Rivaldo

Rivaldo, full name Vitor Borba Ferreira, (born April 19, 1972 in Recife) is a Brazilian football player, a World Champion for Brazil at the {{Wc|2002}}.

Related Topics:
April 19 - 1972 - Recife - Brazil - Football - Brazil

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Rivaldo signed professional terms at the age of 16 in 1989 with Santa Cruz after impressing local scouts in a junior tournament. He joined Brazilian first division club Mogi-Mirim in 1991.

Related Topics:
1989 - Santa Cruz - Mogi-Mirim - 1991

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Rivaldo signed for Corinthians in 1993 and made his international debut in December 1993, scoring the only goal in 1-0 victory over Mexico in a friendly international.

Related Topics:
Corinthians - 1993 - Mexico

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Rivaldo signed for Palmeiras in 1994 and won the Brazilian league championship on the same year. He won the São Paulo state championship with Palmeiras in 1996. He moved to Spain in 1996 and joined Deportivo La Coruña. Rivaldo then transferred to Barcelona in August 1997. He played for Brazil in the {{Wc|1998}}.

Related Topics:
Palmeiras - 1994 - São Paulo - 1996 - Spain - Deportivo La Coruña - Barcelona - 1997

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Winning a second Spanish league title with Barcelona in 1999, Rivaldo won both FIFA and World Soccer magazine's World Player of the Year awards. He was voted European Footballer of the Year by France Football magazine.

Related Topics:
Spanish league - 1999 - FIFA - European Footballer of the Year - France Football

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In June 2002, Barça decided to release Rivaldo from his contract a year before it was due to expire and he signed a three-year contract with the Italian Serie A club A.C. Milan. He left the star-studded Milan after a season of very few starts. After a brief stint back in Brazil with Cruzeiro (11 games played, 2 goals scored), he signed with Greek power Olympiakos for the 2004-05 season and won the Greek championship and the Greek cup (23 games played, 12 goals scored). Rivaldo scored some memorable goals in his first season at Olympiakos, including a fantastic effort in the cup final with a well placed lob from a difficult position close to corner flag. Rivaldo also scored 2 memorable free kicks during the season, the first was in the local derby vs the other Athens giant, Panathinaikos and the second against English club Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League.

Related Topics:
Barça - Italian - Serie A - A.C. Milan - Cruzeiro - Greek - Olympiakos - 2004 - 05 - Athens - Panathinaikos - Liverpool - UEFA Champions League

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He has played over 60 games for the Brazilian national team and played in the winning side of the 2002 World Cup. However, he would receive a large fine from FIFA because of his actions in a group stage match of that event against Turkey. During an encounter with Turkey defender Alpay Özalan, Alpay kicked a ball in his general direction while the referee was looking away. Rivaldo held his hands to his face as if he had been hit there by the ball, and the referee was successfully deceived into sending Alpay off. Television replays proved that Rivaldo was not hit by the ball in the face, but in the body.

Related Topics:
FIFA - Turkey - Alpay Özalan

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Pelé named him in his 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceramony.

Related Topics:
Pelé - 125 Greatest Living Footballers

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