Rivellino


Roberto Rivellino[Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha|], known as just Rivellino, is a Brazilian football pundit and former player who was one of the key members of Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup-winning team.
The son of Italian immigrants from Macchiagodena, Isernia, he played as an attacking midfielder and was famous for his iconic moustache, bending free kicks, long range shooting, accurate long passing, vision, close ball control and dribbling skills. He also perfected a football move called the "flip flap", famously copied by Romário, Mágico González, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo in later years. A former attacking midfielder, he is widely regarded as one of the most graceful football players ever, and one of the greatest players of all time. With the close control, feints and ability with his left foot, Diego Maradona named Rivellino among his greatest inspirations growing up. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
Rivellino currently works as a pundit for TV Cultura.

Club career

Rivellino was born in São Paulo, and started as a futsal player at Clube Atlético Barcelona. After that, he tried his luck with Barcelona's biggest rival, Corinthians, where he moved on to professional football and quickly became a favourite of the fans—and was therefore nicknamed "O Rei do Parque" . However, the late 60s and early 70s were one of the most troubled periods in the history of the club, which did not win a single São Paulo state league title between 1954 and 1977.
In 1974, after Corinthians was defeated by arch-rivals Palmeiras in the São Paulo league finals, as the star player Rivellino was singled out by most fans as one of the most responsible for not winning. He moved on to Rio de Janeiro, where he defended Fluminense until the end of the 1970s. Rivellino was undoubtedly the greatest star in the excellent Fluminense of the mid 70s, dubbed "the tricolor machine", among Doval, Pintinho, Gil and Carlos Alberto Torres. He won the Rio de Janeiro league championship in 1975 and 1976. By the end of the decade, he moved on to play for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia; he retired from professional football in 1981.

International career

Rivellino was a key member of Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup winning team, which is often cited as the greatest-ever World Cup team. Wearing the number 11 jersey, Rivellino was deployed on the left side of midfield and scored three goals, including the powerful bending free-kick against Czechoslovakia, which earned him the nickname "Patada Atómica" by Mexican fans. Rivellino also played in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups, finishing in fourth and third place respectively.

After retirement

After his professional retirement, Rivellino started a career as a football commentator and coach. Rivellino further represented Brazil in the 1989 edition of the World Cup of Masters, scoring in the final against Uruguay. Rivellino is sometimes credited with scoring the fastest goal in football history when he supposedly scored a goal direct from the kick-off after noticing the opposition goalkeeper on his knees finishing off pre-match prayers.
Regarding the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in his country, Rivellino criticized the inclusion of the Amazonian city of Manaus with its stadium Arena da Amazônia in the hosting venues, saying "it’s absurd to play in Manaus. You start sweating the moment you leave the locker room".

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
110th-Anniversary Stadium, Warsaw, Poland2–26–3Friendly
210th-Anniversary Stadium, Warsaw, Poland6–36–3Friendly
3Estádio da Machava, Matola, Mozambique–2–0Friendly
4Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico1–11–2Friendly
5Estadio Nacional del Perú, Lima, Peru1–04–0Friendly
6Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilFIFA World XI1–02–1Friendly
7Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil5–16–21970 FIFA World Cup qualification
8Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil–2–1Friendly
9Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil1–01–0Friendly
10Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico1–14–11970 FIFA World Cup
11Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico1–04–21970 FIFA World Cup
12Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico3–13–11970 FIFA World Cup
13Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil1–12–2Friendly
14Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil–5–0Friendly
15Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil–5–0Friendly
16Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria–2–0Friendly
17 Estádio Governador Hélio Prates da Silveira, Brasília, Brazil–4–0Friendly
18Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil2–02–1Friendly
19Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil–2–0Friendly
20Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany2–03–01974 FIFA World Cup
21Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany1–01–01974 FIFA World Cup
22Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany1–02–11974 FIFA World Cup
23Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil–2–11976 Taça do Atlântico
24Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil6–06–01978 FIFA World Cup qualification
25Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil–1–1Friendly
26Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil–3–1Friendly

Managerial

Honours

Corinthians
  • Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1966
Fluminense
  • Campeonato Carioca: 1975, 1976
Al Hilal
Brazil
  • FIFA World Cup: 1970
Individual