Romário Biography
Romário de Souza Faria (born 29 January 1966), better known
simply as Romário (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁoˈmaɾiu]), is
a former Brazilian
footballer who played striker, manager and current
politician. He helped the Brazil national team win the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was one of the most prolific
strikers in the world. A clinical finisher, he is widely regarded to be
one of the greatest strikers of all time.In 1999, he came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century
internet poll.
Romário won FIFA World Player of the Year
and World Cup Golden Ball in 1994. He also
was chosen as forward on FIFA Dream Team of the history of World
Cups and named as one of the Top 125
greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th
anniversary celebration. Playing for PSV
Eindhoven, he managed to be top scorer of 1989-90 European Cup (renamed Uefa
Champions League) and 1992–93 UEFA Champions League.
In 1993 he moved to FC Barcelona, winning La Liga
in his first season and finishing as top goalscorer with 30 goals in 33 matches.
With 55 goals in 70 appearances for Brazil, Romário is the third highest goalscorer for
his national team. He is one of very few strikers to surpass the mark of
1,000 goals,and is the second most prolific goalscorer in the history of football
Romário
Romário de Souza Faria (born 29 January 1966), better known
simply as Romário (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁoˈmaɾiu]), is
a former Brazilian
footballer who played striker, manager and current
politician. He helped the Brazil national team win the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was one of the most prolific
strikers in the world. A clinical finisher, he is widely regarded to be
one of the greatest strikers of all time.In 1999, he came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century
internet poll.
Romário won FIFA World Player of the Year and World Cup Golden Ball in 1994. He also was chosen as forward on FIFA Dream Team of the history of World Cups and named as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration. Playing for PSV Eindhoven, he managed to be top scorer of 1989-90 European Cup (renamed Uefa Champions League) and 1992–93 UEFA Champions League. In 1993 he moved to FC Barcelona, winning La Liga in his first season and finishing as top goalscorer with 30 goals in 33 matches.
With 55 goals in 70 appearances for Brazil, Romário is the third highest goalscorer for his national team. He is one of very few strikers to surpass the mark of 1,000 goals,and is the second most prolific goalscorer in the history of football.
Shortly after he moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he won the Dutch League in 1989, 1991 and 1992.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 Eindhoven.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.” Romário moved to Spain's FC Barcelona for
Shortly after he moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he won the Dutch League in 1989, 1991 and 1992.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 Eindhoven.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.” Romário moved to Spain's FC Barcelona for the 1993–1994 season, in which, along with players like Hristo Stoichkov, José Mari Bakero, Josep Guardiola, Michael Laudrup and Ronald Koeman, he helped the club win the League, while becoming the season's top goalscorer with 30 goals in 33 matches.One of his best performances was scoring a hat-trick in the memorable 5-0 win over Real Madrid 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.
Romário was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1994, after being the runner-up in 1993.In 1995 he returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo. He spent the next year in Valencia. In 1998, he missed the World Cup and then returned to Flamengo until 1999.
He played for Vasco da Gama again in 2000, winning the Mercosur
Cup, the Brazilian League, the South American and Brazilian
Footballer of the Year award. From 2002 until 2004 he played for Fluminense. On
21 October 2004 he was fired from the club after a conflict with the
coach. He then went back to play for the team he started at, Vasco da
Gama. In 2005, at nearly 40 years of age, Romário scored 22 goals in the
Brazilian Championship, making
him the league's top goalscorer.
In the beginning of 2006, he joined Miami FC along with former 1994 FIFA World Cup teammate Zinho. He helped Miami FC reach their first ever USL First Division Playoffs, scoring 19 league goals in 25 appearances for the team. In the biggest 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 FC. He played his first match for Adelaide United FC on 25 November 2006 against the Central Coast Mariners FC. After his final game during his short stint on 15 December 2006 he finally scored a goal for Adelaide to end what many considered to be a disappointing spell with the club. In January 2007 he signed a new deal with Vasco da Gama
FIFA congratulated Romário on his milestone goal but stated he is still officially on 929 goals, as 77 came in youth football, with others being scored in friendly matches. In 2008, Romário released a DVD with the best goals of his career totaling 900 goals in the disc. Following the landmark goal, Vasco da Gama unveiled a statue of Romário at the Estádio São Januário.
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 is banned as it is a masking agent for anabolic steroids.
Romário announced on 15 April 2008 at his DVD launch that he would retire from the game of football. 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:
On 25 November 2009, Romário made his comeback. Fulfilling his father's wishes, he came on during the 68th minute of the match between America and Artsul, replacing Adriano. Although he didn't score, America was able to come fourth with a 2–0 win, which led the club to the title of the Second Division of the Carioca Championship.
