Romário

Official portrait, 2023

Senator for Rio de Janeiro

Incumbent

Assumed office
1 February 2015

Preceded by

Francisco Dornelles

Second Vice President of the Federal Senate

In office
1 February 2021 – 1 February 2023

President

Rodrigo Pacheco

Preceded by

Izalci Lucas

Succeeded by

Rodrigo Cunha

Member of the Chamber of Deputies

In office
1 February 2011 – 1 February 2015

Constituency

Rio de Janeiro

Personal details

Born

29 January 1966 (age 59)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Political party

PL (2021–present)

Other political
affiliations

PP (2001–2009)
PSB (2009–2017)
PODE (2017–2021)

Height

1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)

Spouses

Mônica Santoro

(m. 1988; div. 1995)

Danielle Favatto

(m. 1996; div. 2001)

Isabelle Bittencourt

(m. 2002; div. 2014)

Children

7, including Romarinho

Profession

Footballer, politician

Association football career

Position(s)

Striker

Youth career

1979–1980

Olaria

1981–1985

Vasco da Gama

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

1985–1988

Vasco da Gama

141

(80)

1988–1993

PSV Eindhoven

110

(98)

1993–1995

Barcelona

46

(34)

1995–1996

Flamengo

59

(60)

1996–1997

Valencia

11

(5)

1997

→ Flamengo (loan)

22

(21)

1998–1999

Flamengo

65

(34)

2000–2002

Vasco da Gama

73

(79)

2002–2004

Fluminense

73

(45)

2003

→ Al Sadd (loan)

3

(0)

2005–2006

Vasco da Gama

50

(35)

2006

Miami FC

25

(19)

2006

→ Adelaide United (loan)

4

(1)

2007

Vasco da Gama

15

(13)

2009

America-RJ

1

(0)

2024–

America-RJ

0

(0)

Total

698

(542)

International career

1985

Brazil U20

11

(11)

1988

Brazil U23

7

(8)

1987–2005

Brazil

70

(55^[a])

Managerial career

2007

Vasco da Gama (interim)

2008

Vasco da Gama

Medal record

Men's football

Representing Brazil
FIFA World Cup
Winner	1994 United States
FIFA Confederations Cup
Winner	1997 Saudi Arabia
Copa América
Winner	1989 Brazil
Winner	1997 Bolivia
Olympic Games
	1988 Seoul	Team
CONCACAF Gold Cup
	1998 USA
South American U-20 Championship
Winner	1985 Paraguay

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Romário de Souza Faria (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁoˈmaɾiu]), is a Brazilian politician and professional footballer who currently plays for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club América RJ.^[1] A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 700 goals and is one of the few players to score at least 100 goals for three clubs.^[2] He is considered one of the greatest players of all time.^[3]^[4] Romário starred for Brazil in their 1994 FIFA World Cup triumph, receiving the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year the same year. He came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll in 1999, was elected to the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004.^[5]^[6]

At club level, after developing his early career in Brazil, Romário moved to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands in 1988. During his five seasons at PSV the club became Eredivisie champions three times, and he scored a total of 165 goals in 167 games. In 1993, he moved to Barcelona and became part of Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team", forming an exceptional strike partnership with Hristo Stoichkov. He won La Liga in his first season and finished as the top goalscorer with 30 goals in 33 matches. During the second half of his career Romário played for clubs within the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. He won the Brazilian league title with Vasco da Gama in 2000 and was top scorer three times in the league. At the end of his career he also played briefly in Qatar, the United States and Australia.

Considered a master of the confined space of the penalty area, his rapid speed over short distances (aided by his low centre of gravity) took him away from defenders, and he was renowned for his trademark toe poke finish.^[7]^[8] With 55 goals in 70 appearances,^[a] Romário is the fourth-highest goalscorer for the Brazil national team, behind Neymar, Pelé and Ronaldo.^[9] He is third on the all-time list of Brazilian league's top scorers with 155 goals. He is the ninth-highest goalscorer in the history of football with 784 goals in 1002 official games.^[10]

Romario started his political career in 2010, when he was elected deputy for the Brazilian Socialist Party. He was then elected senator in 2014. In 2017, he switched parties for Podemos, and in 2021, he joined the Liberal Party.

Club career

[edit]

Early years

[edit]

From humble origins, Romário was spotted in childhood when playing for Olaria, a small club from the Rio de Janeiro suburb. He was taken to the junior team of Vasco da Gama where he won two state league titles (1987, 1988) and earned his first call-ups to the national team. Romário came to international attention when he became the top scorer at the 1988 Olympic football tournament.^[11]

1988–1993: PSV Eindhoven

[edit]

Shortly after the Olympics he moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he won the Eredivisie in 1989, 1991 and 1992.^[11] Renowned for his ability to operate in the confined space of the penalty box, Romário scored 165 goals in 167 games in five seasons at PSV.^[8]

Driven by an unswerving belief in his abilities, Romário's laid back manner and overwhelming self-confidence would be displayed throughout his career, with Guus Hiddink, his coach at PSV, stating, "If he saw that I was a bit more nervous than usual ahead of a big game, he'd come to me and say: ‘Take it easy, coach, I'm going to score and we’re going to win'. What's incredible is that eight out of the ten times he told me that, he really did score and we really did win."^[12]

1993–1995: Barcelona

[edit]

Romário moved to Barcelona for the 1993–94 season and became part of Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team", in which, along with players such as strike partner Hristo Stoichkov, midfielders José Mari Bakero, and Michael Laudrup, and prolific goalscoring defender Ronald Koeman, he helped the club win the La Liga title, while becoming the season's top goalscorer with 30 goals in 33 matches.^[11] Barcelona also reached the 1994 UEFA Champions League final, where in spite of being heavy favourites to win, they eventually lost 0–4 to Milan. The buildup to the final saw Spanish newspapers already declaring Barcelona as winners, while Cruyff told his team, "You're better than them, you're going to win".^[13] With Romário and Stoichkov leading the Barcelona attack, Milan defender Paolo Maldini conceded his team were underdogs, but they were spurred on by what they perceived as arrogance from Barcelona.^[13]

"It has to be Romário. You never knew what to expect with him. His technique was outstanding, and he scored goals from every possible position, most of them with his toe, funnily enough."

— Johan Cruyff when asked to name the greatest player he ever coached.^[14]

One of Romário's best performances was scoring a hat-trick in the memorable 5–0 win over Real Madrid in the El Clásico at the Camp Nou, with the spectacular opening goal seeing him drag the ball around the defender without it leaving his foot before finishing with a trademark toe-poke into the corner of the net.^[7] His highlight for Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League came in the two games against Manchester United where he nutmegged Peter Schmeichel to score at Old Trafford, and scored again in the 4–0 win at the Camp Nou in front of 114,000 fans.^[3]^[15] Reflecting on the game at the Camp Nou, Manchester United captain Steve Bruce, who played in defence that night, states: "Of all the great things that happened during my career, the thing that sticks out the most is that night because we got our backsides kicked big-style. Stoichkov and Romário are still etched in my memory, especially Romário, who was arguably the best player I ever faced."^[15]

Romário was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1994, after being the runner-up in 1993.^[11] Although he was lauded for his performances, Romário was prone to controversy, and in 1994 he landed a left hook to Sevilla's Diego Simeone and was suspended for five games.^[16] Romário left Barcelona unexpectedly in January 1995 after having a rift with coach Cruyff.^[17]

1995–1999: Flamengo and Valencia

[edit]

In 1995, Romário returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo and spent five years there excluding two short-lasting comebacks to Spain during that period.^[8] During a Copa Libertadores match against an Argentine team in 1995, Romário kicked an opposition defender on the chest in retaliation for a punch on his teammate Edmundo.^[18] He began the 1996–97 season with the Spanish club Valencia but after having heated arguments with then head coach Luis Aragonés he was soon loaned back to Flamengo.^[19]

Romário returned to Valencia at the beginning of 1997–98 season. With their new coach Claudio Ranieri claiming that he did not want to have any players staying at the club against their will, Romário, stating his need for good preparation for the World Cup in France, left Valencia for good after playing just six league matches in the season; once again he returned to Flamengo.^[20]

2000–2005: Vasco and Fluminense

[edit]

Romário rejoined Vasco da Gama in 2000 and linked up again with fellow international striker Edmundo. Forming a prolific partnership, the two forwards led Vasco to the final of the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, with Romário finishing as joint-top goalscorer with three goals. The most notable performance from the pair was a 3–1 defeat of European champions Manchester United at the Estádio do Maracanã, where Romário scored twice in three first-half minutes and Edmundo added a third before half time.^[21] Having previously got on well together at Flamengo, the volatile Edmundo became jealous of Romário's privileges, stating the club was "a court, Romário the prince and [club chairman] Eurico Mirando [sic] the king".^[18] After Vasco's victory a few days later, Romário replied: "Now the court is happy: the king, the prince and the fool [Edmundo]".^[18]

