Cacau facts for kids
Cacau in 2016
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Claudemir Jerônimo Barreto | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 27 March 1981 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Striker | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1994 | União Mogi | |||||||||||||||
| 1994–1997 | Palmeiras | |||||||||||||||
| 1997 | União Mogi | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Nacional | |||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Türkgücü München | 31 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | 1. FC Nürnberg II | 18 | (9) | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 44 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 2003–2014 | VfB Stuttgart | 263 | (80) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Cerezo Osaka | 24 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | VfB Stuttgart II | 9 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 389 | (121) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Germany | 23 | (6) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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Claudemir Jerônimo Barreto (born March 27, 1981), known as Cacau, is a former professional footballer. He played as a striker, which means he was mainly focused on scoring goals.
Cacau was born in Brazil. However, he later became a citizen of Germany in February 2009. This allowed him to play for the German national team. He played his first international game in May 2009 against China. He was also part of the German team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Club Career
Starting in Germany
Cacau began his football journey in Germany with a team called Türkgücü München in the 1999–2000 season. After that, he joined the reserve team of 1. FC Nürnberg.
He played so well with the reserve team that he got to play in the Bundesliga. This is Germany's top football league. His first Bundesliga game was on November 18, 2001. In his second game, he scored two goals. He ended his first season with 6 goals.
Playing for VfB Stuttgart
Cacau joined VfB Stuttgart for the 2003–04 season. In his first year, he also played in the UEFA Champions League. This is a big competition for top European clubs.
In the 2004–05 season, he scored 12 goals in the Bundesliga. He was the second-best goal scorer for his team. He also did well in the UEFA Cup, scoring many goals.
The 2006–07 season was very special. Cacau was a key player when Stuttgart won the league title. He scored 13 goals that season. He scored two important goals against Bayern Munich. He also scored the winning goal in another game.
During this season, he helped Stuttgart reach the final of the DFB-Pokal. This is Germany's main cup competition. He scored five goals in this tournament. However, he was sent off in the final game, and Stuttgart lost.
Cacau continued to play well for Stuttgart. He scored goals in the Champions League and helped the team finish high in the Bundesliga. On February 20, 2010, he scored four goals in one game! This was a big achievement. He stayed with VfB Stuttgart until 2014.
Later Clubs and Retirement
After Stuttgart, Cacau moved to Japan. He played for Cerezo Osaka in 2014. He was released from his contract in 2015.
In 2016, he returned to Stuttgart. He played for VfB Stuttgart II, which is the reserve team. On October 11, 2016, Cacau announced that he was retiring from professional football.
International Career
Even though Cacau was born in Brazil, he never played for the Brazilian national team.
In 2009, he became a German citizen. This meant he could play for the German national team. He played his first game for Germany on May 29, 2009.
He scored his first two goals for Germany on May 13, 2010, in a friendly game against Malta. He also scored a goal at the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 13, 2010, against Australia. Germany finished third in that World Cup, which was a great achievement.
Cacau continued to play for Germany in the qualifiers for the UEFA Euro 2012. However, he was not part of the final squad for the tournament.
Personal Life
Cacau has a brother named Vlademir Jeronimo Barreto, who is also a footballer.
Cacau is a dedicated Christian. He often talks about how his faith is very important to him.
After he became a German citizen, his teammates at VfB Stuttgart gave him a nickname: Helmut. They thought that since he was German, he should have a proper German name!
In 2021, Cacau was featured in a documentary called Schwarze Adler. This film shared the experiences of Black players in German professional football.
Honours
VfB Stuttgart
- Bundesliga: 2006–07 (League Champion)
- DFB Pokal runner-up: 2006–07, 2012–13 (Reached the final)
Germany
- FIFA World Cup third Place: 2010
Individual
- DFB-Pokal top goalscorer: 2006–07 (Scored the most goals in the cup)
See also
In Spanish: Cacau para niños
