Adriano

2000/01 Flamengo (BRA) 59 games, 17 goals

(Brazilian Championship: 24 games, 10 goals)

(Brazilian Cup: 4 games, 1 goal)

(Rio Championship: 21 games, 4 goals)

(Copa Mercosur: 10 games, 1 goal)

2001/02 Inter Milan (ITA) 14 games, 1 goal

(Italian Championship: 8 games, 1 goal)

(Italian Cup: 1 game)

(UEFA Cup: 5 games)

2002 Fiorentina (ITA) (Loan) 15 games, 6 goals

2002/04 Parma AC (ITA) 44 games, 26 goals

(Italian Championship: 37 games, 23 goals)

(Italian Cup: 3 matches)

(UEFA Cup: 4 matches, 3 goals)

2004/09 Inter Milan (ITA) 163 matches, 73 goals

(Italian Championship: 115 matches, 47 goals)

(Italian Cup: 16 matches, 8 goals)

(Italian Super Cup: 2 matches)

(Champions League: 30 matches, 18 goals)

2008 São Paulo (BRA) (Loan) 29 matches, 17 goals

(Rio Championship: 19 matches, 11 goals)

(Copa Libertadores: 10 matches, 6 goals)

2009/10 Flamengo (BRA) 51 matches, 34 goals

(Brazilian Championship: 32 matches, 19 goals)

(Rio Championship: 12 games, 11 goals)

(Copa Libertadores: 7 games, 4 goals)

2010/11 AS Roma (ITA) 8 games

(Italian Championship: 5 games)

(Italian Cup: 1 game)

(Italian Super Cup: 1 game)

(Champions League: 1 game)

2011/12 Corinthians (BRA) 8 games, 2 goals

(Brazilian Championship: 4 games, 1 goal)

(São Paulo Championship: 4 games, 1 goal)

2012 Flamengo (BRA)

2014 Atlético Paranaense (BRA) 5 games, 1 goal

(Brazilian Championship: 1 game)

(Parana Championship: 1 match)

(Copa Libertadores: 3 matches, 1 goal)

2016 Miami United (USA) 3 matches, 1 goal

With the National Team :

48 caps, 27 goals

(Friendly matches: 14 caps, 4 goals)

(World Cup qualifiers: 16 caps, 7 goals)

(World Cup: 4 caps, 2 goals)

(Copa America: 6 caps, 7 goals)

(Confederations Cup: 8 caps, 7 goals)

1st cap: 15 November 2000 against Colombia (0-0)

Last cap: 2 March 2010 against Eire (2-0)

U20: 9 caps, 6 goals

U17: 5 caps

Adriano Leite Ribeiro

Born February 17, 1982 in Rio de Janeiro (BRE)

Brazilian, Forward, 1m89

Nickname: "The Imperator"

Adriano was born on February 17, 1982 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Coming from a modest family, he discovered football at a very young age and at the age of 7 he was already in the Flamengo club. Positioned as a left-back at the start, he was then placed in midfield before finally being moved to striker when he was 15. It was during the Under-17 World Cup in 1999 that he made a name for himself in the country.

Adriano tasted his first professional match in the year 2000 against the Botafogo club. He then wore the number 14. Logically, with his impressive physique and technical qualities, he was called up the same year with the Brazilian national team, he was then 18 years old.

After only 1 season as a professional, the biggest clubs in Europe fought over the Brazilian nugget and he signed with Inter Milan. In the role of being Ronaldo's successor, he failed to establish himself upon his arrival and was loaned to Fiorentina before signing with Parma in 2002. There, he proved decisive with 23 goals in 37 Serie A games in 2 seasons and he once again became one of the greatest hopes in world football.

Finally, the Inter Milan club decided to buy the Brazilian and give him another chance with a transfer fee of 23.4 million euros. At the same time, the one who had not been selected for the 2002 World Cup returned to the Seleçao and became a star. He scored 2 goals in the 2003 Confederations Cup and confirmed his potential.