At 34 years of age, Romário had one of the best seasons in his career while winning the Copa Mercosur and the Brazilian league title with Vasco. Romário's performance was key in the Mercosur final where Vasco faced Brazilian rivals Palmeiras from São Paulo. After splitting the first two matches, a decisive third took place in São Paulo. Palmeiras took a 3–0 lead before half-time. In the second half however, Vasco scored four goals including Romário's winner in the stoppage time, which completed his hat-trick.^[22] Romário received both the South American and Brazilian Footballer of the Year awards. He finished both the 2000 and 2001 seasons as the Brazilian league's top goalscorer.^[23]

From 2002 until 2004, he played for Fluminense. In February 2003, Romário signed a lucrative three-month contract in Qatar with a club Al Sadd but after a disappointing stint without scoring a goal he returned to Fluminense.^[24] On 21 October 2004 he was fired from the club after a conflict with the coach. He also attacked a fan who had thrown six live chickens at him during training.^[16] Romário then went back once again to play for the team he started at, Vasco da Gama. In 2005, at 39 years of age, Romário scored 22 goals in the Brazilian Championship, making him the league's top goalscorer for the third time.^[11]^[25]

Later career

[edit]

In the beginning of 2006 Romário joined Miami FC along with former 1994 FIFA World Cup teammate Zinho. He helped Miami FC reach their first ever USL-1 Playoffs, scoring 19 league goals in 25 appearances for the team.

Newly promoted Campeonato Mineiro side Tupi announced a short-term deal with Romário to play for the Juiz de Fora team in the Taça Minas. However, the Brazilian Football Confederation prohibited the transfer, claiming the contract was signed after the closing of the international transfer window. Romário did not make his debut for the club, but took part in practice sessions.^[26]^[27]

Seen as a publicity coup of the A-League's short history, Romário was signed by AUFC Board member Mel Patzwald to the Australian A-League club Adelaide United for a 5-game guest stint. He played his first match for Adelaide United on 25 November 2006 against the Central Coast Mariners. During his final game on 15 December 2006 he finally scored a goal for Adelaide to end what many considered to be a disappointing spell with the club.^[28] In January 2007 he signed a new deal with Vasco da Gama.

Thousandth goal

[edit]

On 20 May 2007, Romário scored his 1000th goal, a penalty kick against Sport Recife, playing for Vasco da Gama. The Brazilian press claimed him as one of few players in professional football history to achieve this, like Pelé, Puskás, Friedenreich and Binder.^[29] The 1000th goal drew much attention from both Brazilian and international press, with the game being stopped for over 20 minutes to allow for celebrations from his fans.^[30]^[31]^[32]^[33] There is some controversy over the validity of the 1000 goals, because the number is somewhat inaccurate and Romário's research team also counted his goals in junior, friendly and non-official games.^[34]

FIFA congratulated Romário on his milestone goal^[35] but stated he is still officially on 929 goals, as 77 came in youth football, with others being scored in unofficial friendly matches.^[36] RSSSF estimated his career tally to be 968 goals in 1188 games.^[10] In 2008, Romário released a DVD with the best goals of his career totaling 900 goals in the disc.^[37] Following the landmark goal, Vasco da Gama unveiled a statue of Romário at the São Januário.^[38]

Player/Manager of Vasco da Gama

[edit]

On 24 October 2007, it was announced that Romário would take charge of his first match as the interim manager of Vasco against Club América of Mexico in the return leg of their Copa Sudamericana quarter final and he would also participate on the field as a player. Romário, then 41 years of age, replaced Celso Roth as the manager of Vasco da Gama, and also played the match against Club América at the same time. Vasco da Gama president Eurico Miranda declared to Globo Online that Romário would be in charge of the team for the match, but it is likely to only be temporarily. On 6 February 2008 Romário objected to Miranda's intervention in team selection, so was dismissed, but remained contracted to Vasco as a player.

On 4 December 2007, Romário announced he had tested positive for finasteride (aka Propecia) after a match against Palmeiras on 28 October. He claims it was in an anti-baldness treatment; however, the drug was banned as it is a masking agent for anabolic steroids.^[39]

Retirement and comeback

[edit]

On 5 February 2008, Romário announced his retirement both from playing and coaching, effective at the end of March. This move came somewhat unexpectedly, as fans anticipated that he would retire from playing, but not coaching. He made it clear that he will only concentrate on the FIFA Confederations Cup and helping with the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, on 27 March, Romário denied that he had retired.

Romário announced on 15 April 2008 at his DVD launch that he would retire from the game of football.^[40]^[41] He cited his weight as a major factor in his decision to retire from the game. Romário played for many clubs that spanned across five continents for over two decades. He scored 71 goals in 85 appearances for Brazil (including appearances and goals in the Olympics) and claimed to have scored over 1,000 club goals. Romário officially announced his retirement from playing, saying:

Officially I'm not playing any more. I've stopped. My time is up. Everything has been a lot of fun.^[42]

In August 2009, Romário announced that he would come out of retirement to play for America from Rio de Janeiro. He stated that he would play for the club to fulfill his late father's wishes.^[43] On 25 November 2009, Romário made his comeback. He came on during the 68th minute of the match between America and Artsul, replacing Adriano. Although he did not score, America won 2–0, which helped the club to win the Carioca Championship Second Division title.

In 2024, aged 58, Romário came out of retirement for a second time and was registered as a player-president for America in the 2024 Campeonato Carioca Série A2 to play alongside his son Romarinho.^[44] He was an unused substitute in the 2-0 against Petrópolis in the first round and stated that the initial plan is to be available only for the home matches.^[45]

International career

[edit]

As a member of the Brazil national team, Romário won the silver Olympic medal in Seoul in 1988, finishing as the top-goalscorer with seven goals in six matches.^[12] He attained the status of national hero at the 1989 Copa América as he scored the only goal in the final against Uruguay to end Brazil's long trophy drought in front of their own fans at the Maracanã.^[12] He was part of the Brazilian squad in the World Cups of 1990 and 1994. He scored 71 goals in 85 international matches (including senior and Olympic teams), being the fourth-highest goalscorer in the history of the Brazilian team.

1990 World Cup

[edit]

Romário was one of the most talked about stars leading up to the 1990 World Cup in Italy, but picked up a serious injury three months before the big kick-off.^[12] Despite doing everything to recover in time and being rewarded with a spot in the squad, his lack of fitness meant he was restricted to playing only 66 minutes in one match, against Scotland.^[12] Brazil were eliminated in round of 16 by their rival side Argentina.^[46]

1994 World Cup

[edit]

In 1992, during Romário's successful season at PSV Eindhoven, he was called up to the national team for a friendly match against Germany on 16 December 1992 in Porto Alegre – Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira left Romário as a reserve, after which he expressed his dissatisfaction, saying he would not have come over from Netherlands if he had known he was not going to play. These declarations caused Parreira to ban Romário from the Brazilian team.^[47]

Brazil played the first seven matches of the 1994 World Cup qualification without Romário, and suffered their first loss ever in World Cup qualifying against Bolivia. His exclusion provoked a wave of outrage, with journalists and fans calling for his return to the team.^[12] Brazil had to beat or tie against Uruguay at the Maracanã Stadium to finish first of their group. Before the match against Uruguay, Parreira gave up and called Romário. Back in his beloved number 11 jersey, prior to the game Romário stated: "I already know what is going to happen: I'm going to finish Uruguay".^[48] Brazil won 2–0, with Romário scoring both goals, and qualified for the World Cup. Parreira commented afterwards: "God sent Romário to the Maracanã".^[48]

At the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, Romário partnered Bebeto in attack to lead his country to a record fourth World Cup title.^[11] Romário scored five goals in the tournament: one in each of the three first round matches, against Russia, Cameroon, and a trademark toe-poke finish against Sweden.^[49]^[50] He scored one against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals; and the game-winning header against Sweden in the semifinals.^[50]

"They are both skillful players, outstanding players. They are matadors, killers inside the penalty area."

