Adriano (footballer, born February 1982)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Leite and the second or paternal family name is Ribeiro.

Adriano
Adriano in 2009
Personal information
Full name Adriano Leite Ribeiro[1]
Date of birth (1982-02-17) 17 February 1982 (age 42)[1]
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil[2]
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1997–1999 Flamengo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Flamengo 24 (10)
2001–2002 Inter Milan 8 (1)
2002 → Fiorentina (loan) 15 (6)
2002–2004 Parma 37 (23)
2004–2009 Inter Milan 115 (47)
2008 → São Paulo (loan) 29 (17)
2009–2010 Flamengo 32 (19)
2010–2011 Roma 5 (0)
2011–2012 Corinthians 7 (2)
2012 Flamengo 0 (0)
2014 Atlético Paranaense 1 (0)
2016 Miami United 1 (1)
Total 242 (108)
International career
1999 Brazil U17 5 (0)
2001–2002 Brazil U20 9 (6)
2000–2010 Brazil 48 (27)
Medal record
Representing  Brazil
FIFA Confederations Cup
Winner 2005 Germany
Copa América
Winner 2004 Peru
South American U-20 Championship
Winner 2001 Ecuador
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Winner 1999 New Zealand
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Adriano Leite Ribeiro (born 17 February 1982) is a Brazilian former professional footballer.

Adriano had four prolific seasons in Italy with Italian clubs Parma and Inter Milan, being considered one of the best strikers in the world during this time and earning the nickname L'Imperatore ("the Emperor"). Adriano finished within the top 10 of the Ballon d'Or in 2004 and 2005 and was awarded the IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of 2005 and was also a three-time winner of Bidone d'Oro award. He was a key figure in Inter's 2005–06 Scudetto win before his career was, however, marked by inconsistency and a decline in his performances which coincided with the death of his father.[3][4][5] He moved back to his native Brazil in 2009 and went on to win a Brasileirão with both Flamengo and Corinthians. He retired in 2016 at the age of 34.

Making his Brazil debut at 18, Adriano was considered the long-term successor to Ronaldo. In the absence of Ronaldo, he led Brazil to the 2004 Copa América, receiving the Golden Boot as the competition's leading scorer with seven goals. He also won the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup with Brazil, receiving the Golden Boot Award as the competition's leading scorer with five goals. Before the 2006 World Cup he was part of Brazil's much-vaunted "magic quartet" of offensive players alongside Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaká, which ultimately was not successful at the tournament.[6]

  1. ^ a b "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Adriano". Inter Milan. Archived from the original on 7 February 2005. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Vickery was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Adriano imperatore in giallorosso "Roma come Rio, vinceremo insieme"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 9 June 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  5. ^ Vickery, Tim (21 March 2011). "Adriano struggling to find suitors after Roma departure" (in Portuguese). BBC. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  6. ^ Vickery, Tim (18 December 2017). "Kaka's spectacular run with Milan and Brazil overshadowed by his successors". ESPN.