Considered then the most talented Brazilian player born in the 80s, the 1m89, 90 kilo player would impose his law on the Serie A pitches. A complete striker, he has exceptional technical and athletic qualities, including a super-powerful shot, one of the most powerful in the history of the sport. His left foot is magical and he gives off the aura of a superstar despite his young age.

Accompanied by Obafemi Martins in attack for this Inter Milan team, they are complementary and form a fantastic duo. It was the 2003/04 season, his first for Milan, that gave him a special place in the hearts of Inter fans. He scored 21 goals and provided 4 assists in 31 games at only 22 years old. Against Juventus in the semi-final of the Italian Cup, he could not prevent his team from losing despite scoring 3 goals in the two games.

With the Brazilian national team, he arrived at the Copa America in top form and achieved the best performance of his career in a competition. Transferred against Chile, he followed up with a hat-trick against Costa Rica before scoring a brace and providing 2 assists against Mexico in the quarter-finals. Then he followed up with 1 goal against Uruguay in the semi-finals and 1 last goal against Argentina in the final. Winning the tournament, he was voted best player and top scorer of the competition with 7 goals and 2 assists in 6 games.

However, this was to be the beginning of hell for the young player. A few days after his victory in the Copa America, he learned of the death of his father following a heart attack, a real shock for the young man that would mark him for life. Even if this did not seem to affect his statistics, scoring 28 goals and providing 5 assists in 42 games for Inter Milan in the 2004/05 season, the player was mentally broken.

He still won the 2005 Italian Cup, the final in which he scored twice in the first leg against AS Roma. In the Champions League, his statistics were flattering, 7 goals and 3 assists in 7 games and a defeat in the quarter-final against AC Milan. The one who was then considered the most beautiful striker playing in Europe, or even in the world, saw his club refuse an offer of 100 million euros from Chelsea FC.

Decisive and giving sensational performances, he scored one of the best goals of his career against Udinese in Serie A after a 70-meter run that ended with a powerful strike from the left-hander. Adriano was then one of the best players in the world, there was no longer any doubt.

Yet all of this will suddenly disappear. The player who is living a mental nightmare, a depression, will sink into the world of the night. He can no longer manage the notoriety, he goes from nightclub to nightlife. Taking alcohol and drugs, he cannot mourn his father. His performances will also drop.

The player gradually loses his starting place in the Inter Milan squad and he no longer has the impact and consistency that made him great. His club offers him the services of a psychologist, but the pain does not go away. He is on a downward slope and despite Inter Milan's accumulation of titles, he is only a shadow of himself.

He is then loaned to São Paulo where he finds a little of his football, scoring 17 goals in 29 games, but on his return, he is sold to his training club, Flamengo. There, he became a decisive and regular player again, in total, he scored 34 goals in 51 games including 4 in the Copa Libertadores. He then returned to Europe, to AS Roma, the wrong choice.

For his new club, he would play very little, due to a ruptured Achilles tendon shortly after his arrival. He then left for Brazil, and got injured again. Overweight, the player no longer had the physical condition to play at the highest level. Returning again to Flamengo, he would ultimately not play, due to his physical condition, the player then weighed more than 100 kilos.

He then had 2 last failed experiences where he hardly played at Atlético Paranaense and Miami United before retiring in 2016 at the age of 34. The player who only had a short time at the top of world football will nevertheless have had remarkable statistics in some notable competitions:

- 30 Champions League matches for 18 goals and 6 assists.

- 9 Europa League matches for 3 goals and 1 assist.

- 20 Copa Libertadores matches for 11 goals and 2 assists.

- Brazilian Golden Ball in 2009

- Brazilian Silver Ball in 2009

- Voted best player of the Copa America in 2004

- Voted best player of the Confederations Cup in 2005

- Voted Revelation of the Year of the Brazilian championship in 2000

- Top international scorer of the year in 2005

- Top scorer of the Copa America in 2004 (7 goals)

- Top scorer of the Confederations Cup in 2005 (5 goals)

- Top scorer of the South American Under-20 Championship in 2001 (6 goals)

- Top scorer of the Brazilian championship in 2009 (19 goals) (Flamengo)

- Named in the typical team of the year of the Brazilian championship in 2009

- Voted best player of Inter Milan's year in 2004

Homepage