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His nickname may be ‘The Emperor’, but there was certainly nothing regal about Adriano’s childhood. Born on 17 February 1982. he grew up in Vila Humeilde, one of Rio’s poorest favelas. His mother Rosilda first took him to Flamengo when he was just seven years old, where he began to play mostly five-a-side football.
Even as he made his way through the scarlet-blacks’ youth system, it was not as the majestic front-man we now know him as. He played mostly as a centre-back or left-back until the age of fifteen, when his coach saw that Adriano had potential further up the field, first as a midfielder and then up front.
From here his rise was meteoric. He was called up to Seleção’s U-17 squad, which was victorious in the 1999 World Championship. Full international honours were not far behind either, as he donned the senior team’s golden shirt for the first time in November 2000 aged just 18. Although a surprise call-up at the time, national team coach Emerson Leão saw him as the new Serginho Chulapa – perhaps an unfortunate comparison bearing in mind Serginho’s clumsy World Cup performances for Brazil in Spain ’82.
In reality, Leão’s comparison couldn’t have been further from the truth. Blessed with a remarkably delicate touch, as well as his obvious natural strength, Adriano was tailor-made for the European game, joining Internazionale in 2001. Despite impressing in his early performances, Inter at the time had a plethora of gifted forwards (including Ronaldo). Loaned to Fiorentina to gain experience, his thunderous shooting soon caught the attention of other clubs.
In 2002 Parma bought 50% of his contract, and teamed him up with future Chelsea bad-boy Adrian Mutu in a fruitful partnership which saw Adriano bag 23 goals in just 37 Serie A games before Inter wanted him back. Since then his form for the ‘nerazzuri’ has been magnificent. 59 goals in his first 106 games have elevated him to the very highest echelons of world football.
The story has been the same for his country, too. Since the last World Cup he has become an indispensable member of the national team, the frightening thing for opposing defenders being that he and Ronaldo have been paired together only relatively rarely so far. In Brazil’s victorious Copa América in 2004 he played alongside Luís Fabiano, the exciting Robinho his partner for the triumphant Confederations Cup in 2005. At only 24 he should be leading Brazil’s frontline for many years to come. You have been warned!
Position: Striker
Appearances: 31
Goals: 22
Club: Internazionale (Italy)
Full Name: Adriano Leite Ribeiro
Date of birth: 17 February 1982
Place of birth: Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
International debut: Brazil 1-0 Colombia (15 November 2000)
World Cup Squads: 0
World Cup Appearances: 0
Flamengo – 1999-2001
Internazionale (Italy) – 2001-02
Fiorentina (Italy) – 2002
Parma (Italy) – 2002-04
Internazionale (Italy) – since 2004
Palmeiras – Brazilian Championship (1993 & 94), São Paulo State Championship (1993 & 94), Rio-São Paulo Tournament (1993)
Real Madrid – Intercontinental Cup (1998 & 2002), UEFA European Supercup (2002), UEFA Champions League (1998, 2000, 2002), Spanish Championship (1997, 2001, 2003), Spanish Supercup (1997, 2001, 2003)
World Cup (2002), Copa America (1997 & 99), Confederations Cup (1997), South American Pre-Olympic Tournament (1991 & 96)
Brazilian Championship Team of the Season (1993 & 94), FIFA World Footballer of the Year Runner-up (1997), EFE Trophy (1998), L´Equipe World Footballer of the Year (2002)
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Bio written by: Chris Marks
Factfile compiled by: Mark Lowdon
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