Adriano (footballer, born February 1982)

Adriano
	Adriano in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Adriano Leite Ribeiro
Date of birth	17 February 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1997–1999	Flamengo
Senior career*
Years	Team
2000–2001	Flamengo
2001–2002	Inter Milan
2002	→ Fiorentina (loan)
2002–2004	Parma
2004–2009	Inter Milan
2008	→ São Paulo (loan)
2009–2010	Flamengo
2010–2011	Roma
2011–2012	Corinthians
2012	Flamengo
2014	Atlético Paranaense
2016	Miami United
Total
International career
1999	Brazil U17
2001–2002	Brazil U20
2000–2010	Brazil
Medal record
Representing Brazil
FIFA Confederations Cup
Copa América
South American U-20 Championship
FIFA U-17 World Cup
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of January 18, 2017

Adriano Leite Ribeiro (born 17 February 1982), commonly known simply as Adriano, is a Brazilian former professional footballer. He played as a striker and was known for his long-range left-footed strikes.

Adriano had four prolific seasons in Italy with Italian clubs Parma and Inter Milan, being considered one of the best strikers in the world during this time and earning the nickname L'Imperatore ("the Emperor"). Adriano finished within the top 10 of the Ballon d'Or in 2004 and 2005 and was awarded the IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of 2005 and was also a three-time winner of Bidone d'Oro award. He was a key figure in Inter's 2005–06 Scudetto win before his career was, however, marked by inconsistency and a decline in his performances which coincided with the death of his father.^[3]^[4]^[5] He moved back to his native Brazil in 2009 and went on to win a Brasileirão with both Flamengo and Corinthians. He retired in 2016 at the age of 34.

Making his Brazil debut at 18, Adriano was considered the long-term successor to Ronaldo. In the absence of Ronaldo, he led Brazil to the 2004 Copa América, receiving the Golden Boot as the competition's leading scorer with seven goals. He also won the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup with Brazil, receiving the Golden Boot Award as the competition's leading scorer with five goals. Before the 2006 World Cup he was part of Brazil's much-vaunted "magic quartet" of offensive players alongside Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaká, which ultimately was not successful at the tournament.^[6]

^ ^a ^b "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Adriano". Inter Milan. Archived from the original on 7 February 2005. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
^ Cite error: The named reference Vickery was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Adriano imperatore in giallorosso "Roma come Rio, vinceremo insieme"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 9 June 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
^ Vickery, Tim (21 March 2011). "Adriano struggling to find suitors after Roma departure" (in Portuguese). BBC. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
^ Vickery, Tim (18 December 2017). "Kaka's spectacular run with Milan and Brazil overshadowed by his successors". ESPN.

[FIFA-1] "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.

[InterProfile-2] "Adriano". Inter Milan. Archived from the original on 7 February 2005. Retrieved 9 June 2022.

[Vickery-3] Cite error: The named reference Vickery was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] "Adriano imperatore in giallorosso "Roma come Rio, vinceremo insieme"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 9 June 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2015.

[5] Vickery, Tim (21 March 2011). "Adriano struggling to find suitors after Roma departure" (in Portuguese). BBC. Retrieved 13 October 2009.

[quartet-6] Vickery, Tim (18 December 2017). "Kaka's spectacular run with Milan and Brazil overshadowed by his successors". ESPN.

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