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Kaká
Personal information
Full name Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Attacking Midfielder, Second Striker
Team information
Current team A.C. Milan
Number 22
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 18 2007

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (IPA: [xi'kaʁdu ˌizɛ'ksõ dusɐ̃tus lɛitʃi]; born April 22, 1982 in Brasília), better known as Kaká, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for A.C. Milan of the Italian Serie A. He was the recipient of the prestigious Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007.

Early life

Kaká was born to Simone Cristina dos Santos Leite and Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite. He has a younger brother, Rodrigo (known as Digão), who has followed in Kaká's footsteps by playing football for Milan.

He suffered a career-threatening and possibly paralysis-inducing spine fracture at the age of 18 as a result of a swimming pool accident, but remarkably made a full recovery. He attributes his recovery to God and since tithed his income to his church.

Club career

Kaká began his club career with São Paulo at the age of eight. He signed a contract at 15 and led the SPFC youth squad to Copa de Juvenil glory. Kaká made his senior side debut in January 2001 and scored 12 goals in 27 appearances, in addition to leading São Paulo to its first and only Torneio Rio-São Paulo championship. He scored 10 in 22 matches the following season, and by this time his performance was soon attracting attention from European clubs.

Kaká and Brazilian President Lula.

AC Milan, fresh from winning the 2003 Champions League, brought him aboard in 2003 for $8.5 million, a fee described in hindsight as "peanuts" by club owner Silvio Berlusconi. Within a month, he cracked the starting lineup, and has remained there since. His Serie A debut was in a 2–0 Milan win at A.C. Ancona. He scored 10 goals in 30 appearances that season, as Milan won the Scudetto and the European Super Cup.

Kaká was a part of the five-man midfield in the 2004–05 season, usually playing in a withdrawn role behind striker Andriy Shevchenko. He scored 7 goals in 36 domestic appearances as Milan finished runner-up to Juventus. Despite Milan losing the 2004–05 Champions League final to Liverpool F.C. on penalties, he was nonetheless voted the best midfielder of the tournament, and also finished ninth, with 19 votes, in the running for the 2005 Ballon D'Or.

The 2005–06 season saw Kaká score his first hat-tricks in domestic and European competition. On April 9, 2006, he scored his first Rossoneri hat-trick against Chievo Verona. All three goals were scored in the second half. Seven months later, he scored his first Champions League hat-trick in a 4–1 group stage win over RSC Anderlecht. The football world was beginning to take notice of a superstar in the making. Following Rui Costa's departure to Benfica at the end of the season, and despite the insistence of many Milan fans, Kaká turned down the chance to switch from his number 22 to the now-vacant number 10, a number typically associated with world-class playmakers. (The number was eventually claimed by teammate Clarence Seedorf.)

Shevchenko's departure to Chelsea FC for the 2006–07 season allowed Kaká to become the focal point of Milan's offense as he alternated between the midfield and striker positions. He finished as the top scorer in the 2006–07 CL campaign with ten goals, which proved a catalyst in steering Milan back to European success. One of them helped the Rossoneri beat Celtic FC 1–0 after extra time in the quarterfinals on a 1–0 aggregate, and three others proved fatal for Manchester United in the semifinals despite Milan losing the first leg. Following the convincing 3–0 second-leg defeat at the San Siro on May 2 that knocked out the English champions, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson declared that Kaka was one of the two best players in the world, alongside his charge Cristiano Ronaldo. The previous month, a panel of experts set up by Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport proclaimed Kaká as the world's best footballer. Shevchenko also included his endorsement, while suggesting that Kaká deserved to win the Ballon D'Or.