—Brazil coach at USA '94 Carlos Alberto Parreira on Romário and Bebeto.^[11]

Romário also assisted Bebeto in the only goal of the match against the United States in San Francisco for the round of 16 elimination match. Although he did not get on the scoresheet in the final in Los Angeles against Italy, a game played in searing heat which ended as a goalless draw, he converted Brazil's second penalty in the shoot-out, which ended in a 3–2 win for Brazil.^[11] Romário won the World Cup Golden Ball as the most valuable player of the tournament, and was named in the World Cup All-Star Team.^[11]

Described by Jere Longman of The New York Times as "short on humility, long on talent", Romário demanded a window seat on the team plane and refused to sit next to Bebeto.^[51] He did however join Bebeto in one of the most iconic images of the tournament. After Bebeto scored against the Netherlands in Dallas, his goal celebration generated headlines around the world when he began rocking an imaginary baby – his wife had given birth to their third child just days before – with Romário (and Mazinho) then joining Bebeto in the rocking motion.^[52]

The Ro-Ro attack

[edit]

In the subsequent years, Romário formed, along with fellow Brazilian forward Ronaldo, a feared attacking combo, which was colloquially referred to as the Ro-Ro duo. The first title which the strikers won while playing together in the front line, was the 1997 Copa América in Bolivia where they scored a total of eight goals. Later on in December 1997 they each scored a hat-trick in a 6–0 win against Australia in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup final.^[53] Romário finished the tournament as the top-goalscorer with seven goals while Ronaldo added four. In 1997 alone, the duo scored an impressive total of 34 international goals with 19 coming from Romário. The Ro-Ro attack was expected to headline the upcoming World Cup in France.

1998 and 2002 World Cup absence

[edit]

Romário *(left)* in training with Brazil

Romário was left out of the 1998 World Cup squad. Medical exams had revealed that he had a muscular injury, and he received intensive treatment leading up to the tournament, but he did not recover completely and was dismissed the day of the deadline for the World Cup squad submissions.^[54] Just after the decision was announced, Romário held a press conference where he broke down in tears while saying that "this is very sad for me, a big disappointment. This is a very difficult moment in my life".^[55] Brazil lost the World Cup final against hosts France.^[56]^[57]

Prior to the 2002 World Cup, Romário, aged 36, was in considerably good form while playing for Vasco da Gama, but once again he was left out of the national squad by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari due to indiscipline. The final incident happened when he pulled out of the Brazil squad for the 2001 Copa América in Colombia. He told Scolari that he was having an eye operation, but played friendlies for club side Vasco da Gama in Mexico and went on holiday instead.^[58] Romário gave a televised news conference in which he made his case and apologised, bursting into tears three times, though he said he could not remember doing or saying anything against the manager and the players.^[59] The BBC's South American football correspondent, Tim Vickery, called Romário's news conference "bizarre" and reported that there were "increasingly credible rumours" that "senior players asked Scolari not to recall the veteran striker".^[59] Scolari was unmoved and did not pick him, saying before his squad announcement that Romário's exclusion was "technical and tactical". After the announcement, he said that it was as a result of Romário's withdrawing from the Copa América: "People forget the details, but I do not. I almost got fired from the national team after [the Copa América]." (Brazil had been beaten in the quarter-finals by Honduras.)^[58] Without Romário, Brazil went on to win the World Cup for the fifth time.^[60]^[61]

Last game for Brazil

[edit]

On 27 April 2005, Romário played his last game with the Brazil national team in a friendly and celebratory match in São Paulo.^[62] He wore the captain's armband and scored the second goal in Brazil's 3–0 win against Guatemala.^[62] Following the end of his playing career with Brazil, Romário successfully campaigned for Brazil to be awarded host status for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.^[63]

Footvolley and beach soccer

[edit]

Since the 1990s Romário has been a footvolley enthusiast, playing with friends in various tournaments. In 2006, he won the VIP Footvolley.net Open in Miami Beach, USA; and was runner-up in the 2011 Footvolley World Championship in Rio de Janeiro. He also plays Beach soccer and represented Brazil at the 2005 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.^[64]

Style of play and recognition

[edit]

"We're talking of one of the great centre-forwards. He's a master of the reduced space of the penalty area. A square metre for him is like an acre. Why? Low centre of gravity, powerful thighs so he can explode, wonderful finishing ability. Both because he's very proficient technically, but also because he's so cold in front of goal."

— Tim Vickery, BBC football correspondent.^[8]

Romário is regarded as one of the greatest and most prolific strikers of all time.^[8]^[65]^[66]^[51]^[67] His coach at Barcelona, Johan Cruyff, defined him as a "genius of the goal area", as well as the greatest player he ever coached.^[14]^[68] His Brazilian compatriot Ronaldo, who played with him in his early career, reflected, "Romário was the most decisive player who I played with, he was a great goal scorer, finisher, skillful, opportunist. I think I learnt all of that from him".^[69] Italian playmaker Roberto Baggio said "Romário is one of the greatest players of all time. He is a master of art in the penalty area,"^[70] a view echoed by Paolo Maldini with, "Romário was incredible in the penalty area."^[71] Diego Maradona on who was the best player he ever saw play, "It is between Romário and Van Basten".^[72] Romário wore the number 11 shirt for most of his club and international career, which inspired Neymar's number at Santos (he also went on to wear number 11 for Barcelona).^[73]

Along with two other FIFA World Player of the Year recipients, Brazilian compatriot Ronaldo and Liberian star George Weah, Romário was seen as a new breed of striker in the 1990s who would also operate outside the penalty area before running with the ball towards goal, with former France striker Thierry Henry stating; "Ronaldo, together with Romário and George Weah, reinvented the centre-forward position. They were the first to drop from the penalty box to pick up the ball in midfield, switch to the flanks, attract and disorientate the central defenders with their runs, their accelerations, their dribbling."^[74] Nicknamed Baixinho (Portuguese for "The Little One," or "Shorty") Romário was an extremely agile player, who possessed excellent balance on the ball, and significant strength in spite of his small stature, which made him particularly effective in tight spaces in the penalty area, and allowed him to retain possession of the ball when put under pressure by larger players; his low centre of gravity and quick bursts of acceleration enabled him to outrun opponents over short distances and beat defenders with sudden turns or changes of pace, while his technique and finishing ability saw him score a wide variety of numerous goals, including goals from powerful and accurate first-time strikes – notably through his trademark toe-pokes with little back-lift – or even from chipped shots.^[7]^[75] His ball control and dribbling skills saw him use elaborate feints, such as: dragging the ball around a defender without it leaving his foot, and the flip flap.^[76]^[77]^[78]

While he could operate outside the penalty area in making runs from deep, Romário built a reputation as an extremely opportunistic "goal-poacher" inside the penalty area.^[79]^[80]^[81] He was known for his intelligence, offensive movement, and positional sense, as well as his ability to find space in the area and lose his markers by making late runs.^[76] In addition to his goalscoring, he was also known for his speed, as well as his creativity and vision, which gave him the ability to link-up with and provide assists for teammates.^[65]^[67]^[81]^[82] This enabled him to form many notable attacking partnerships with other prolific, technically gifted forwards, such as Stoichkov (at Barcelona), Edmundo (at Vasco da Gama), Euller (Vasco da Gama) and Bebeto and Ronaldo (with Brazil).^[83]^[84]^[85] In spite of his talent, however, Romário was also criticised for being too outspoken, and for his poor work rate throughout his career, in particular for his vocal dislike of training.^[8]^[67]^[79] Regarding his work-rate and lifestyle off the pitch, Rodrigo Orihuela of The Guardian stated in 2007: "Romário has never been much of a committed athlete and has always had a rather laissez-faire approach to training. 'The night was always my friend. When I go out, I am happy and when I am happy I score goals', he once summarised."^[18]

Media and sponsorship

[edit]

Romário has appeared in commercials for the sportswear company Nike.^[86] In 1998, he starred in a Nike commercial set in an airport with a number of stars from the Brazil national team, including Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos.^[86] Romário features in EA Sports' FIFA video game series; he was included in the FIFA 14 Ultimate Team Legends.^[87]

Political career

[edit]

Romário in the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil on 6 May 2010

In the 2010 general election, Romário was elected to the Chamber of Deputies on the Brazilian Socialist Party ticket. He was the sixth most voted candidate for deputy in Rio de Janeiro.^[88]^[89]

He pushed his political agenda against the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, denouncing the event as immersed in corruption and money laundering.^[90]^[91] He also expressed disagreement with Ricardo Teixeira, Jérôme Valcke, and Sepp Blatter.^[92] He is one of various figures claiming that the holding of the 2018 FIFA World Cup was "stolen" from England and sold to Russia as part of the 2011 scandal involving FIFA.^[93]

On 19 February 2014, Romário announced that he would run for the Brazilian senate in the 2014 general election,^[94] and the decision was officially confirmed in June.^[95] On 5 October, Romario was elected to the Senate with the most votes received ever by a candidate representing the state of Rio de Janeiro.

