Rivellino facts for kids
Rivellino in 1974
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Roberto Rivellino | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 1 January 1946 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | São Paulo, Brazil | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1962 | C.A. Barcelona | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1964 | Corinthians | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1965–1974 | Corinthians | 236 | (70) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1975–1978 | Fluminense | 45 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1981 | Al-Hilal | 57 | (25) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 338 | (105) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1965–1978 | Brazil | 92 | (26) | ||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1994 | Shimizu S-Pulse | ||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||
Roberto Rivellino (born January 1, 1946), known simply as Rivellino, is a famous Brazilian football expert and former player. He was a very important part of Brazil's team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
Rivellino's parents were immigrants from Italy. He played as an attacking midfielder, which means he was a player who helped both defend and attack, often creating chances for goals. He was well-known for his cool moustache and amazing skills on the field. These skills included bending free kicks (making the ball curve in the air), shooting powerfully from far away, and making very accurate long passes. He was also great at controlling the ball closely and dribbling past opponents.
He even invented a special football move called the "flip flap". This move involves quickly flicking the ball around a defender with the outside and then the inside of the same foot. Many famous players like Romário, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Cristiano Ronaldo later copied this move. Rivellino is seen as one of the most graceful and greatest football players of all time. Even Diego Maradona, another football legend, said Rivellino was one of his biggest inspirations. In 2004, Pelé, often called the greatest footballer ever, included Rivellino in his FIFA 100 list of the world's best living players.
Today, Rivellino works as a football expert for a TV channel called TV Cultura.
Contents
Club Football Journey
Rivellino was born in São Paulo, Brazil. He started his football journey playing futsal, which is a type of indoor football, for a club called Clube Atlético Barcelona. After that, he joined Corinthians, a big rival of Barcelona. There, he became a professional football player.
He quickly became a huge favorite with the fans at Corinthians. They even nicknamed him "O Rei do Parque," which means "King of the Park," because of the club's home stadium, Parque São Jorge. However, the years he played for Corinthians were tough for the club. They didn't win any major state championships for a long time.
In 1974, Corinthians lost a big final match to their rivals, Palmeiras. Many fans blamed Rivellino, even though he was their star player. Because of this, he decided to move to Rio de Janeiro. There, he joined Fluminense and played for them until the end of the 1970s.
Rivellino was the biggest star in the amazing Fluminense team of the mid-1970s. This team was so good, they were called "the tricolor machine." With Rivellino leading the way, Fluminense won the Rio de Janeiro league championship in both 1975 and 1976. Later, he moved to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. He stopped playing professional football in 1981.
Playing for Brazil
Winning the World Cup
Rivellino was a very important player for Brazil's team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Many people say that this 1970 Brazilian team was the greatest World Cup team ever! Rivellino wore the number 11 jersey and played on the left side of the midfield.
He scored three goals in that tournament. One of his most famous goals was a super powerful, bending free-kick against Czechoslovakia. This amazing shot earned him a cool nickname from Mexican fans: "Patada Atómica," which means "Atomic Kick"!
Rivellino also played for Brazil in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cup tournaments. In 1974, Brazil finished in fourth place, and in 1978, they finished in third place. Overall, he played 92 games for the Brazilian national team and scored 26 goals.
Life After Playing Football
After he stopped playing professional football, Rivellino started a new career. He became a football commentator, sharing his knowledge and opinions about games. He also tried his hand at coaching. He managed a team called Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan's J. League for a short time in 1994.
Rivellino also played for Brazil again in a special tournament for older players called the World Cup of Masters in 1989. He even scored a goal in the final match against Uruguay. There's a story that Rivellino once scored the fastest goal in football history. It's said he scored directly from the kick-off because he noticed the other team's goalkeeper was still kneeling and praying before the game started!
When the 2014 FIFA World Cup was held in Brazil, Rivellino shared his thoughts on the host cities. He thought it was a strange idea to play games in Manaus, a city in the Amazon rainforest, because of the very hot and humid weather. He famously said, "it’s absurd to play in Manaus. You start sweating the moment you leave the locker room."
Honours and Awards
Rivellino won many important titles and awards during his amazing career:
With Corinthians
- Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1966
With Fluminense
- Campeonato Carioca (Rio de Janeiro State Championship): 1975, 1976
With Al Hilal
- Saudi Premier League: 1978–79
- King Cup: 1980
With Brazil
- FIFA World Cup: 1970
Individual Awards
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team player: 1970 (This means he was chosen as one of the best players in the tournament)
- Bola de Prata (Brazilian Championship All-Star Team): 1971
- World XI: 1971 (Chosen as one of the best players in the world)
- CONMEBOL All-Star Team: 1973
- Bronze ball South American Footballer of the Year: 1973, 1976
- Silver ball South American Footballer of the Year: 1977
- FIFA 100 Greatest Living Footballers: 2004 (Chosen by Pelé as one of the 100 greatest living players)
- Premio Golden Foot Award (Football Legend Award): 2005
- World Soccer: Ranked 38th Greatest Player of the 20th Century
- Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame (His name is in the hall of fame for Brazilian football)
See also
In Spanish: Roberto Rivelino para niños