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.Brazil had to beat 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". Brazil won 2–0, with Romário scoring both goals, and qualified to the World Cup. Parreira commented afterwards; "God sent Romário to the Maracanã".
At the World Cup finals, Romário partnered with
Bebeto
in the attack to lead his country to a record fourth World Cup title.He scored five goals in the tournament: one in each of the three first
round matches, against Russia, Cameroon, and Sweden; one against the Netherlands in
quarterfinals; and the game-winning header against Sweden in the semifinals. He
also assisted Bebeto in the only goal of the match against the United States in
the round of 16. Although he didn't get on the scoresheet in the final,
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.Romário won the World Cup Golden Ball as the
outstanding player of the tournament, and was named in the World Cup All-Star Team.
Prior to the 2002 World Cup, Romário, aged 36, was in considerably good form while playing for Fluminense, 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 decided not to travel with Brazil to dispute the 2001 Copa America in Colombia. The entire country, including President Fernando Henrique Cardoso called for his inclusion.Asked if he would watch Brazil's games on television, Romário, famous for late night partying throughout his career, replied: "The games start at six o'clock in the morning. At that time, I'm usually getting home."
In the present days, Romário is pushing his political agenda against 2014 FIFA World Cup denouncing the event as immersed in corruption and money laundering. He also expressed disagreement with Sean Kiley, Ricardo Teixeira, Jerome Valcke and Sepp Blatter.He is one of various others claiming that 2018 FIFA World Cup was "stolen" from England and sold to Russia, in a part of FIFA 2011 scandal.
 Romário with the FIFA World Cup Trophy in 2007 |
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Romário De Souza Faria | ||
| Date of birth | 29 January 1966 | ||
| Place of birth | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1979–1980 | Olaria | ||
| 1981–1985 | Vasco da Gama | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1985–1988 | Vasco da Gama | 47 | (17) |
| 1988–1993 | PSV | 107 | (96) |
| 1993–1995 | Barcelona | 46 | (34) |
| 1995–1999 | Flamengo | 62 | (37) |
| 1996–1998 | → Valencia (loan) | 11 | (5) |
| 2000–2002 | Vasco da Gama | 46 | (41) |
| 2002–2004 | Fluminense | 60 | (34) |
| 2003 | → Al-Sadd (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Vasco da Gama | 31 | (22) |
| 2006 | Miami | 25 | (19) |
| 2006–2007 | Adelaide United | 4 | (1) |
| 2007 | Vasco da Gama | 6 | (3) |
| 2009 | America-RJ | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 449 | (309) | |
| National team | |||
| 1987–2005 | Brazil | 70 | (55) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2007–2008 | Vasco da Gama | ||
Honours-show
|
|||
| * Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Romário won FIFA World Player of the Year and World Cup Golden Ball in 1994. He also was chosen as forward on FIFA Dream Team of the history of World Cups and named as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration. Playing for PSV Eindhoven, he managed to be top scorer of 1989-90 European Cup (renamed Uefa Champions League) and 1992–93 UEFA Champions League. In 1993 he moved to FC Barcelona, winning La Liga in his first season and finishing as top goalscorer with 30 goals in 33 matches.
With 55 goals in 70 appearances for Brazil, Romário is the third highest goalscorer for his national team. He is one of very few strikers to surpass the mark of 1,000 goals,and is the second most prolific goalscorer in the history of football.
Club career
Overview
From very 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 leagues (1987/88) 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.Shortly after he moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he won the Dutch League in 1989, 1991 and 1992.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 Eindhoven.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.” Romário moved to Spain's FC Barcelona for
Overview
From very 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 leagues (1987/88) 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.Shortly after he moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he won the Dutch League in 1989, 1991 and 1992.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 Eindhoven.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.” Romário moved to Spain's FC Barcelona for the 1993–1994 season, in which, along with players like Hristo Stoichkov, José Mari Bakero, Josep Guardiola, Michael Laudrup and Ronald Koeman, he helped the club win the League, while becoming the season's top goalscorer with 30 goals in 33 matches.One of his best performances was scoring a hat-trick in the memorable 5-0 win over Real Madrid 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.
Romário was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1994, after being the runner-up in 1993.In 1995 he returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo. He spent the next year in Valencia. In 1998, he missed the World Cup and then returned to Flamengo until 1999.
When I was born, the man in the sky pointed to me and said, ‘That's
the guy’,
“
”
— Famously outspoken, Romário gives an
explanation after an outstanding performance.