In June 2017, Romário left the PSB and joined Podemos, becoming president of the party in the State of Rio de Janeiro.^[96] In March 2018, Romário announced his run for governor of Rio de Janeiro in the Brazilian general election as a candidate for the centrist Podemos party.^[97] Romário finished in fourth place, with 8.6% of valid votes.^[98]

In April 2021, Romário switched parties again, to the Liberal Party.^[99] In October, he publicly endorsed the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, and criticised the previous administration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.^[100]

Personal life

[edit]

Romario has been married and divorced three times and has seven children, including Romarinho who is a footballer. Romarinho, also played for Vasco da Gama in Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.^[101]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^{[citation needed]}
Season	Club	League			Regional league		Cup		Continental		Other^[b]		Total
Season	Club	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Vasco da Gama	1985	Série A	7	0	21	11	—		0	0	—		28	11
	1986	Série A	23	9	25	20	—		—		—		48	29
	1987	Série A	17	8	24	16	—		—		—		41	24
	1988	Série A	0	0	24	16	—		—		—		24	16
	Total		47	17	94	63	—		—		—		141	80
PSV	1988–89	Eredivisie	24	19	—		5	4	2	2	3	1	34	26
	1989–90	Eredivisie	20	23	—		3	2	4	6	—		27	31
	1990–91	Eredivisie	25	25	—		3	5	2	0	—		30	30
	1991–92	Eredivisie	15	9	—		1	0	2	0	1	0	19	9
	1992–93	Eredivisie	26	22	—		3	3	9	7	1	0	39	32
	Total		110	98	—		15	14	19	15	5	1	149	128
Barcelona	1993–94	La Liga	33	30	—		2	0	10	2	2	0	47	32
	1994–95	La Liga	13	4	—		0	0	5	3	—		18	7
	Total		46	34	—		2	0	15	5	2	0	65	39
Flamengo	1995	Série A	16	8	21	26	5	1	4	2	—		46	37
	1996	Série A	3	0	19	26	5	1	0	0	6	4	33	31
	Total		19	8	40	52	10	2	4	2	6	4	79	68
Valencia	1996–97	La Liga	5	4	—		0	0	0	0	—		5	4
	1997–98	La Liga	6	1	—		1	1	—		—		7	2
	Total		11	5	—		1	1	0	0	—		12	6
Flamengo	1997	Série A	4	3	18	18	8	7	0	0	6	7	36	35
	1998	Série A	20	14	11	10	4	6	3	4	2	1	40	35
	1999	Série A	19	12	15	16	7	7	7	8	6	3	54	46
	Total		43	29	44	44	19	20	10	12	14	11	130	116
Vasco da Gama	2000	Série A	28	20	17	19	2	1	14	14	10	12	71	66
	2001	Série A	18	21	6	11	0	0	9	5	6	3	39	40
	2002	Série A	0	0	4	8	7	5	—		14	13	25	26
	Total		46	41	27	38	9	6	18	16	35	31	135	132
Fluminense	2002	Série A	26	16	0	0	0	0	—		—		26	16
	2003	Série A	21	13	4	5	0	0	0	0	—		25	18
	2004	Série A	13	5	9	6	2	2	—		—		24	13
	Total		60	34	13	11	2	2	—		—		75	47
Al-Sadd (loan)	2002–03	Qatar Stars League	3	0	—		0	0	—		—		3	0
Vasco da Gama	2005	Série A	30	22	10	7	3	1	—		—		43	30
	2006	Série A	0	0	10	6	1	3	0	0	—		11	9
	Total		30	22	20	13	4	4	—		—		54	39
Miami FC	2006	USL 1st	25	19	—		1	0	—		—		26	19
Adelaide United	2006–07	A-League	4	1	—		—		0	0	—		4	1
Vasco da Gama	2007	Série A	6	3	9	10	3	2	1	0	—		19	15
América-RJ	2009	Campeonato Carioca Série B1	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
Career total			450	311	248	231	66	51	67	50	62	47	893	690

International

[edit]

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[102]
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	1987	6	4
	1988	7	2
	1989	11	4
	1990	1	0
	1991	0	0
	1992	2	0
	1993	1	2
	1994	10	10
	1995	0	0
	1996	0	0
	1997	17	19
	1998	7	3
	1999	0	0
	2000	2	7
	2001	5	3
	2002	0	0
	2003	0	0
	2004	0	0
	2005	1	1
Total		70	55^[a]

^ ^a ^b ^c Some sources, including FIFA, credit Romário with an extra goal in a 3-2 win against Mexico in the 1997 Copa América while other sources give it as an own goal to Camilo Romero.^[9] It is not counted here.
^ Includes UEFA Super Cup (1988), Intercontinental Cup (1988), Dutch Super Cup (1991, 1992), Supercopa de España (1993), FIFA Club World Cup (2000).

List of international goals scored by Romário

[edit]

Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Romário goal.


No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	28 May 1987	Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	1–1	3–2	Friendly	^[103]
2	1 June 1987	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Israel	1–0	4–0	Friendly	^[104]
3	1 June 1987	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Israel	3–0	4–0	Friendly	^[104]
4	28 June 1987	Estadio Olímpico Chateau Carreras, Córdoba, Argentina	Venezuela	5–0	5–0	1987 Copa América
5	7 July 1988	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia	Australia	1–0	1–0	Australia Bicentenary Gold Cup	^[105]
6	17 July 1988	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia	Australia	1–0	2–0	Australia Bicentenary Gold Cup	^[106]
7	12 July 1989	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Argentina	2–0	2–0	1989 Copa América
8	14 July 1989	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Paraguay	3–0	3–0	1989 Copa América	^[107]
9	16 July 1989	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Uruguay	1–0	1–0	1989 Copa América	^[108]
10	30 July 1989	Estadio Brígido Iriarte, Caracas, Venezuela	Venezuela	2–0	4–0	1990 World Cup qualifier	^[109]
11	19 September 1993	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Uruguay	1–0	2–0	1994 World Cup qualifier	^[110]
12	19 September 1993	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Uruguay	2–0	2–0	1994 World Cup qualifier	^[110]
13	5 June 1994	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada	Canada	1–0	1–1	Friendly	^[111]
14	8 June 1994	Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, United States	Honduras	1–0	8–2	Friendly	^[112]
15				2–0
16				5–1
17	12 June 1994	Bulldog Stadium, Fresno, United States	El Salvador	1–0	4–0	Friendly	^[113]
18	20 June 1994	Stanford Stadium, Stanford, United States	Russia	1–0	2–0	1994 FIFA World Cup	^[114]
19	24 June 1994	Stanford Stadium, Stanford, United States	Cameroon	1–0	3–0	1994 FIFA World Cup	^[115]
20	28 June 1994	Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, United States	Sweden	1–1	1–1	1994 FIFA World Cup	^[116]
21	9 July 1994	Cotton Bowl, Dallas, United States	Netherlands	1–0	3–2	1994 FIFA World Cup	^[117]
22	13 July 1994	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States	Sweden	1–0	1–0	1994 FIFA World Cup	^[118]
23	2 April 1997	Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília, Brazil	Chile	1–0	4–0	Friendly	^[119]
24	2 April 1997	Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília, Brazil	Chile	3–0	4–0	Friendly	^[119]
25	30 April 1997	Orange Bowl, Miami, United States	Mexico	2–0	4–0	Friendly	^[120]
26				3–0
27				4–0
28	31 May 1997	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Norway	1–1	2–4	Friendly	^{[citation needed]}
29	8 June 1997	Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France	Italy	3–3	3–3	Tournoi de France	^[121]
30	10 June 1997	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	England	1–0	1–0	Tournoi de France	^[122]
31	13 June 1997	Estadio Ramón Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Costa Rica	5–0	5–0	1997 Copa América	^[123]
32	26 June 1997	Estadio Ramón Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Peru	3–0	7–0	1997 Copa América	^[124]
33	26 June 1997	Estadio Ramón Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Peru	5–0	7–0	1997 Copa América	^[124]
34	7 December 1997	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	South Africa	1–0	2–1	Friendly	^[125]
35	12 December 1997	King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	2–0	3–0	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup	^[126]
36	12 December 1997	King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	3–0	3–0	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup	^[126]
37	16 December 1997	King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Mexico	1–0	3–2	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup	^[127]
38	19 December 1997	King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Czech Republic	1–0	2–0	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup	^[128]
39	21 December 1997	King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Australia	3–0	6–0	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup	^[129]
40				4–0
41				6–0
42	5 February 1998	Orange Bowl, Miami, United States	Guatemala	1–1	1–1	1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup	^[130]
43	8 February 1998	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	El Salvador	2–0	4–0	1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup	^[131]
44	15 February 1998	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	Jamaica	1–0	1–0	1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup	^[132]
45	3 September 2000	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Bolivia	1–0	5–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	^[133]
46				3–0
47				4–0
48	8 October 2000	Estadio Jose Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela	Venezuela	3–0	6–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	^[134]
49				4–0
50				5–0
51				6–0
52	7 March 2001	Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico	Mexico	2–2	3–3	Friendly	^[135]
53	7 March 2001	Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico	Mexico	3–3	3–3	Friendly	^[135]
54	25 April 2001	Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil	Peru	1–1	1–1	2002 World Cup qualifier	^[136]
55	27 April 2005	Estádio do Pacaembu, São Paulo, Brazil	Guatemala	2–0	3–0	Friendly	^[137]

