Rivaldo(1)
Rivaldo started his career in 1991 with Brazilian club Santa Cruz, going on to have spells at Mogi Mirim, a loan spell at Corinthians, and Palmeiras. In 1996, he moved to Europe with Spanish side Deportivo de La Coruña, where his performances in his only season there led him to sign for Barcelona in 1997. At Barcelona, he formed a successful partnership with Dutch international Patrick Kluivert, and won consecutive La Liga titles in 1998 and 1999, as well as the 1998 Copa del Rey. Rivaldo notably scored a hattrick against Valencia in June 2001 which qualified Barcelona for the 2001-02 UEFA Champions League; the last goal was a last minute 20-yard bicycle kick winner and the hattrick itself is often ranked as the greatest ever. During his five-year tenure there, he scored 130 goals, ranking him among Barcelona's highest goalscorers of all time.
In 2002, Rivaldo signed for Italian club A.C. Milan, winning the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League in his only season there, however, his performances were underwhelming and he cancelled his contract with Milan in late 2004. He went on to play for Cruzeiro, Olympiacos, AEK Athens, Bunyodkor, a loan spell at São Paulo, Kabuscorp and São Caetano. In March 2014, Rivaldo announced his retirement from professional football, however since June 2015 he made appearances for Mogi Mirim, before retiring again in August 2015.
From 1993 to 2003, Rivaldo played 74 matches and scored 35 goals for Brazil and is the seventh highest goalscorer for the country.[9] He helped Brazil reach the final of the 1998 FIFA World Cup and won the 1999 Copa América where he was named player of the tournament. Rivaldo starred in an attacking trio with Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning team. Scoring in five of Brazil's seven games at the tournament, Rivaldo was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 2002 having also previously been selected in 1998. He is an inductee to the Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame.
Early life
Born in Football, Brazil, Rivaldo had a poor upbringing in the favelas of the city.[10][11][12][13] His physical appearance still marks the poverty he experienced in his childhood: malnourishment-caused bowleggedness and the loss of several teeth.[14] Predominantly left footed, Rivaldo began his professional career at the age of 16, when he signed with Paulistano Futebol Clube in 1989,[15] despite the Paulistano coaches believing him too physically weak to succeed.[16] Rivaldo's father Romildo was killed in a road accident in 1989, but Rivaldo signed his first professional contract later that year.[16]
Club career
Santa Cruz, Mogi Mirim and Corinthians
He went on to play for Santa Cruz in 1991. In 1992, he moved south to the state of São Paulo where he played for Mogi Mirim in the second tier of Brazilian football. In 1993, he moved to the state capital paulista to play for Corinthians in the first division, on loan.
Palmeiras
In the next year, he switched local allegiances and moved to Palmeiras, helping the club successfully defend its league championship in 1994 and winning Campeonato Paulista in 1996. In both 1993 and 1994, he was honoured by the authoritative publication Placar Magazine with the Bola de Ouro for the best player in his position.[citation needed]
Deportivo
Before the 1996 Olympics, Parma announced that they had signed Rivaldo and his teammate Amaral from Palmeiras.[18] After the Olympics, there was a dispute, and rather than Italy, Rivaldo moved to Spain as he joined Deportivo La Coruña in La Liga. He only stayed for one season, but nonetheless it proved to be a successful one for both him and the club. Rivaldo was the joint-fourth top goalscorer of the season, with 21 goals from 41 matches, as Deportivo finished third in the league.
Barcelona
Rivaldo switched to FC Barcelona in 1997 in a transfer deal securing Deportivo a 4 billion pesetas (around $26 million) transfer fee,[15] with Sir Bobby Robson convincing Barcelona to sign Rivaldo ahead of Steve McManaman by saying that Rivaldo would guarantee the team many goals.
In his first season at Barcelona, Rivaldo was the second top goalscorer with 19 goals in 34 matches, as Barcelona won The Double of La Liga and Copa del Rey.[22] In 1999, he won another La Liga title with Barcelona, and once again was the league's second highest scorer with 24 goals. In 1999, Rivaldo was named FIFA World Player of the Year and he also received the Ballon d'Or.[7] After Barcelona's unsuccessful Champions League campaign, Rivaldo was linked with a move away from Camp Nou. Then Manchester United captain Roy Keane was reported stating Rivaldo was the player he most wanted United to sign.
In his third season at Barcelona, Rivaldo fell out with manager Louis van Gaal, when he insisted playing as a playmaker rather than on the left wing.[25] Even though he had a strained relationship with Van Gaal, Rivaldo went on to score 10 goals in the season's Champions League as the club reached the semi-finals. Van Gaal was fired in June 2000.
In the following 2000–01 season, Rivaldo was once again the second highest goalscorer of the league, with 23 goals. In the decisive last game of the season, against Champions League finalist Valencia CF, Rivaldo scored a hat-trick to win the game 3–2, pushing Barcelona ahead of Valencia to secure a place in the 2001–02 Champions League.[6] Frequently ranked the greatest hat-trick ever,[5][24][26] his first goal was a trademark bending free kick that curled into the bottom right corner,[24] the second saw him send the Valencia player the wrong way with a feint before a strike with little back-lift from 25 yards swerved into the bottom left corner of the net,[27] and his match-winning third occurred after Rivaldo controlled the ball with the chest from the edge of the 18-yard box and executed an overhead bicycle kick in the 89th minute, which he regards as the best goal of his career.[28] An ecstatic Rivaldo ripped off his jersey and started swinging it over his head during his goal celebrations, while Barcelona club president Joan Gaspart broke with convention in the stadium's VIP box by punching the air with both fists and yelling his delight next to the opposition delegation.[6][28] After the game Rivaldo stated; "What happened tonight has been incredible. I dedicate the winning goal to all the players who have fought so hard all season and all the supporters who have suffered so much. I'm delighted to have made them happy with my goals."[6] He scored a total of 36 goals that season.[29] During his five-year tenure at Barcelona, Rivaldo scored 130 goals, ranking him among the club's highest goalscorers of all time.
