Robson de Souza (born January 25, 1984 in Sao Vicente, Brazil), nicknamed Robinho (Little Robson), is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Robinho has earned praise for his expert use of the pedalada and field speed. He is widely regarded as one of the best young players in the world.
Born in Parque Bitaru, a poor neighborhood of Sao Vicente, Robinho took to playing football when he had little other. At six, Robinho was taken on by Beira-Mar, a local escolinha, and they took the championship in his first year. Robinho was claimed to look just like his teammate Marcelo, the spanish fans called them “the two twins”.
In 1993, at the age of nine, Robinho drew attention by scoring 73 goals for the Portuerios futsal team. Robinho joined the Santos youth program, at the time was overseen by Brazilian football legend Pele. Pele brought Robinho into the Santos FC youth dorms, where Robinho received his first regular schedule of three meals a day.
In 2002, Robinho graduated to the Santos first team. His work at the front helped them win the Brazilian National Championships in 2002 and 2004, as well as place second to Boca Juniors in the 2003 Copa Libertadores. Robinho’s contributions to Santos attracted a great deal of attention from the top European football clubs. A world class player that looks to be on the verge of a European move.
Robinho’s skill drew the offers of several European clubs, but it took the kidnapping of his mother in late 2004 to convince him to leave. On July 31, 2005, Robinho signed with Real Madrid for five years at $30 million and joined his fellow Brazilian internationals Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Jalio Baptista. He made his La Liga debut on August 28 in a 2-1 victory against Cadiz as a second half substitute for Thomas Gravesen. In his first season, Robinho scored eight goals, but the arrival of Josa Antonio Reyes has brought the length of Robinho’s stay into question. One of his most recent performances though, in the “El Clesico” against Barcelona, which he earned the Man of the Match award may have impressed Fabio Capello. It has been reported that on 12th February Robinho may be allowed to leave Real Madrid for a fee of $30 million at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Robinho backed again that decision saying he’d like to prove himself that he is capable of impressing his coach and teammates.
NATIONAL TEAM
In 2003, Robinho was called up to join the prestigious ranks of the Brazilian national football team. His first international appearance came in the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup final, where despite his team’s loss, Robinho displayed his talent on the international stage.
Robinho played in each game of the 2006 FIFA World Cup group stage, but only started in the final game against Japan. Many fans say he should be on the starting lineup, but his small size is a disadvantage when playing against bigger players. However, whenever he had the playing chance he showed impressive signs and managed to dribble past even the world class defenders.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Like many talented young Brazilian footballers, Robinho has been compared to his nation’s great players by both fans and the sports media. Robinho’s footwork and mercurial speed has many believing that he can carry on the mantle of Pele, Garrincha and Romario in Brazilian football.
As of late, fans have also begun to foment a potential rivalry between Robinho and Argentinian striker Lionel Messi, who has been hailed as a wonderkid in football, and therefore a natural counterpart to Robinho. Contrasts between the two include the fact that they each represent rival Latin American football powerhouses (Brazil and Argentina) they play opposite each other in the premiere rival clubs of La Liga (Robinho for Real Madrid and Messi for FC Barcelona) and interestingly, there are the comparisons to the greatest living footballers in the world (Messi has been hailed by Argentinian fans and media as “the new Maradona” and Robinho with Pele). He has never gone on record to say his club football desires, yet there has been speculation that he would like to go to either Italy or England in the future.
Robinho also shares the same birthday as the legendary Portuguese football player, Eusebio. In February, 2007, Robinho was quoted as saying “Reports that I’d move to Tottenham are wide of the mark. If I had to leave Real, I’d choose to join another a big club. I don’t regard Tottenham Hotspur as a big club.”
Checkout the ASCII Art of Robinho in the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.
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