Honours

[edit]

Vasco da Gama

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2000^[12]
Campeonato Carioca: 1987, 1988^[12]
Copa Mercosur: 2000^[12]
FIFA Club World Cup runner-up: 2000

PSV Eindhoven

Eredivisie: 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92^[12]
KNVB Cup: 1988–89, 1989–90^[12]
Dutch Super Cup: 1992

Barcelona^[12]

La Liga: 1993–94^[12]
Supercopa de España: 1994
UEFA Champions League runner-up: 1993–94

Flamengo

Campeonato Carioca: 1996, 1999^[12]
Copa Mercosur: 1999

Al-Sadd

Qatar Crown Prince Cup: 2003^[12]

América-RJ

Campeonato Carioca Second Division: 2009

Brazil Youth

Brazil

Individual

U-20 South American Championship's top scorer: 1985
Campeonato Carioca's top scorer: 1986, 1987, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
Vasco da Gama Player of the Year: 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001
1988 Seoul Summer Olympics top scorer
Dutch League's top scorer: 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91^[12]
Dutch Cup's top scorer: 1988–89, 1989–90
Dutch Footballer of the Year: 1989
UEFA Champions League top scorer: 1989–90, 1992–93^[12]
Onze de Bronze: 1993
FIFA World Player of the Year Silver Award: 1993
Pichichi Trophy: 1993–94^[12]
Trofeo EFE Best Ibero-American Soccer Player of the Spanish League: 1993–94
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1994^[12]
FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot: 1994
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1994
Onze d'Or: 1994
FIFA World Player of the Year: 1994^[12]
L'Équipe Champion of Champions Sportsman of the year : 1994
South American Team of the Year: 1995, 2000, 2001^[138]
FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Shoe: 1997^[12]
FIFA Confederations Cup Silver Ball: 1997
Rio-São Paulo Tournament's top scorer: 1997, 2000
CONCACAF Gold Cup All Star Team: 1998
Brazilian Cup's top scorer: 1998, 1999
Copa Mercosur's top scorer: 1999, 2000
Placar Golden Boot: 1999, 2000, 2002
Brazilian league's top scorer: 2000, 2001, 2005^[12]
FIFA Club World Cup Bronze Ball: 2000
Bola de Ouro: 2000
Bola de Prata: 2000, 2001, 2005
South American Footballer of the Year: 2000
CBF Golden Boot: 2001, 2005
FIFA World Cup Dream Team: 2002^[139]
FIFA 100: 2004
Rei do Gol Trophy: 2005
USL 1st's MVP: 2006
USL 1st's top scorer: 2006
Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão – Special Honor: 2007
Golden Foot Legends Award: 2007^[140]
Marca World Cups All-Time Team: 2014^[141]
International Football Hall of Fame – Pachuca, México^[142]
Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame
Ballon d'Or: 1994 – Le nouveau palmarès (the new winners)^[143]
Globe Soccer Awards Player Career Award: 2022^[144]

See also

[edit]

List of men's footballers with 500 or more goals

References

[edit]

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^ "FIFA Confederations Cup 1997 - Matches - Saudi Arabia-Brazil". FIFA.com. 12 December 1997. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016.
^ "FIFA Confederations Cup 1997 - Matches - Brazil-Mexico". FIFA.com. 16 December 1997. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016.
^ "FIFA Confederations Cup 1997 - Matches - Brazil-Czech Republic". FIFA.com. 19 December 1997. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016.
^ "FIFA Confederations Cup 1997 - Matches - Brazil-Australia". FIFA.com. 21 December 1997. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
^ "Gold Cup 1998 - Matches - Brazil-Guatemala". CONCACAF. 5 February 1998. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012.
^ "Gold Cup 1998 - Matches - El Salvador-Brazil". CONCACAF. 8 February 1998. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012.
^ "Gold Cup 1998 - Matches - Brazil-Jamaica". CONCACAF. 15 February 1998. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012.
^ "Brazil v Bolivia, FIFA WC 2002 Prel. Comp. CONMEBOL". FIFA.com. 3 September 2000. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008.
^ "Venezuela vs. Brazil, 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan ™ Preliminaries". FIFA.com. 8 October 2000. Archived from the original on 2 October 2008.
^ "Mexico vs. Brazil". 11v11. 7 March 2001.
^ "Brazil vs. Peru, 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan ™ Preliminaries". FIFA.com. 25 April 2001. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009.
^ Azzoni, Tales (28 April 2005). "Brazil beats Guatemala in star's finale". USA Today.
^ "South American Team of the Year". 16 January 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
^ Marcelo Leme de Arruda (24 July 2014). "World All-Time Teams". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
^ "Legends". Golden Foot. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
^ "The greatest team of all-time Marca". Sport.net. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
^ "Salón de la Fama del Fútbol, Pachuca – Generación 2014". Salón de la Fama del Futbol A.C. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
^ “Pelé devait être le recordman”. France Football. Retrieved 4 July 2018
^ Bettoni, Lorenzo (17 November 2022). "Globe Soccer Awards: all the winners – Maldini, Osimhen, Ibra, Ancelotti, Salah and more". Football Italia. Retrieved 18 November 2022.

External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Romario.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Romário.

Romário at WorldFootball.net
Romário – FIFA competition record (archived)

Federal Senate
Preceded by Izalci Lucas	Second Vice President of the Federal Senate 2021–present	Incumbent

Members of the Federal Senate of Brazil

President: Davi Alcolumbre

Acre

Alan Rick (UNIÃO)
Márcio Bittar (UNIÃO)
Sérgio Petecão (PSD)

Alagoas

Eudócia Caldas (PL)^[b]
Fernando Farias (MDB)^[b]
Renan Calheiros (MDB)

Amapá

Davi Alcolumbre (UNIÃO)
Lucas Barreto (PSD)
Randolfe Rodrigues (PT)

Amazonas

Eduardo Braga (MDB)
Omar Aziz (PSD)
Plínio Valério (PSDB)

Bahia

Angelo Coronel (PSD)
Jaques Wagner (PT)
Otto Alencar (PSD)

Ceará

Augusta Brito (PT)^[B]
Cid Gomes (PSB)
Eduardo Girão (NOVO)

Espírito Santo

Federal District

Damares Alves (Republicanos)
Izalci Lucas (PL)
Leila Barros (PDT)

Goiás

Maranhão

Mato Grosso

Mato Grosso do Sul

Minas Gerais

Carlos Viana (PODE)
Cleitinho Azevedo (Republicanos)
Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD)

Pará

Paraíba

Daniella Ribeiro (PSD)
Efraim Filho (UNIÃO)
Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB)

Paraná

Pernambuco

Piauí

Rio de Janeiro

Rio Grande do Norte

Rio Grande do Sul

Rondônia

Roraima

Santa Catarina

Esperidião Amin (PP)
Ivete da Silveira (MDB)^[a]
Jorge Seif (PL)

São Paulo

Sergipe

Tocantins

Dorinha Rezende (UNIÃO)
Eduardo Gomes (PL)
Irajá Abreu (PSD)

Notes:

a. ^{^} Permanent substitute
b. ^{^} Temporary substitute

PSD (15)
PL (14)
MDB (11)
PT (9)
UNIÃO (7)
PODE (6)
PP (6)
PSB (4)
Republicanos (4)
PDT (3)
PSDB (1)
NOVO (1)

