportivo de La Coruña
Kaká made his unofficial debut in a friendly against Toronto FC, and scored his first goal for Madrid during a preseason match against Borussia Dortmund, which Madrid won 5-0.[25] He scored his first official goal for Real Madrid on week 5 against Villareal from a penalty kick.
International career
Kaká with Brazil
In 2003, Kaká was the captain for the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament, where Brazil, competing as with their under-23 team, finished as runner-up to Mexico. He scored three goals during the tournament. He was included in Brazil's squad for 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany. He appeared in all five matches and scored one goal in a 4–1 win over Argentina in the final.
Kaká started in his first FIFA World Cup finals in 2006 and scored his first and only goal of the tournament in Brazil's 1–0 victory over Croatia in Brazil's opener, for which he was named Man of the Match.[27] He was unable to keep up the momentum for the remainder of the tournament, as Brazil was eliminated by France in the quarter-finals. In a friendly against rivals Argentina on 3 September 2006, after entering as a substitute, he received the ball off a deflection from an Argentina corner kick and outran Lionel Messi while taking the ball down three quarters of the field to score.[28]
On 12 May 2007, citing an exhaustive schedule of Serie A, Champions League, and national team play, Kaká bowed out of the 2007 Copa América, which Brazil won.[29] After missing out on the Copa América, he returned to play in Brazil's friendly match against Algeria on 22 August 2007.
Kaká participated in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, marking his first international tournament since the 2006 World Cup. His only two goals came in Brazil's group stage opener against Egypt on 14 June, when he scored a goal in the fifth minute and then added a 90th-minute penalty in Brazil's 4–3 victory.[30] He received the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament at the Confederations Cup and was also named the Man of the Match in the final after helping Brazil to a 3-2 win against the United States.
Personal life
Kaká with his wife Caroline
Kaká is a member of the organization Atletas de Cristo ("Athletes of Christ").[35] His goal celebration consists of him pointing to the sky as a gesture of thanks to God. Kaká's favourite music is gospel,[36] and his favourite book is the Bible.[37] Since November 2004, he has served as an Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations' World Food Programme, the youngest to do so at the time of his appointment.
Kaká is a follower of the evangelical Rebirth in Christ Church[38]. He married his childhood sweetheart Caroline Celico on 23 December 2005 at a Rebirth in Christ church in São Paulo.[39] Their first child, Luca Celico Leite, was born in São Paulo on 10 June 2008.[40]
Kaká was sworn in as an Italian citizen on 12 February 2007.[41] He features prominently in adidas advertising and also has a modeling contract with Armani, the latter preventing him from appearing in a photo collection alongside his Milan teammates that was published by Dolce & Gabbana in early 2007.
Raí, the former Brazilian and São Paulo FC captain, has always been the idol of Kaká.[citation needed]
Kaká's best friend is Chivas USA midfielder and fellow Brazilian Marcelo Saragosa. They both served as best man at each other's wedding.
Nickname
His nickname is pronounced as it is spelled, with stress on the second syllable, and is a common term of endearment of "Ricardo" in Brazil. In Kaká's case, it was born from younger brother Rodrigo calling him "Caca" due to his inability to pronounce "Ricardo" when they were young; it eventually evolved into Kaká.Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | Domestic League | Domestic Cups | Continental Competitions1 | Other Tournaments2 | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| São Paulo | 2001 | 27 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 33 | 14 |
| 2002 | 22 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 22 | 9 | |
| 2003 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 20 | 7 | |
| Total | 59 | 23 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 75 | 30 | |
| Milan | 2003–04 | 30 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 14 |
| 2004–05 | 36 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 9 | |
| 2005–06 | 35 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | - | - | 49 | 19 | |
| 2006–07 | 31 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 10 | - | - | 48 | 18 | |
| 2007–08 | 30 | 15 | - | - | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 19 | |
| 2008–09 | 31 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 36 | 16 | |
| Total | 193 | 70 | 10 | 0 | 63 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 270 | 95 | |
| Real Madrid | 2009–10 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 27 | 8 |
| Total | 20 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 27 | 8 | |
| Career Totals | 268 | 100 | 22 | 7 | 73 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 372 | 133 | |
1Continental competitions include the Copa Libertadores, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Cup
2Other tournaments include the Supercoppa Italiana, Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup
International goals
Honours
São Paulo- Copa São Paulo de Juniores: 2000
- Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 2001
- Serie A: 2003–04
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2004
- UEFA Champions League: 2006–07
- UEFA Super Cup: 2007
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2007
International
Individual
- Revista Placar Bola de Ouro: 2002
- Campeonato Brasileiro Bola de Prata (best player by position): 2002
- CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2003
- Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2004, 2006, 2007
- Serie A Footballer of the Year: 2004, 2007
- UEFA Champions League Bronze Top scorer: 2005–06
- UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder: 2005
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2006, 2007,2009
- FIFPro World XI: 2006, 2007, 2008
- Pallone d'Argento: 2006–07
- UEFA Champions League Top Scorer: 2006–07
- UEFA Champions League Best Forward: 2006–07
- UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2006-07
- FIFPro World Player of the Year: 2007
- Ballon d'Or: 2007
- FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2007
- Toyota Award: 2007
- FIFA World Player of the Year: 2007
- Onze d'Or: 2007
- IFFHS World‘s Best Playmaker: 2007
- IAAF Latin Sportsman of the Year: 2007
- Time 100: 2008, 2009
- Maracanã Hall Of Fame: 2008
- Samba d'Or: 2008
- FIFA Team of the Year: 2008
- FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 2009
- FIFA Confederations Cup Best XI: 2009