Alexandre Pato
Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva, commonly known as Alexandre Pato or just Pato, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Pato began his career as a youth player for Internacional in 2000, making his debut in 2006 at age 16. He went on to score 12 goals in 27 appearances and helped them win the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup. In August 2007, he signed for Italian side AC Milan. In 2009, he scored 18 goals in 42 matches in all competitions, which earned him both the Golden Boy and Serie A Young Footballer of the Year awards. During the 2010–11 season, he helped Milan win the Serie A, where he was the club's joint top scorer with 14 goals in 25 games. In January 2013, Pato returned to Brazil, signing for €15 million with Corinthians, where he won the Campeonato Paulista. In 2014, Pato joined São Paulo on a two-year loan deal, where he played 95 games, scoring 38 goals for the club. In January 2016, Pato transferred to English Premier League club Chelsea on a loan deal before going to Spanish side Villarreal that same year. In 2017, he signed for Chinese club Tianjin Tianhai, and in 2019 went back to São Paulo.
A full international for Brazil since 2008, Pato was part of their squads which won the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and competed at the 2011 Copa América. He also won two consecutive Olympic medals for the country, a bronze in 2008, and silver four years later.
Club career
Internacional
Pato started his career at Internacional's youth teams, gaining a lot of visibility on his skills, strength and technique. At 16, he was already playing in the Brazilian under-20 championship, where Inter defeated Grêmio 4–0 in the final. Pato was that tournament's top scorer.Pato signed his first professional contract with Sport Club Internacional to compete in brazilian championship of 2006 with the first team. At the age of 17, in November that same year, his debut finally happened at the Estádio Palestra Itália against São Paulo team Palmeiras for the Campeonato Brasileiro. Alexandre Pato met and surpassed any and all expectations of what was expected of him as he scored his first professional goal within the first minute of the game. The rest of his participation was spent dribbling and confusing defenders as he made two assists to help Internacional rout Palmeiras 4–1. He was substituted off in the 77th minute.
Pato was included in the Internacional squad that won the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup. He scored against Egyptian club Al Ahly in the semi-finals. At the age of 17 years and 102 days, this made Pato the youngest goalscorer at a senior men's FIFA tournament. He broke the record of Pelé, who was 17 years and 239 days old when he scored against Wales at the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
Keeping up with his promising figure, Pato debuted at the Campeonato Gaúcho on 24 February against Veranópolis and scored a goal in the 2–1 victory. He also debuted in Copa Libertadores on 28 February against Emelec of Ecuador and scored once during the 3–0 thumping. But the biggest highlight of Pato's time with Internacional was during the Recopa Sudamericana, as he helped Internacional win their first ever title of that competition. Against Pachuca of Mexico, he scored one goal in the 2–1 defeat in Mexico. But on the return game on 7 June and with more than 51,000 Colorados present, Pato had a great performance as he scored once to lead the team to win their third international title.
AC Milan
2007–2010: Breakthrough seasons
Incumbent European champions AC Milan of the Italian Serie A officially confirmed the signing of Pato on 2 August 2007 for a fee of about €24 million.Due to FIFA football regulations regarding non-EU minors, Pato was unable to play official matches for Milan until 3 January 2008, when the Italian transfer window and registration reopened. Milan, however, were allowed to include the player in friendlies and training beginning 3 September 2007, one day after his 18th birthday. Pato made his non-competitive debut in a 2–2 draw against Dynamo Kyiv on 7 September 2007 and scored a header. On 4 January 2008, Pato's transfer to Milan became official.
Pato scored his first Milan goal on his Serie A debut against Napoli in a 5–2 home victory on 13 January 2008. He scored his first brace for Milan, in a 2–0 victory over Genoa at the San Siro on 27 January. He finished the 2007–08 season with 9 goals in 20 appearances.
In late 2008, Pato scored two goals in Milan's 5–1 win over Udinese just before the Christmas break, and managed to shine again with a brace against Roma the following matchday at the Stadio Olimpico on 11 January 2009, proving that he is a vital part of Milan's attack. He continued his impressive form for Milan, hitting six goals in four games, including a game winning strike against Fiorentina on 18 January. On 15 February, he scored his 11th goal of the season in a 2–1 defeat against home rivals Internazionale. On 26 February, Pato scored his 12th goal of the season against Werder Bremen in the UEFA Cup, a game Milan drew 2–2; but with this, were knocked out the competition on the away goals rule. Pato continued his good form with two goals against Siena on 15 March. Pato finished the 2008–09 season as Milan's top goalscorer with 18 goals.
On 22 August 2009, in the first Serie A match of the 2009–10 season, Pato scored a goal in each half during the 2–1 win against Siena. Around two months later, on 21 October 2009, during matchday three of the Champions league group stage, Pato scored two second-half goals in a 3–2 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. He has since played at the right wing in a 4–3–3 formation. On 18 January 2010, Pato was awarded the 2009 Serie A Young Footballer of the Year award at the Oscar del Calcio ceremony, becoming the first Brazilian to be awarded with the title. On his return to the team from injury, Pato scored a goal in each of Milan's next three games against Udinese, Bari and Fiorentina. On 28 February, he scored a brace in the first half at the San Siro, helping Milan beat Atalanta 3–1 but coming off halfway through the second half due to a hamstring injury. This injury forced him to miss two crucial trips to Roma and Manchester United. In an unfortunate conclusion to Pato's season, he injured the same muscle again shortly after returning and was forced to miss the rest of the season, playing only 20 games due to constant injuries.