Brazil squads

v t e Brazil squad – 1987 Copa América
1 Carlos 2 Josimar 3 Geraldão 4 Ricardo Rocha 5 Douglas 6 Nelsinho 7 Müller 8 Raí 9 Careca 10 Edu Marangon 11 Valdo 12 Zé Carlos 13 Jorginho 14 Ricardo Gomes 15 Júlio César 16 Dunga 17 Edu Manga 18 Silas 19 Romário 20 Mirandinha 21 João Paulo 22 Regis Coach: Carlos Alberto Silva

v t e Brazil football squad – 1988 Summer Olympics – Silver medalists
1 Taffarel 2 Jorginho 3 Batista 4 Ricardo Gomes 5 Ademir 6 Mazinho 7 Valdo 8 Geovani (c) 9 Edmar 10 Careca 11 Romário 12 Zé Carlos 13 André Cruz 14 Winck 15 Aloísio 16 Milton 17 Neto 18 João Paulo 19 Andrade 20 Bebeto Coach: Carlos Alberto Silva

v t e Brazil squad – 1989 Copa América winners (4th title)
1 Taffarel 2 Mazinho 3 Mauro Galvão 4 André Cruz 5 Branco 6 Ricardo Gomes 7 Bebeto 8 Geovani 9 Valdo 10 Tita 11 Romário 12 Acácio 13 Josimar 14 Aldair 15 Alemão 16 Cristóvão 17 Dunga 18 Renato Gaúcho 19 Baltazar 20 Silas 21 Charles 22 Zé Carlos Coach: Lazaroni

v t e Brazil squad – 1990 FIFA World Cup
1 Taffarel 2 Jorginho 3 Ricardo Gomes (c) 4 Dunga 5 Alemão 6 Branco 7 Bismarck 8 Valdo 9 Careca 10 Silas 11 Romário 12 Acácio 13 Mozer 14 Aldair 15 Müller 16 Bebeto 17 Renato Gaúcho 18 Mazinho 19 Ricardo Rocha 20 Tita 21 Mauro Galvão 22 Zé Carlos Coach: Lazaroni

v t e Brazil squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup winners (4th title)
1 Taffarel 2 Jorginho 3 Ricardo Rocha 4 Ronaldão 5 Mauro Silva 6 Branco 7 Bebeto 8 Dunga (c) 9 Zinho 10 Raí ~~(c)~~ 11 Romário 12 Zetti 13 Aldair 14 Cafu 15 Márcio Santos 16 Leonardo 17 Mazinho 18 Paulo Sérgio 19 Müller 20 Ronaldo 21 Viola 22 Gilmar Coach: Parreira

v t e Brazil squad – 1997 Copa América winners (5th title)
1 Taffarel 2 Cafu 3 Aldair 4 Márcio Santos 5 Mauro Silva 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Giovanni 8 Dunga 9 Ronaldo 10 Leonardo 11 Romário 12 Carlos Germano 13 Djalminha 14 Zé Maria 15 Célio Silva 16 Gonçalves 17 Zé Roberto 18 César Sampaio 19 Flávio Conceição 20 Denílson 21 Edmundo 22 Paulo Nunes Coach: Zagallo

v t e Brazil squad – 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup winners (1st title)
1 Dida 2 Cafu 3 Aldair 4 Júnior Baiano 5 Dunga (c) 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Bebeto 8 Flávio Conceição 9 Ronaldo 10 Leonardo 11 Romário 12 Rogério Ceni 13 Zé Maria 14 Gonçalves 15 Zé Roberto 16 César Sampaio 17 Doriva 18 Denílson 19 Juninho Paulista 20 Rivaldo 21 Rodrigo Fabri 22 Russo Coach: Zagallo

v t e Brazil squad – 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup third place
1 Taffarel 2 Zé Maria 3 Júnior Baiano 4 Gonçalves 5 Mauro Silva 6 Júnior 7 Edmundo 8 Flávio Conceição 9 Zinho 10 Denílson 11 Romário 12 Carlos Germano 13 Russo 14 César 15 Sylvinho 16 Doriva 17 Marcos Assunção 18 Sérgio Manoel 19 Donizete 20 Élber Coach: Zagallo

Awards

v t e 1994 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper	Michel Preud'homme
Defenders	Jorginho Márcio Santos Paolo Maldini
Midfielders	Dunga Krasimir Balakov Gheorghe Hagi Tomas Brolin
Forwards	Romário Hristo Stoichkov Roberto Baggio

v t e 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper	Mohamed Al-Deayea Mark Bosnich
Defenders	Michal Horňák Mark Fish Júnior Baiano David Nyathi Paolo Montero
Midfielders	Dunga Roberto Carlos Ned Zelic Nicolás Olivera
Forwards	Vladimír Šmicer Romário Denílson

v t e 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper	Kasey Keller
Defenders	Eddie Pope Claudio Suárez Zé Maria
Midfielders	Ramón Ramírez Preki Paul Hall Cuauhtémoc Blanco
Forwards	Edmundo Romário Paulo Wanchope

FIFA Club World Cup / FIFA Intercontinental Cup top scorers

2000: Anelka & Romário
2005: Amoroso, Crouch, Noor & Saborío
2006: Aboutrika
2007: Washington
2008: Rooney
2009: Denílson
2010: Molina
2011: Messi & Adriano
2012: Delgado & Satō
2013: Ronaldinho, Conca, Delgado & Iajour
2014: Bale, Ramos & Torrado
2015: Suárez
2016: Ronaldo
2017: Ronaldo, Romarinho & Antônio
2018: Bale & Borré
2019: Bounedjah & Elhouni
2020: Gignac
2021: Lukaku, Veiga, Ibrahim & Diaby
2022: Pedro
2023: Alvarez, Maâloul & Benzema
2024: Rahimi

v t e King Fahd Cup and FIFA Confederations Cup awards
Golden Ball	1992: Redondo 1995: Laudrup 1997: Denílson 1999: Ronaldinho 2001: Pires 2003: Henry 2005: Adriano 2009: Kaká 2013: Neymar 2017: Draxler
Golden Glove	2005: Sánchez 2009: Howard 2013: Júlio César 2017: Bravo
Top goalscorer	1992: Batistuta^† & Murray 1995: García 1997: Romário 1999: Al-Otaibi, Blanco & Ronaldinho^† 2001: Carrière, Hwang, Murphy, Pires^†, Suzuki, Vieira & Wiltord 2003: Henry 2005: Adriano 2009: Luís Fabiano 2013: Fred & Torres^† 2017: Goretzka, Stindl & Werner^†
†: Golden Boot award winner (when goals scored are tied)

Men's Summer Olympics football tournament top scorers

South American Youth Football Championship awards

Top goalscorer

1954: Agüero
1958: Raffo
1964: J. López
1967: García Cambón
1971: Islas & Maldonado
1974: Revetria
1975: Cerezo & Revetria
1977: Guina & Nadal
1979: Luzardo
1981: Francescoli & Lela
1983: Aguilera
1985: Romário
1987: Russo
1988: Assis & Ferreira
1991: Esnáider
1992: Correa
1995: Biagini
1997: Adaílton
1999: Galletti
2001: Adriano & Ewerthon
2003: Cavenaghi
2005: Rodallega
2007: Cavani
2009: A. Hernández, H. Pérez, R. Ramírez & Walter
2011: Neymar
2013: N. López
2015: Simeone
2017: Amaral, Cabezas, Martínez & Torres
2019: Campana
2023: Roque & Andrey

European Cup and UEFA Champions League top scorers

European Cup era

1956: Milutinović
1957: Viollet
1958: Di Stéfano
1959: Fontaine
1960: Puskás
1961: J. Águas
1962: Di Stéfano, Løfqvist, Puskás, Strehl & Tejada
1963: Altafini
1964: Kovačević, Mazzola & Puskás
1965: Eusébio & Torres
1966: Albert & Eusébio
1967: Piepenburg & Van Himst
1968: Eusébio
1969: Law
1970: Jones
1971: Antoniadis
1972: Dunai, Macari & Takač
1973: Müller
1974: Müller
1975: Markarov & Müller
1976: Heynckes
1977: Cucinotta & Müller
1978: Simonsen
1979: Sulser
1980: Lerby
1981: McDermott, Rummenigge & Souness
1982: Hoeneß
1983: Rossi
1984: Sokol
1985: Nilsson & Platini
1986: Nilsson
1987: Cvetković
1988: R. Águas, Ferreri, Hagi, Madjer, McCoist, Míchel & Novák
1989: Van Basten
1990: Papin & Romário
1991: Pacult & Papin
1992: Papin & Yuran

UEFA Champions League era

Eredivisie top scorers

La Liga top scorers

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A top scorers

Copa do Brasil top scorers

1989: Gérson
1990: Bizu
1991: Gérson
1992: Gérson
1993: Gilson
1994: Paulinho McLaren
1995: Sávio
1996: Luizão
1997: Paulo Nunes
1998: Romário
1999: Romário & Petković
2000: Oséas
2001: Washington
2002: Deivid
2003: Nonato
2004: Dauri
2005: Fred
2006: Valdiram
2007: André Lima, Dênis Marques, Dimba & Victor Simões
2008: Edmundo, Romerito & Wellington Paulista
2009: Taison
2010: Neymar
2011: Alecsandro, Adriano, Rafael Coelho, Kléber & William
2012: Luís Fabiano
2013: Hernane
2014: Bill, Gabriel Barbosa & Léo Gamalho
2015: Gabriel Barbosa
2016: Marinho
2017: Barrios, Léo Gamalho & Rafael Sóbis
2018: Gabriel Barbosa, Neilton & Rômulo
2019: Guerrero, Luciano & Pipico
2020: Brenner, Léo Gamalho, Nenê & Rodolfo
2021: Hulk
2022: Cano & Giuliano
2023: Lorran, Manga, Pedro & Tiquinho
2024: Vegetti

