26/10/2006
Adriano Leite Ribeiro
1.89 m, 87 kg
17 February 1982, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Clubs:
Flamengo (2000-01), Internazionale (2001), Fiorentina (2001-02), Parma (2002-03), Internazionale (2003- )
Season 2005-2006
Serie A: 30 matches, 13 goals
2006 World Cup: 5 matches, 2 goals
Champions League: 8 matches, 5 goals
Adriano Leite Ribeiro is known as a strong, fast player with an enormously powerful left foot. For good reason he is often compared with his fellow-countryman Ronaldo. When he was bought in 2001 by Internazionale the Italians did not immediately recognize his class. He was lent out to Fiorentina and later to Parma, where he performed much better. In 2003 Adriano was again brought back to Internazionale and has not lost his place in the team since.
In the summer of 2005 Adriano played for Brazil in the Confederations Cup in Germany. Adriano became the man of the tournament. With 5 goals (including 2 in the final) he helped Brazil win the title. This would not be his only title of that season. Even though Internazionale finished in third place in Serie A, due to the penalization of Juventus and AC Milan, Internazionale were finally declared the Italian champions.
Brazil could not repeat the result of the Confederations Cup during the 2006 World Cup. Adriano did score 2 more goals, but in the quarter-finals Brazil were knocked-out by France.