Adriano
Biography -
Preview-
If
we would look at soccer as a war, Adriano would definitely be part of
the heavy armor division, having one of the deadliest cannons of a left
foot on today's scene and being "armored" by a hard constitution and
exceptional strength.
In the following paragraphs
you'll get to read a short Adriano biography, dedicated to one of
today’s most impressive strikers.
Full
name
Adriano
Leite Ribeiro
Date
of birth
February
17, 1982
Place
of birth
Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil
Height
6.2
ft 1.89 m
Playing
position
Striker
Although Adriano is
a popular
Brazilian name having representatives in several sports such as tennis
or beach volley, nowadays, hearing this name immediately takes you to
the footballer Adriano, currently playing for Inter Milan
(another famous "Adriano" player is Sevilla FC's left winger, however
he is usually referred to as Adriano Correia as the "brand" Adriano
rightfully belongs to the Inter striker).
Adriano Biography - Early Years
- Born in Rio de
Janeiro, one of the most famous Brazilian
soccer "incubators" of all times, it was only natural that
young Adriano would take up on football with a passion, especially
since he grew up watching Brazilian soccer legends
such as Zico, Falcao, Dunga, Romario or Bebeto play in the 1986, 1990
and 1994 World Cups, eventually winning the latter.
Season
Club
Games
Goals
2000
Flamengo
15(4)
7
2001
Flamengo
0
0
2001/02
Inter
0(8)
1
Fiorentina
15(0)
6
2002/03
Parma
26(2)
15
2003/04
Parma
8(1)
8
Inter
13(3)
9
2004/05
Inter
26(4)
16
2005/06
Inter
27(3)
13
2006/07
Inter
14(9)
5
He started out in the youth
squad of Flamengo, where he was immediately deemed as a future star
player, given his already impressive strength and shot power.
After
grabbing a pro contract in 1999, he started seeing first-squad daylight
soon, however he only played 19 matches for the Brazilian side, having
scored 7 goals.
Despite not starting out with
a blast, the Flamengo period cannot miss from any
Adriano biography as it was those 2 years that put him up on the shelf
for powerful European clubs to buy.
Adriano Biography
– Inter Milano - When
being bought by
Inter Milano, one of the most prestigious and
powerful clubs Europe could boast with, the footballer Adriano was only
19 of age and ready to start his adventure. Most soccer players that
would
have made such a decisive switch as the Brazilian would need at least a
couple of years to settle in Serie A; not Adriano though.
On his first match for Inter,
in a friendly against Real Madrid on the Spaniards' home stadium, he
was given the chance to play for the last 8 minutes.
Obtaining a free kick, he grabbed the ball and charged up his shot,
scoring an impressive power goal.
In 2001 however, he only
played in 8 official games for Inter, having scored a single goal. As
is the custom of Inter, a truly complex soccer machine, the young
footballer Adriano was loaned out to Fiorentina for a short period of
time, where he scored 6 goals in 15 matches,
clearly improving his game and settling in the Italian league.
Adriano
Biography
– Parma - Parma was in dire need of
a
good offense, as they
planned to reach at least an UEFA Cup spot in 2003. Besides buying
ex-Inter's Romanian Adrian Mutu, they set eyes on another Inter
footballer, Adriano. Since Inter did not agree to fully releasing the
Brazilian to Parma, the two teams decided to sign a co-ownership
of the player.
Adriano's Parma period was
definitely the peak of his career so far. Together with his offensive
colleague, Adrian Mutu, they managed to become the most
feared couple in Serie A and the most prolific one of the
last decade, having scored over 40 goals in the 2002-2003 season
together (most of Mutu's goals were scored from Adriano's assists and
most of Adriano's goals were scored from Mutu passes).
It was this year that truly
marked Adriano as a world class soccer player and
Inter immediately bought him back the next year. Ever since, Adriano
has been a constant in the Nerazzurri first squad as well as the Brazilian
national team, where he scored 25 goals in 37 caps,
in addition to being named Player of the Tournament in the 2005 FIFA
Confederations Cup.
