Rivellino facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rivellino

Rivellino in 1970
Personal information
Full name	Roberto Rivellino
Date of birth	(1946-01-01) 1 January 1946 (age 78)
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.69m
Playing position	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)
National team
1965–1978	Brazil	92	(26)
Teams managed
1994	Shimizu S-Pulse
Honours Men's Football Representing  Brazil FIFA World Cup Winner 1970 Mexico Third 1978 Argentina
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Roberto Rivellino (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁoˈbɛʁtu ʁiveˈlĩnu]; born 1 January 1946), known as just Rivellino, is a Brazilian football pundit and former player who was one of the key members of Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup-winning team.

The son of Italian immigrants from Macchiagodena, Isernia, he played as an attacking midfielder and was famous for his iconic moustache, bending free kicks, long range shooting, accurate long passing, vision, close ball control and dribbling skills. He also perfected a football move called the "flip flap", famously copied by Romário, Mágico González, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo in later years. A former attacking midfielder, he is widely regarded as one of the most graceful football players ever, and one of the greatest players of all time. With the close control, feints and ability with his left foot, Diego Maradona named Rivellino among his greatest inspirations growing up. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.

Rivellino currently works as a pundit for TV Cultura.

Club career

Rivellino was born in São Paulo, and started as a futsal player at Clube Atlético Barcelona. After that, he tried his luck with Barcelona's biggest rival, Corinthians, where he moved on to professional football and quickly became a favourite of the fans—and was therefore nicknamed "O Rei do Parque" (King of the Park) (after the club's home ground, Parque São Jorge). However, the late 60s and early 70s were one of the most troubled periods in the history of the club, which did not win a single São Paulo state league title between 1954 and 1977.

Rivellino (left) playing in Saudi Arabia in 1979

In 1974, after Corinthians was defeated by arch-rivals Palmeiras in the São Paulo league finals, as the star player Rivellino was singled out by most fans as one of the most responsible for not winning. He moved on to Rio de Janeiro, where he defended Fluminense until the end of the 1970s. Rivellino was undoubtedly the greatest star in the excellent Fluminense of the mid 70s, dubbed "the tricolor machine", among Doval, Pintinho, Gil and Carlos Alberto Torres. He won the Rio de Janeiro league championship in 1975 and 1976. By the end of the decade, he moved on to play for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia; he retired from professional football in 1981.

International career

Rivellino with Brazil in 1974

Rivellino was a key member of Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup winning team, which is often cited as the greatest-ever World Cup team. Wearing the number 11 jersey, Rivellino was deployed on the left side of midfield and scored three goals, including the powerful bending free-kick against Czechoslovakia, which earned him the nickname "Patada Atómica" (Atomic Kick) by Mexican fans. Rivellino also played in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups, finishing in fourth and third place respectively.

After retirement

After his professional retirement, Rivellino started a career as a football commentator and coach (he has managed Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan's J. League). Rivellino further represented Brazil in the 1989 edition of the World Cup of Masters, scoring in the final against Uruguay. Rivellino is sometimes credited with scoring the fastest goal in football history when he supposedly scored a goal direct from the kick-off after noticing the opposition goalkeeper on his knees finishing off pre-match prayers.

Regarding the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in his country, Rivellino criticized the inclusion of the Amazonian city of Manaus with its stadium Arena da Amazônia in the hosting venues, saying "it’s absurd to play in Manaus. You start sweating the moment you leave the locker room".

Career Statistics

International

Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rivellino goal.

List of international goals scored by Rivellino

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	20 June 1968	10th-Anniversary Stadium, Warsaw, Poland	Poland	2–2	6–3	Friendly
2				6–3
3	30 June 1968	Estádio da Machava, Matola, Mozambique	Portugal	–	2–0	Friendly
4	10 July 1968	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	Mexico	1–1	1–2	Friendly
5	17 July 1968	Estadio Nacional del Perú, Lima, Peru	Peru	1–0	4–0	Friendly
6	6 November 1968	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	FIFA World XI	1–0	2–1	Friendly
7	21 August 1969	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Colombia	5–1	6–2	1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	26 March 1970	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Chile	–	2–1	Friendly
9	29 April 1970	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Austria	1–0	1–0	Friendly
10	3 June 1970	Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico	Czechoslovakia	1–1	4–1	1970 FIFA World Cup
11	14 June 1970	Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico	Peru	1–0	4–2	1970 FIFA World Cup
12	17 June 1970	Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico	Uruguay	3–1	3–1	1970 FIFA World Cup
13	18 July 1971	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Yugoslavia	1–1	2–2	Friendly
14	27 May 1973	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Bolivia	–	5–0	Friendly
15				–
16	3 June 1973	Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria	Algeria	–	2–0	Friendly
17	21 April 1974	Estádio Governador Hélio Prates da Silveira, Brasília, Brazil	Haiti	–	4–0	Friendly
18	5 May 1974	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Republic of Ireland	2–0	2–1	Friendly
19	12 May 1974	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Paraguay	–	2–0	Friendly
20	22 June 1974	Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Zaire	2–0	3–0	1974 FIFA World Cup
21	22 June 1974	Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany	East Germany	1–0	1–0	1974 FIFA World Cup
22	30 June 1974	Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany	Argentina	1–0	2–1	1974 FIFA World Cup
23	28 April 1976	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Uruguay	–	2–1	1976 Taça do Atlântico
24	9 March 1977	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Colombia	6–0	6–0	1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
25	12 June 1977	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	West Germany	–	1–1	Friendly
26	19 June 1977	Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil	Poland	–	3–1	Friendly

Managerial

Honours

Corinthians

• Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1966

Fluminense

• Campeonato Carioca: 1975, 1976

Al Hilal

• Saudi Premier League: 1978–79
• King Cup: 1980

Brazil

• FIFA World Cup: 1970

Individual

• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team player: 1970; third place: 1978
• Bola de Prata Brazilian Championship All-Star Team: 1971
• World XI: 1971
• 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
• Premio Golden Foot Award (Football Legend Award): 2005
• The Best of The Best – Player of the Century: Top 50
• World Soccer: 38th Greatest Player of the 20th Century
• IFFHS Brazilian Player of the 20th Century (12th place)
• Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame

See also

In Spanish: Roberto Rivelino para niños