Adriano

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

Adriano Leite Ribeiro (born 17 February 1982) is a Brazilian former professional footballer. He 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 marked by inconsistency and performance decline which coincided with the death of his father in 2004. 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. Club career Early career Adriano started his career in 1999 on Flamengo's youth squad and earned promotion to the senior squad one year later. He made his team debut on 2 February 2000, a Torneio Rio-São Paulo match against Botafogo. He scored a goal against São Paulo in the same competition 4 days later. Despite signing a two-year contract with Flamengo in June 2000, he secured a move to Inter Milan for the 2001–02 season. Inter sold another half of Vampeta to PSG (ultimately to Flamengo from PSG for an undisclosed fee) for €9.757 million in exchange for Adriano who was valued €13.189 million. Adriano scored his first goal with the club against Real Madrid in a friendly match as a substitute. Parma Adriano was loaned to Fiorentina for the 2001–02 season, after which a two-year co-ownership deal with Parma was agreed, for €8.8 million, in order to acquire Fabio Cannavaro which also included another half of Matteo Ferrari for €5.7 million He formed an impressive striking duo with Adrian Mutu, scoring 22 goals in 36 appearances. He missed the month of November 2003 due to injury. Return to Inter Milan Adriano returned to the San Siro in January 2004 on a 4+1⁄2-year contract, for about €23.4 million and scored a total of 12 goals in the rest of 2003–04 season. Adriano's was in peak form in the 2004-05 season, where he scored 28 goals and was instrumental in Inter's Coppa Italia victory that year, scoring twice in the first leg of the finals to help Inter win their first Coppa Italia title in 23 years. In the Champions League, he scored 4 goals and had 3 assists to help Inter into the round of 16. In the round of 16, he scored a hat trick in the second leg against defending champions Porto. He was voted sixth for the 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year. In September 2005, Inter rewarded him for his efforts with an improved contract running until 30 June 2010. He finished the 2005-06 campaign with 19 goals as Inter won the double, with his most important moments coming in matches against Treviso, where he scored a hat trick in a 3-0 victory, and AC Milan, where he scored twice, including a game winner, in a 3-2 victory. Following the signing of the new deal, Adriano's future at Inter suffered due to poor performances, fueled by questions and speculation regarding his work ethic, which was called into question when he was twice caught partying at nightclubs during the 2006–07 campaign. On 18 February 2007, Adriano skipped a team practice due to effects from a lengthy celebration of his birthday the night before, which led to Inter manager Roberto Mancini benching him for the team's Champions League match against Valencia and subsequent Serie A fixture against Catania. He finished the campaign with 6 goals in 30 appearances. Loan to São Paulo On 16 November 2007, Inter owner Massimo Moratti sent Adriano on unpaid leave to his native Brazil for the second time in eighteen months, where he attended São Paulo's training center, due to his poor physical condition and a past battle with alcoholism. Though his agent denied Adriano's desire to return to Brazilian club football, Adriano claimed he was willing to leave Inter in the January transfer window in search of regular playing time, with the Italian press stating interest from West Ham United and Manchester City. In December 2007, Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra expressed interest in bringing Adriano to the club during the January transfer window, commenting, "Adriano was a top player, but he lost form when his father died, and he put on weight." Moratti, however, stated that Adriano would remain with Inter. "I would like him back here in January, as strong and as good as he was." On 10 December, Inter technical director Marco Branca said that Adriano was expected to rejoin the team at the start of the new year. "[The] news has been good. We intend to leave him in peace until the end of the programme and then he will be treated like the other players." Inter finalized a deal on 19 December to loan Adriano to São Paulo for the remainder of the 2007–08 season to allow him to compete in the 2008 Copa Libertadores. São Paulo fans were soon seen standing in long lines to buy his new number 10 jersey at the team's official merchandise retailer after Adriano was introduced and his shirt was unveiled at a team press conference. Adriano celebrated his competitive debut with São Paulo by scoring both goals in their 2–1 victory over Guaratinguetá on the opening day of the 2008 Paulista tournament. He was sent off after headbutting Santos centre-back Domingos on 10 February 2008, and was suspended for two matches after initially risking a suspension of eighteen months. He was fined by São Paulo on 29 February for arriving 30 minutes late for training, then leaving early and exchanging words with a photographer. According to team sporting director Marco Aurélio Cunha, Adriano "left the training ground because he wanted to. The team does not miss him. If he is not happy in São Paulo, he is free to go." São Paulo sporting director Carlos Augusto de Barros e Silva announced on 17 June that Adriano was returning to Inter ahead of schedule. "We have a balanced squad and it was better for Adriano to go back, given that we won't be able to count on him for the rest of the campaign." 