Kaká added the Champions League title to his trophy case for the first time when Milan defeated Liverpool F.C. 2–1 in Athens on May 23 2007. Though he went scoreless, he won a free kick that led to the first of Filippo Inzaghi's two goals, and provided the assist for the second. For his stellar play throughout the competition, he was voted the Vodafone Fans' Player of the Season in a poll of over 100,000 UEFA.com visitors. In June 2007, German football publication Kicker named him the world's best player, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho finishing second and third, respectively, while he was also given this honor by UK publication The Times. On August 30 2007, Kaká was named by UEFA as both the top forward of the 2006–07 CL season and Club Footballer of the Year.

He played his 200th career match with Milan in a 1–1 home draw with Calcio Catania on September 30, 2007, and on October 5, he was named the 2006–07 FIFPro World Player of the Year.

On December 2, 2007, Kaká was officially announced as the European Footballer of the Year, becoming the eighth Milan player in history to receive the honor. He finished with a decisive 444 votes, far ahead of runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo. Upon accepting the award in Paris, he said, "It was an exceptional year and the Ballon D'or crowns an extraordinary 2007...I want to thank God who allowed me to be here today. I thank my wife, my parents and Milan, the team that allowed me to win. I also thank my teammates, both at Milan and Brazil, and all of the fans."

On December 17 2007, he was named the FIFA World Player of the Year.

National team

Kaká on the road with the national squad.

Kaká made his debut for Brazil in January 2002 against Bolivia. He was part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning squad, but played only 19 minutes, all of which were in the first round match against Costa Rica. During the final against Germany, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was reportedly about to send Kaká on as a substitute, but he never made it into the game as the referee did not notice him waving on the sidelines to enter the pitch.

In 2003, Kaká was the captain for the Gold Cup tournament, where Brazil finished as runner-up, as did Kaká with a second-best three goals. He was also named as one of the competition's top eleven players by position. On June 29, 2005, he scored in a 4–1 defeat of Argentina in the 2005 Confederations Cup final, with a powerful shot into the upper right-hand corner of the net. He finished in joint tenth place in the voting for the 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award, and finished two spots higher the following year.

Kaká started in his first FIFA World Cup Finals in 2006, scoring his first and only goal in a 1-0 victory over Croatia in Brazil's opening match. He was unable to keep up his momentum for the remainder of the tournament as Brazil were eliminated by France in the quarterfinals. On September 3, 2006, he scored again for Brazil, receiving the ball off a deflection from an Argentina corner kick and taking the ball down three quarters of the field to score.

On May 12, 2007, citing an exhaustive schedule of Serie A, Champions League and national team play, Kaká openly bowed out of the 2007 Copa América, which was won by Brazil. "I haven't had a break for three seasons. I won't have the form to achieve what is expected of me at an international level." Brazil coach Dunga took the optimistic route, declaring that while he was disappointed about Kaká's decision, his absence would subsequently free up a roster spot for a lesser-used player. Kaká, however, did play 70 minutes of Brazil's 1–1 friendly draw with England on June 1, but only 30 in a goalless draw with Turkey on June 5.

Personal life and religion

A devout evangelical Christian, Kaká became engrossed in religion at the age of 12: "I learnt that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not." He removed his jersey to reveal an "I Belong to Jesus" T-shirt and openly engaged in prayer moments after the final whistle of Milan's 2007 Champions League triumph. Kaká previously sported the same shirt during Milan's 2004 Scudetto celebration and after Brazil's defeat of Germany in the 2002 World Cup final, and had the same phrase, along with "God Is Faithful," stitched onto the tongues of his boots. During the postmatch celebration following Brazil's 4–1 win over Argentina in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup final, he and several of his teammates, among them backup keeper Gomes and defender Lúcio, wore T-shirts with "Jesus Loves You" printed on them in various languages.

Kaká is a member of the organization Atletas de Cristo ("Athletes of Christ"). His goal celebration consists of him pointing to the sky as a gesture of thanks to God, and he is proud that he was a virgin when he married. His favorite music is gospel music, and his favorite book is the Bible. Since November 2004, he has served as an Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations' World Food Programme, the youngest to do so at the time of his appointment.