2011–2013: Injury problems
In the first match of the season against Lecce, he scored two goals in Milan's 4–0 win. However, he found himself on the treatment table after his second match of the season, which ruled him out for the next three matches. In his next full match after his injury, he scored twice against Chievo at the San Siro, returning to his position as a striker in a 4–3–1–2 formation. He then scored once again against Bari at the Stadio San Nicola. After a string of great performances, Pato injured his hamstring for the third time in less than a year. This injury ruled him out for six weeks.On 9 January, he scored his first two goals of 2011 to help Milan draw 4–4 against Udinese after going down 3–1. On 26 January, he scored two goals helping Milan to win 2–1 against Sampdoria in Coppa Italia. On 6 February he scored a goal against Genoa helping Milan to draw 1–1. Another remarkable goal came on 20 February when he scored the winner in a 2–1 away victory over Chievo, by dribbling in between two defenders and finishing with a shot off the post. He scored the third goal after assisting Kevin-Prince Boateng in a 3–0 victory over Napoli on 28 February. With fellow striker Zlatan Ibrahimović suspended for the Derby della Madonnina with Internazionale, Pato's two goals saw Milan secure their much needed three points. He dedicated his brace to his supporters. Assisted by Boateng, he scored the second goal in a 2–1 away win against Fiorentina on 10 April.
On 13 September, in a Champions League group-stage match against Barcelona, Pato scored the fifth-fastest goal in the competition's history, 24 seconds after kick-off. Later that month, he suffered a thigh injury during a 1–1 draw with Udinese. Pato made his return as a sub against Fiorentina and hit the post in the 79th minute in a 0–0 draw. He then scored and won a penalty in a 4–0 win against Chievo and in midweek, scored against Viktoria Plzeň and setup Robinho in a 2–2 draw. He started against Bologna the next week in a 2–2 draw. In January 2012, Pato was on the brink of moving to French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain. This move would have given Milan the opportunity to make a bid for Manchester City's Carlos Tevez. On 12 January, however, Pato refused the transfer, citing his commitment to Milan. During the Coppa Italia round of 16 victory over Novara, Pato picked up a muscle strain in his thigh, which tests revealed an injury of his biceps femoris of his left thigh, resulting in him missing the remainder of the season.
Before the start of the new season, Pato switched to the squad number 9, as Filippo Inzaghi had retired at the end of the 2011–12 season. In the third training session of the season, he injured his thigh and was kept out for the first six weeks of the new season. On 21 October 2012, Pato made his return to Milan, in which he assisted Stephan El Shaarawy for the second goal in a 3–2 away defeat to Lazio. On 6 November 2012, in a Champions League group stage match, Pato scored his first goal of the season with a header in a 1–1 draw against Málaga. He scored for the last time for Milan in the Champions League against Anderlecht on 21 November 2012. Due to his poor performances throughout the 2011–12 season, Pato was awarded the 2012 Bidone d'oro, a satirical prize, which is given to the worst Serie A player during a particular season.
Corinthians
On 3 January 2013, Pato signed for Corinthians for a fee of €15 million on a four-year deal. His debut for the club occurred against Oeste, with Pato scoring on his first touch on the ball after a pass by Paulinho, maintaining his reputation of scoring in his debut matches. On 27 February 2013 in the Copa Libertadores he scored against Colombian team Millonarios with a volley from a cross.In May 2013, however, Pato was criticized by fans of Corinthians, after he missed two open goals against Goiás. The forward was defended by his coach Tite. According to the manager, "This pressure comes from his high transfer fee. But football is not only about money. If it was just about money, we would not have won Libertadores last year."
On 6 June, after Corinthians lost to Cruzeiro 1–0, Pato was criticised again by Fiel, the largest Corinthians supporters' club. He missed four goal chances, and once again was defended by Tite. According to the coach, "He's improved in precision. I asked for this after the game against Ponte Preta: 'Target for goal'. Considering he shot in the direction of the goal and the rival goalkeeper had a good game, the coach is going to award recognition. I always look at the other side. It is necessary to recognise that Fábio had a very happy game, it was his merit. If Pato had missed, I would ask him to improve. But today was Fábio's merit."
On 7 July, after Emerson Sheik's and Danilo's injuries and ten games without a goal, Pato was in the 11-team of Alvinegro and scored twice in Corinthians' victory against Bahia.
On 24 October, Pato missed a final penalty in a penalty shootout against Grêmio that saw his Corinthians team knocked out of the Copa do Brasil. He attempted a panenka chip down the middle but got no power behind the shot, and it was easily caught by Grêmio goalkeeper and former Milan teammate Dida.
On 2 December, It was reported that Pato was subject of a £6.6m bid from Premier League club Arsenal, however Corinthians rejected the offer as it was short of their £10m asking price.