Torneio Rio–São Paulo top scorers

Campeonato Carioca top scorers

v t e The Best FIFA Men's Player
FIFA World Player of the Year	1991: Matthäus 1992: Van Basten 1993: Baggio 1994: Romário 1995: Weah 1996: Ronaldo 1997: Ronaldo 1998: Zidane 1999: Rivaldo 2000: Zidane 2001: Figo 2002: Ronaldo 2003: Zidane 2004: Ronaldinho 2005: Ronaldinho 2006: Cannavaro 2007: Kaká 2008: C. Ronaldo 2009: Messi
FIFA Ballon d'Or	2010: Messi 2011: Messi 2012: Messi 2013: C. Ronaldo 2014: C. Ronaldo 2015: Messi
The Best FIFA Men's Player	2016: C. Ronaldo 2017: C. Ronaldo 2018: Modrić 2019: Messi 2020: Lewandowski 2021: Lewandowski 2022: Messi 2023: Messi 2024: Vinícius
See also: Ballon d'Or

Onze d'Or

1976: Rensenbrink
1977: Keegan
1978: Kempes
1979: Keegan
1980: Rummenigge
1981: Rummenigge
1982: Rossi
1983: Platini
1984: Platini
1985: Platini
1986: Maradona
1987: Maradona
1988: Van Basten
1989: Van Basten
1990: Matthäus
1991: Papin
1992: Stoichkov
1993: Baggio
1994: Romário
1995: Weah
1996: Cantona
1997: Ronaldo
1998: Zidane
1999: Rivaldo
2000: Zidane
2001: Zidane
2002: Ronaldo
2003: Henry
2004: Drogba
2005: Ronaldinho
2006: Henry
2007: Kaká
2008: C. Ronaldo
2009: Messi
2010–11: Messi
2011–12: Messi
2012–14: not awarded
2014–15: Griezmann
2015–16: not awarded
2016–17: C. Ronaldo
2017–18: Messi
2018–19: Mané
2019–20: not awarded
2020–21: Benzema
2021–22: Benzema
2022–23: Haaland

v t e South American Footballer of the Year
Men's winners (Rey de América)
El Mundo award	1971: Tostão 1972: Cubillas 1973: Pelé 1974: Figueroa 1975: Figueroa 1976: Figueroa 1977: Zico 1978: Kempes 1979: Maradona 1980: Maradona 1981: Zico 1982: Zico 1983: Sócrates 1984: Francescoli 1985: Romerito 1986: Maradona 1987: Valderrama 1988: Paz 1989: Maradona 1990: Maradona 1991: Batistuta 1992: Maradona
El Gráfico award	1980: Maradona 1981: Maradona 1982: Zico 1983: Sócrates
El País award	1986: Alzamendi 1987: Valderrama 1988: Paz 1989: Bebeto 1990: Amarilla 1991: Ruggeri 1992: Raí 1993: Valderrama 1994: Cafu 1995: Francescoli 1996: Chilavert 1997: Salas 1998: Palermo 1999: Saviola 2000: Romário 2001: Riquelme 2002: Cardozo 2003: Tevez 2004: Tevez 2005: Tevez 2006: Fernández 2007: Cabañas 2008: Verón 2009: Verón 2010: D'Alessandro 2011: Neymar 2012: Neymar 2013: Ronaldinho 2014: Gutiérrez 2015: Sánchez 2016: Borja 2017: Luan 2018: Martínez 2019: Gabriel 2020: Marinho 2021: Alvarez 2022: Pedro 2023: Cano 2024: Luiz Henrique
Women's winners (Reina de América)
El País award	2021: Tamires 2022: Caicedo 2023: Priscila

EFE Trophy

1990–91: Fernández
1991–92: Zalazar
1992–93: Zamorano
1993–94: Romário
1994–95: Zamorano
1995–96: Simeone
1996–97: Ronaldo
1997–98: Roberto Carlos
1998–99: Rivaldo
1999–2000: Herrera
2000–01: Acuña
2001–02: Saviola
2002–03: Ronaldo
2003–04: Ronaldinho
2004–05: Forlán
2005–06: Aimar
2006–07: Messi
2007–08: Agüero
2008–09: Messi
2009–10: Messi
2010–11: Messi
2011–12: Messi
2012–13: C. Ronaldo
2013–14: Diego Costa
2014–15: Suárez
2015–16: Navas
2016–17: Real Madrid
2017–18: Cavani
2018–19: not awarded
2019–20: Santos & Casemiro
2020–21: Suárez
2021–22: Vinícius Jr.
2022–23: Vinícius Jr.
2023–24: Vinícius Jr.

Dutch Footballer of the Year

1984: Gullit
1985: Van Basten
1986: Gullit
1987: Koeman
1988: Koeman
1989: Romário
1990: Wouters
1991: Bergkamp
1992: Bergkamp
1993: Litmanen
1994: De Boer
1995: Nilis
1996: De Boer
1997: Stam
1999: Van Nistelrooy
2000: Van Nistelrooy
2001: Van Bommel
2002: Van Hooijdonk
2003: Kežman
2004: Maxwell
2005: Van Bommel
2006: Kuyt
2007: Alves
2008: Heitinga
2009: El Hamdaoui
2010: Suárez
2011: Janssen
2012: Vertonghen
2013: Bony
2014: Blind
2015: Wijnaldum
2016: Klaassen
2017: El Ahmadi
2018: Ziyech
2019: De Ligt
2020: not awarded
2021: Tadić
2022: Gakpo
2023: Kökçü
2024: De Jong

v t e Bola de Ouro
Men's
1970: Pelé¹ 1971: Dirceu Lopes² 1973: Ancheta & Cejas 1974: Zico 1975: Waldir Peres 1976: Figueroa 1977: Cerezo 1978: Falcão 1979: Falcão 1980: Cerezo 1981: Paulo Isidoro 1982: Zico 1983: Roberto Costa 1984: Roberto Costa 1985: Marinho 1986: Careca 1987: Renato 1988: Taffarel 1989: Ricardo Rocha 1990: César Sampaio 1991: Mauro Silva 1992: Júnior 1993: César Sampaio 1994: Amoroso 1995: Giovanni 1996: Djalminha 1997: Edmundo 1998: Edílson 1999: Marcelinho Carioca 2000: Romário 2001: Alex Mineiro 2002: Kaká 2003: Alex 2004: Robinho 2005: Tevez 2006: Lucas 2007: Thiago Neves 2008: Rogério Ceni 2009: Adriano 2010: Darío Conca 2011: Neymar 2012: Neymar¹ & Ronaldinho 2013: Éverton Ribeiro 2014: Ricardo Goulart 2015: Renato Augusto 2016: Gabriel Jesus 2017: Jô 2018: Dudu 2019: Gabriel Barbosa 2020: Claudinho 2021: Hulk 2022: Gustavo Scarpa 2023: Suárez 2024: Estêvão
Women's
2021: Bia Zaneratto 2022: Adriana 2023: Aline Gomes 2024: Vic Albuquerque
¹ As Hors concours ² Placar started to give this prize to the best grade holder at Bola de Prata since 1973. In its 2013 ceremonies, a Bola de Ouro was given to Dirceu Lopes, holder of the best 1971 grade. Francisco Reyes and Elías Figueroa, holders of 1970 and 1972 ones respectively, have not been announced as these years' winners yet.