In the beginning of 2006, he joined Miami FC along with former 1994 FIFA World Cup teammate Zinho. He helped Miami FC reach their first ever USL First Division Playoffs, scoring 19 league goals in 25 appearances for the team. In the biggest 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 FC. He played his first match for Adelaide United FC on 25 November 2006 against the Central Coast Mariners FC. After his final game during his short stint on 15 December 2006 he finally scored a goal for Adelaide to end what many considered to be a disappointing spell with the club. In January 2007 he signed a new deal with Vasco da Gama
Thousandth goal
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 and Puskás.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.There is some controversy over the validity of the 1000 goals as it claim is somewhat inaccurate, because Romário's research team counted his goals in junior, friendly and non-official games.FIFA congratulated Romário on his milestone goal but stated he is still officially on 929 goals, as 77 came in youth football, with others being scored in friendly matches. In 2008, Romário released a DVD with the best goals of his career totaling 900 goals in the disc. Following the landmark goal, Vasco da Gama unveiled a statue of Romário at the Estádio São Januário.
Player/Manager of Vasco da Gama
On 24 October 2007, it was announced that Romário would take charge of his first match as the interim manager of Vasco da Gama 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. The 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 is banned as it is a masking agent for anabolic steroids.
Retirement and comeback
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 Confederations Cup and helping with the 2014 World Cup. However, on 27 March, Romário denied that he had retired. His contract with Vasco had finished so he is now waiting for proposals from other clubs. It is likely that he will return to play a farewell match, perhaps with Vasco, Flamengo or America (RJ) (America is a small club from Rio, which Romário's father, Edevair Faria, supported).Romário announced on 15 April 2008 at his DVD launch that he would retire from the game of football. 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," he said. "My time is up. Everything has been a lot of fun."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 father's wishes.
On 25 November 2009, Romário made his comeback. Fulfilling his father's wishes, he came on during the 68th minute of the match between America and Artsul, replacing Adriano. Although he didn't score, America was able to come fourth with a 2–0 win, which led the club to the title of the Second Division of the Carioca Championship.
National team
As a member of the Brazilian national team, Romário won the silver Olympic medal in Seoul in 1988, finishing top scorer with seven goals in six matches. He attained the status of national hero at the 1989 Copa America 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. He was part of the Brazilian squad in the World Cups of 1990 and 1994. He scored 71 goals in 85 international matches (includes Olympic matches), being the second highest goalscorer in the history of the Brazilian team; only bettered by Pelé. Romário was one of the most talked about stars leading up to the 1990 World Cup, but picked up a serious injury three months before the big kick-off. 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.Brazil were eliminated in round of 16 by their rivals Argentina.1994 World Cup
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.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.Brazil had to beat 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". Brazil won 2–0, with Romário scoring both goals, and qualified to the World Cup. Parreira commented afterwards; "God sent Romário to the Maracanã".
They are both skillful players, outstanding players. They are
matadors, killers inside the penalty area.
“
”
— Carlos Alberto Parreira on Romário
and Bebeto
The Ro-Ro attack
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. They each scored a hat-trick in a 6–0 win against Australia in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup final.1998 and 2002 World Cup absence
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. Brazil lost the World Cup final against hosts France.Prior to the 2002 World Cup, Romário, aged 36, was in considerably good form while playing for Fluminense, 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 decided not to travel with Brazil to dispute the 2001 Copa America in Colombia. The entire country, including President Fernando Henrique Cardoso called for his inclusion.Asked if he would watch Brazil's games on television, Romário, famous for late night partying throughout his career, replied: "The games start at six o'clock in the morning. At that time, I'm usually getting home."
Last game for Brazil
On 27 April 2005, Romário played his last game with the Brazilian national team in a friendly and celebratory match. He wore the captain's armband and scored the second goal in Brazil's 3–0 win against Guatemala and finished off with a yellow card.Recognition
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.
- Johan Cruyff defined him as "genius of the goal area".
- Ronaldo: "Romário was the most decisive player who I played with, he was a great goal scorer, finisher, skilful, opportunist. I think I learnt all of that from him".
- Roberto Baggio said: "Romário is one of the greatest players of all time. He has good technique and personality. He is a master of art in the penalty area."
- Diego Maradona on who was the best player he ever saw play: "It is between Romário and Van Basten".
- Romário wore the number 11 shirt for most of his club and international career, which inspired Neymar's number at Santos (and now wears number 11 for Barcelona).
Footvolley and Beach soccer
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 (won the Bronze medal) at the 2005 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.Political career
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.
In the present days, Romário is pushing his political agenda against 2014 FIFA World Cup denouncing the event as immersed in corruption and money laundering. He also expressed disagreement with Sean Kiley, Ricardo Teixeira, Jerome Valcke and Sepp Blatter.He is one of various others claiming that 2018 FIFA World Cup was "stolen" from England and sold to Russia, in a part of FIFA 2011 scandal.
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