Romário
Romário de Souza Faria, known simply as Romário, is a Brazilian politician and former professional footballer who was formerly the Senior Senator for Rio de Janeiro and is the president of football club America-RJ. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he is considered one of the greatest forwards of all time. He scored over 700 goals for his clubs and country and is one of only five players to have scored 100 goals with three different clubs.
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.
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 took him away from defenders, and he was renowned for his trademark toe poke finish. With 55 goals in 70 appearances, Romário is the fourth-highest goalscorer for the Brazil national team, behind Neymar, Pelé and Ronaldo. 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.
Romário 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
Early years
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 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.1988–1993: PSV Eindhoven
Shortly after the Olympics he moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he won the Eredivisie 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.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."
1993–1995: Barcelona
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. 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". 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.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. 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. 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."
Romário was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1994, after being the runner-up in 1993. 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. Romário left Barcelona unexpectedly in January 1995 after having a rift with coach Cruyff.
1995–1999: Flamengo and Valencia
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. 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. 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.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.
2000–2005: Vasco and Fluminense
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. 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 Eurico Mirando the king". After Vasco's victory a few days later, Romário replied: "Now the court is happy: the king, the prince and the fool ".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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
Later career
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.
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. In January 2007 he signed a new deal with Vasco da Gama.