v t e Chuteira de Ouro
1999: Romário 2000: Romário 2001: Kléber 2002: Romário 2003: Luís Fabiano 2004: Washington 2005: Fred 2006: Marinho 2007: Dodô 2008: Keirrison 2009: Diego Tardelli 2010: Neymar 2011: Neymar 2012: Neymar 2013: Hernane 2014: Barcos & Fred 2015: Ricardo Oliveira 2016: Robinho

v t e FIFA World Cup Dream Team
Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Paolo Maldini Franz Beckenbauer Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	Roberto Baggio Zinedine Zidane Michel Platini Diego Maradona
Forwards	Romário Johan Cruyff Pelé

v t e FIFA 100
UEFA	Baggio Ballack Banks Baresi Van Basten Beckenbauer Beckham Bergkamp Bergomi Best Boniek Boniperti Breitner Buffon Butragueño Cantona Ceulemans Charlton Cruyff Dalglish Dasayev Davids Del Piero Desailly Deschamps Emre Eusébio Facchetti Figo Fontaine Gullit Hagi Henry Kahn Keane Keegan R. van de Kerkhof W. van de Kerkhof Klinsmann Kluivert Kopa B. Laudrup M. Laudrup Lineker Luis Enrique Maier Maldini Masopust Matthäus Müller Nedvěd Neeskens Nesta Van Nistelrooy Owen Papin Pfaff Pires Platini Puskás Raúl Rensenbrink Rijkaard Rivera Rossi Rui Costa Rummenigge Rüştü Schmeichel Seedorf Seeler Shearer Shevchenko Stoichkov Šuker Thuram Totti Trésor Trezeguet Van der Elst Vieira Vieri Zidane Zoff
CONMEBOL	Carlos Alberto Batistuta Cafu Crespo Cubillas Di Stéfano Falcão Figueroa Francescoli Júnior Kempes Maradona Passarella Pelé Rivaldo Rivelino Roberto Carlos Romário Romerito Ronaldinho Ronaldo Djalma Santos Nílton Santos Saviola Sívori Sócrates Valderrama Verón Zamorano Zanetti Zico
CAF	Diouf Milla Okocha Abedi Pelé Weah
CONCACAF	Akers Hamm Sánchez
AFC	Hong M.B. Nakata

v t e Golden Foot Legends Award
2003	Eusébio Fontaine Maradona Rivera
2004	Di Stéfano Platini Zoff
2005	Best Gento Riva Rivellino Weah
2006	Facchetti Ghiggia Kopa Puskás Zico
2007	Kempes Müller Romário Rossi Stoichkov
2008	Aldair Belanov Suárez Zidane
2009	Blokhin Boniek Higuita Rummenigge Nílton Santos
2010	Antognoni Beckenbauer Dunga Sánchez Varallo
2011	Figo Gullit Madjer Abedi Pele Zanetti
2012	Baresi Cantona Matthäus Pelé
2013	Ardiles Papin Valderrama
2014	Hamm Milla Nakata Panenka Pfaff Şükür
2015	Dasayev Hagi Passarella Trezeguet
2016	De Boer Deco Puyol Ranieri
2017	Desailly Kahn Li Mancini Owen
2018	Deschamps Leonardo Lippi Pirlo Seedorf
2019	Altafini Falcão Vieira Morace
2021	Alves Maldini Netzer Oriali Smith
2022	Butragueño Terim Verón
2024	Cannavaro Costa Krol Llorente Piqué

v t e Ballon d'Or Special awards
France Football magazine awards
Honorary Ballon d'Or	1989 (Super Ballon d'Or): / Di Stéfano 1995 (Golden Ballon d'Or): Maradona 2013 (FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur): Pelé
Football Player of the Century	1st: Pelé 2nd: Maradona 3rd: Cruyff 4th: / Di Stéfano 5th: Platini
Internationalized reevaluation	1958: Pelé 1959: Pelé 1960: Pelé 1961: Pelé 1962: Garrincha 1963: Pelé 1964: Pelé 1970: Pelé 1978: Kempes 1986: Maradona 1990: Maradona 1994: Romário
Ballon d'Or additional awards (Ballon d'Or Féminin, Kopa Trophy, Yashin Trophy, Gerd Müller Trophy, Ballon d'Or Dream Team) Related awards (French Player of the Year, FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015), FIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009), The Best FIFA Men's Player)

v t e Brazilian Football Museum – Hall of Fame
Ademir Bebeto Carlos Alberto Torres Chico Didi Djalma Santos Falcão Garrincha Gérson Gilmar Jairzinho Julinho Nílton Santos Pelé Rivaldo Rivellino Roberto Carlos Romário Ronaldinho Ronaldo Sócrates Taffarel Tostão Vavá Zagallo Zico Zizinho
Honorable mentions: Domingos da Guia Leônidas

L'Équipe Champion of Champions

Original award

Male and female
awards separated

Male award	2012: Usain Bolt 2013: Rafael Nadal 2014: Renaud Lavillenie 2015: Usain Bolt 2016: Usain Bolt 2017: Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal 2018: Marcel Hirscher 2019: Rafael Nadal 2020: Lewis Hamilton 2021: Novak Djokovic 2022: Lionel Messi 2023: Novak Djokovic 2024: Léon Marchand
Female award	2012: Serena Williams 2013: Serena Williams 2014: Katie Ledecky 2015: Serena Williams 2016: Simone Biles 2017: Katie Ledecky 2018: Simone Biles 2019: Simone Biles 2020: Marte Olsbu Røiseland 2021: Elaine Thompson-Herah 2022: Iga Świątek 2023: Simone Biles 2024: Simone Biles

Vasco da Gama – managers

Platero (1922–27)
Welfare (1927–37)
Peixoto (1937)
Scarone (1937)
Freitas (1938)
Platero (1938)
Cardoso (1938–39)
Welfare (1940)
Lima (1941)
Viera (1942–45)
E. Santos (1946)
Costa (1947–50)
Glória (1951)
Cardoso (1952)
Costa (1953–56)
Francisco (1956–57)
Gradim (1957–59)
Yustrich (1959–60)
Nunes (1960)
Picabea (1960)
Francisco (1960–61)
Ely (1961)
Amaral (1961–62)
Vieira (1962–63)
Glória (1963)
Pelegrini (1963)
Ferreira (1964)
Ely (1964)
Moreira (1965–66)
Zizinho (1967)
Cardoso (1967)
Ademir (1967)
Paulinho (1968)
Pinga (1969)
Evaristo (1969)
Paulinho (1969)
Souza (1969)
Tim (1970)
Amaral (1971)
Chirol (1971)
Zizinho (1972)
Souza (1972)
Travaglini (1972–75)
Emílio (1976)
Fantoni (1977–78)
Froner (1979)
Glória (1979)
Fantoni (1980)
Nunes (1980)
Zagallo (1980–81)
Lopes (1981–83)
Zanata (1983)
Leal (1983)
Glória (1983)
Edu (1984–85)
Lopes (1985–86)
Garcia (1986)
Joel (1986–87)
Lazaroni (1987–88)
Zanata (1988–89)
Lelé (1989)
Cosme (1989)
Rosa (1989)
Portella (1990)
Zagallo (1990)
A. Lopes (1991)
Rosa (1992)
Joel (1992–93)
Portella (1993)
Gaúcho (1993)
Pereira (1994)
Lazaroni (1994)
Rosa (1995)
Abel (1995)
Pereira (1995)
Zanata (1995–96)
Portella (1996)
C.A. Silva (1996)
Portella (1996)
A. Lopes (1996–2000)
Abel (2000)
Portella^c (2000)
Tita^c (2000)
Oswaldo (2000)
Joel (2000–01)
Portella (2001)
H. dos Anjos (2001)
PC Gusmão (2001)
Evaristo (2002)
A. Lopes (2002–03)
Galvão (2003)
Geninho (2004)
Joel (2004–05)
Lourenço (2005)
Renato (2005–07)
Roth (2007)
Romário^c (2007)
Espinosa (2007)
Romário (2007–08)
Sampaio (2008)
A. Lopes (2008)
Tita (2008)
Renato (2008)
Dorival Jr. (2009)
Mancini (2010)
Gaúcho^c (2010)
Roth (2010)
PC Gusmão (2010–11)
Gaúcho^c (2011)
R. Gomes (2011)
Cristóvão (2011–12)
Gaúcho^c (2012)
M. Oliveira (2012)
Gaúcho (2012–13)
Autuori (2013)
Dorival Jr. (2013)
Adilson (2013–14)
Jorge Luiz^c (2014)
Joel (2014)
Doriva (2015)
Roth (2015)
Jorginho (2015–16)
Cristóvão (2017)
Valdir^c (2017)
M. Mendes (2017)
Valdir^c (2017)
Zé Ricardo (2017–18)
Valdir^c (2018)
Jorginho (2018)
Valdir^c (2018)
Valentim (2018–19)
Valadares^c (2019)
Luxemburgo (2019)
Abel (2020)
Ramon (2020)
Grasseli^c (2020)
Sá Pinto (2020)
Luxemburgo (2021)
Siston^c (2021)
Cabo (2021)
A. Gomes^c (2021)
Lisca (2021)
Diniz (2021)
Cortez^c (2021)
Zé Ricardo (2022)
Faro^c (2022)
M. Souza (2022)
Faro^c (2022)
Jorginho (2022)
Barbieri (2023)
W. Batista^c (2023)
Díaz (2023–24)
Paiva^c (2024)
Pacheco (2024)
Paiva^c (2024)
Felipe^c (2024)
Carille (2025)
Felipe^c (2025–)

(c) = caretaker manager