Zé Roberto

Zé Roberto is undoubtedly one of the most underrated players in the history of football. Capable of playing in almost all positions on the left flank, he was a notable player in the 1990s and 2000s.

967

Games

Goals

165

Assists

Trophies

1994/96 Portuguesa (BRA) 61 games, 1 goal

1996/98 Real Madrid (SPA) 21 games, 1 goal

(Spanish Championship: 15 games)

(Champions League: 4 games, 1 goal)

(Spanish Super Cup: 2 games)

1998 Flamengo (BRA) 24 games

(Brazilian Championship: 11 games)

(São Paulo Championship: 13 games)

1998/2002 Bayer Leverkusen (GER) 150 games, 18 goals

(German Championship: 113 games, 17 goals)

(German Cup: 7 games)

(German League Cup: 1 game)

(Champions League: 21 games, 1 goal)

(UEFA Cup: 8 games)

2002/06 Bayern Munich (GER) 156 games, 6 goals

(German Championship: 110 games, 5 goals)

(German Cup: 14 games, 1 goal)

(German League Cup: 4 games, 1 goal)

(Champions League: 28 games, 1 goal)

2006/07 Santos FC (BRA) (Loan) 48 games, 12 goals

(Brazilian Championship: 13 games, 2 goals)

(São Paulo Championship: 20 games, 3 goals)

(Copa Libertadores: 14 games, 7 goals)

(Copa Sudamericana: 1 game)

2007/09 Bayern Munich (GER) 91 games, 12 goals

(German League: 59 games, 9 goals)

(German Cup: 10 games, 1 goal)

(German League Cup: 3 games)

(Champions League: 9 games, 2 goals)

(UEFA Cup: 10 games)

2009/11 Hamburg SV (GER) 72 games, 8 goals

(German League: 54 games, 7 goals)

(German Cup: 4 games)

(UEFA Cup: 14 games, 1 goal)

2011/12 Al-Gharafa (QAT) 14 games, 1 goal

2012/14 Grêmio (BRA) 118 games, 15 goals

(Brazilian League: 82 games, 6 goals)

(UEFA Cup: Brazil: 2 matches)

(Gaucho Championship: 16 matches, 5 goals)

(Copa Libertadores: 14 matches, 3 goals)

(Copa Sudamericana: 4 matches, 1 goal)

2015/17 Palmeiras (BRE) 128 matches, 10 goals

(Brazilian Championship: 68 matches, 3 goals)

(Brazilian Cup: 16 matches, 5 goals)

(Copa Libertadores: 10 matches, 1 goal)

(São Paulo Championship: 34 matches, 1 goal)

With the National Team :

84 caps, 6 goals

(Friendly matches: 37 caps)

(World Cup qualifiers: 22 caps, 1 goal)

(World Cup: 6 caps, 1 goal)

(Copa America: 7 caps, 1 goal)

(Confederations Cup: 10 caps, 3 goals)

(Gold Cup: 1 cap)

(Tournoi de France: 1 cap)

1st cap: August 12, 1995 against South Korea (1-0)

Last cap: July 1, 2006 against France (0-1)

José Roberto da Silva Junior

Born July 6, 1974 in São Paulo (BRE)

Brazilian, Left-midfielder, Left-back, Central-midfielder, 1m76

Nicknames: Vovô Garoto, Animal, Super Choque

From Brazil to Real Madrid

Zé Roberto was born on July 6, 1974 in São Paulo, Brazil. With an outstanding vision of the game and incredible self-denial on the field, he made his professional debut in 1994 at Portuguesa. From there, Brazil saw the birth of one of its best players. A leader at heart, he was quickly called to join the Brazilian national team only 1 year after his debut.

Winning the Bola de Prata in 1996, he was logically spotted by the biggest European clubs and it was finally Real Madrid who recruited the young Brazilian. He arrived there in January 1997 as a left-back but did not make his mark, being still too frail for a squad made up of legends.

A key man for Bayer Leverkusen

Unable to acclimatize to Spanish football, he returned to Brazil, to Flamengo in 1998. It was finally another big club of the late 90s, Bayer Leverkusen, who gave him a second chance in Europe after his participation in the 1998 World Cup, there, it was love at first sight.

Establishing himself within a grandiose squad made up of legends such as Ballack, Kirsten, Ramelow and Lucio, the Brazilian had magnificent seasons by being repositioned as a left midfielder. In this position, he had a promising 1998/99 season with 4 goals and 7 assists in 38 matches.

The following season, he further increased his level for 8 goals and 7 assists in 30 games. He finished in the Bundesliga team of the year. But the 2001/02 season would be the strongest of his career statistically. In all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen, he played 50 games for 5 goals and 24 assists and logically appeared for the 2nd time in his career in the German championship team of the year. Not selected with Brazil, he finished runner-up in Germany, finalist in the German Cup and finalist in the Champions League.

A Bundesliga legend

After this cursed end of the 2001/2002 season, the defender who had confirmed himself in the left midfield position joined Bayern Munich. With them, he won 4 Bundesliga, 4 German Cups and 2 German League Cups. In the 2007/08 season, he was repositioned as a central midfielder, in this position, he finished in the German championship's first team.

In 2009, he joined Hamburg SV where he broke the record for the number of games played by a foreigner in the Bundesliga with 336 games. He then left for Qatar and then returned to Brazil in order to quietly end his career at the age of 43. He remains one of the legends of his country and of the German championship. For the Seleçao, he will have notably known successes and a 2006 World Cup where he finished in the team of the tournament.