Kaká was sworn in as an Italian citizen on February 12, 2007. He features prominently in Adidas advertising and also has a modeling contract with Armani, but the latter prevented him from appearing in a photo collection alongside his Milan teammates that was published by Dolce & Gabbana in early 2007. He married his childhood sweetheart Caroline Celico on 23 December 2005 at the evangelical Reborn in Christ Church in São Paulo, Brazil. Caroline is currently pregnant with their first child.

The Reborn in Christ Church, of which Kaká is a member, is currently under investigation in connection with its leaders, Estevam Hernandes Filho and Sonia Hernandes, who were sentenced to prison in August 2007 on money smuggling charges. Kaká, who has not been charged, was an annual donor to the church with contributions totaling nearly $1 million. He was sent a questionnaire by Brazilian authorities inquiring about connections with the leaders, but his spokesman denied that Kaká had actually received any such documents.

Nickname

His nickname is pronounced as it is spelled, with stress on the second syllable. It is a common term of endearment of "Ricardo" in Brazil. In Kaká's case, however, it was born from younger brother Rodrigo calling him "Caca" due to his inability to pronounce "Ricardo"; it eventually evolved into Kaká. He is occasionally called "Ricky Kaka" by the European media.

Career statistics

Club Season Domestic
League 		Domestic
Cups 		International Total
App G App G App G App G
AC Milan 2007-08 10 8 0 0 5 2 15 10
2006-07 31 8 2 0 15 10 48 18
2005-06 35 14 2 0 12 5 49 19
2004-05 36 7 2 0 14 2 52 9
2003-04 30 10 4 0 14 4 48 14
Total 133 41 10 0 57 23 200 63
São Paulo FC 2002-03 10 2 0 0 10 2
2001-02 22 9 0 0 22 9
2000-01 27 12 0 0 27 12
Total 59 23 0 0 0 0 59 23
Career Totals 192 64 10 0 56 22 259 86

Honors

Club and national team

Individual honors

Runner-up

Template:S-awardsTemplate:Succession box one to threeTemplate:Succession box one to two
Preceded bySamuel Eto'o UEFA Club Football Award Best Forward
2006-07 		Succeeded byIncumbent
Preceded byZlatan Ibrahimović Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year
(Shared with David Suazo)
2006 		Succeeded byIncumbent
Preceded byPavel Nedvěd Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year
2004 		Succeeded byZlatan Ibrahimović

References

  1. "Kaka able to see beyond dollar signs". United Nations. Retrieved December 1, 2004.
  2. "Kaka: My +10 team". FIFAworldcup.com. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
  3. Kaka The Best, Kaká-Best in world
  4. Kaka The Best, Deserves Golden Ball - Shevchenko
  5. Kaka named UEFA's European club player of the year - Reuters Africa, 8/31/07
  6. "Ballon d'Or: Kaka crowned". Football Italia. Retrieved December 2, 2007.
  7. Tired Kaká to skip Copa America - World Soccer News, 5/12/07
  8. "Kakà: stop al Brasile" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  9. Brazil plays Turkey to 0-0 draw - foxsoccer.com, 6/5/07
  10. ^ Mitten, Andy. "The golden boy of a golden team". The Independent. Retrieved September 28, 2006.
  11. "Interview". Atletas de Cristo. Retrieved December 26, 2006.
  12. "Public Chat Session". RickyKaka.com. Retrieved December 26, 2006.
  13. Milan put their faith in Kaka - The Telegraph, 5/2/07
  14. Brazilian Kaká gets Italian citizenship - People's Daily Online, 2/13/07
  15. Celico Four Months Pregnant as of December 2007
  16. "Kaka quizzed over links with corrupt church". The Guardian. Retrieved January 14, 2008.

External links

Brazil squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup winners (5th title)
Brazil
Brazil squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup
Brazil
AC Milan – current squad

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