2008–09 season Adriano was a regular goalscorer in the early stages of the 2008–09 Serie A campaign, reaching a combined total of 100 domestic goals in the Italian Serie A and the Brazilian Série A. On 22 October 2008, Adriano scored the winner in a 1–0 win over Anorthosis Famagusta, and, with this goal, Adriano scored his 18th Champions League goal, and 70th for the club. In December, Inter Milan allowed him special dispensation to return to Brazil over the winter break earlier than planned. Inter confirmed on 4 April that Adriano had not returned from international duty with Brazil and had signed no contract with the club. On 24 April, Adriano finally rescinded his contract with Inter. Second stint at Flamengo Adriano signed a one-year contract for Brazilian club Flamengo on 6 May 2009, the club with which he started his career. On his debut after returning to Flamengo, played on 31 May 2009, he scored a goal against Atlético Paranaense. On 21 June 2009, he scored his first hat-trick for Flamengo in the 4–0 win over Internacional in the Brazilian Série A; his performances would be instrumental to lead Flamengo to their first Brazilian Serie A title since 1992. On 31 January 2010, Adriano scored his second hat-trick since his return, this time in a 5–3 comeback win in the Fla-Flu derby against rivals Fluminense in the 2010 Rio de Janeiro State League. Roma On 8 June 2010, Italian Serie A club Roma announced that Adriano had signed a three-year contract with the club, effective on 1 July, earning a gross annual salary of €5 million. He was then presented to the press with the no. 8 shirt. Roma terminated the contract on 8 March 2011, after seven months in the Italian capital. For all his physical strength, there is something of the lost, sweet-eyed child in Adriano. It became apparent after the premature loss of his father. Adriano has confessed that he was terrified by the thought of becoming the man of the family. And there was something else: his great motivations to play football were to make his father happy and, of course, to make money. Now, with his father gone and his bank balance bulging, what was the point? The sacrifices of the life of an athlete, once part of his routine, were now an unbearable limitation. Why bother with training when he could drink, either to mourn the loss of his dad or to celebrate the fact that he could buy all the drinks that he wanted. The tragedy, of course, is that their talent has a sell-by date. In a decade's time, someone like Adriano will be able to go where he likes, with whoever he likes to wherever he likes. But he will surely feel better about himself if he can legitimately believe that he took his footballing talent as far as it could go. Corinthians On 25 March 2011, he signed a one-year deal with Corinthians. Adriano ruptured his Achilles tendon on 19 April, while he was training after the surgery he spent six months recovering. After recovering, he played his first game for Corinthians on 9 October 2011, when his club beat Atlético Goianiense 3–0. His first goal for Corinthians came on 20 October in the home game versus Atlético Mineiro, and was the winning goal that made the game 2–1 and gave Corinthians a two-point lead in the Championship with only two games remaining. On 12 March 2012, Adriano was released by Corinthians, after his irregular appearances and lack of interest. Third stint at Flamengo On 21 August 2012, Adriano signed a contract with Flamengo. On 7 November 2012, he was released by Flamengo. Atlético Paranaense On 11 February 2014, the Brazilian striker signed a deal with Atlético Paranaense after missing almost 2 years due to injury and off-field issues. On 11 April 2014, he was released by the club after 4 matches. Miami United and retirement On 28 January 2016, Adriano signed a contract with Miami United of the National Premier Soccer League. On 28 May 2016 he left Miami United. International career Adriano made his international debut for Brazil in a World Cup qualifier against Colombia on 15 November 2000 at the age of 18. He was often considered as the long-term successor to Ronaldo. Adriano scored his first international goal on 11 June 2003 in a friendly against Nigeria. He was included in the Brazil team for 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup and led Brazil's attack alongside Ronaldinho in the absence of Ronaldo. He appeared in all three matches and scored two goals as Brazil was eliminated in the group stage. He missed the 2004 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament due to injury. The following year, he was included in the Brazil national team for 2004 Copa América. Brazil won the cup and Adriano won the Golden Boot as the competition's leading scorer with seven goals. In the final match against Argentina, Adriano dramatically scored the equalizer in the 93rd minute. The match went on to penalties and Brazil finally won 4–2, with Adriano scoring his penalty. After the match, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira singled out Adriano as a very important factor in winning the title. Nine days after winning the Copa America, while preparing for Inter's preseason, Adriano's dad passed away due to health complications. He got a phone call from Brazil: 'Adri, dad is dead'. I saw him in his room, he threw the phone and started sc