The Amazing superhero :
Kaká
Full name: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
| Date of birth : | 22 April 1982 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth : | Gama, DF, Brazil | |||||||||||
| Height : | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||
| Playing position | : Attacking midfielder | |||||||||||
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁiˈkaɾdu iˈzɛksõw duˈsɐ̃tus ˈlejt͡ʃi]; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká is a Brazilian football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Italian Serie A club Milan and the Brazilian national team.
Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began
playing for a local club. At the time, he also played tennis,
and it was not until he moved on to São Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of 15 that he chose to focus on football.
and it was not until he moved on to São Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of 15 that he chose to focus on football.
In 2003 he joined Milan for a fee of €8.5 million. While at Milan, Kaká won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007. After his success with Milan, Kaká joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of €65 million. At the time, this was the second highest transfer fee (in euros) ever, behind only the €75 million fee for Zinedine Zidane.
After four seasons in Spain, he returned to Milan in 2013. He has been a
Brazilian international player since 2002, and was selected for their
victorious World Cup squad that year, as well as two more editions of
the tournament.
In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Kaká is known for his
humanitarian work. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became
the youngest ambassador of the UN World Food Programme. Kaká was the first sportsperson to amass 10 million followers on Twitter.
Some of the pics of Kaka
Early life
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite was born in Gama, in Brazil, to Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite (a civil engineer) and Simone dos Santos (an elementary school teacher). He had a financially secure upbringing that allowed him to focus on both school and football at the same time . His younger brother Rodrigo (best known as Digão) and cousin Eduardo Delani are also professional footballers.
When he was seven, Kaká's family moved to São Paulo. His school had arranged him in a local youth club called "Alphaville," who qualified to the final in a local tournament. There he was discovered by hometown club São Paulo FC, who offered an assignment.
At the age of 18, Kaká suffered a career-threatening and possibly
paralysis-inducing spinal fracture as a result of a swimming pool
accident, but remarkably made a full recovery. He attributes his recovery to God and has since tithed his income to his church.
Club career
São Paulo
Kaká began his career with São Paulo at the age of eight. He signed a contract at fifteen and led the São Paulo youth squad to Copa de Juvenil glory. He made his senior side debut on 1 Feb 2001 and scored 12 goals in 27 appearances, in addition to leading São Paulo to its first and only Torneio Rio-São Paulo championship, in which he scored two goals in two minutes as a substitute against Botafogo in the final, which São Paulo won 2–1.He scored 10 goals in 22 matches the following season, and by this time his performance was soon attracting attention from European clubs. Kaká made a total of 58 appearances for São Paulo, scoring 23 times.[19]
Milan
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 was supported by Gattuso and Seedorf defensively, as well as Ambrosini, allowing Kaká as the attacking midfielder and Rui Costa or Pirlo as the deep-lying playmaker to be in charge of creating Milan's goalscoring chances, forming a formidable midfield unit in both Italy and Europe. Milan began the season by winning the Supercoppa Italiana against Lazio. He scored seven goals in 36 domestic appearances as Milan finished runner-up in the Scudetto race. Milan also reached the Quarter finals of the Coppa Italia that season. Kaká played a pivotal role in Milan's Champions League campaign that season, helping them to reach the final as favourites against Liverpool. Desite leading 3–0 at half time, Liverpool came back to tie the game and eventually won the match 3–2 on penalties after no goals in extra time, although Kaká was able to net his penalty. Despite Milan losing the 2004–05 Champions League final, Kaká was voted the best midfielder of the tournament, finishing as one of the second-best assist providers, with 4, including the long pass that led to Hernan Crespo's second goal in the final, after an exchange with Pirlo, to make the score 3–0 for Milan at half time. He also previously began the play that led to Crespo's first goal and Milan's second of the night and had won the freekick with which Pirlo assisted Paolo Maldini's opening goal after 50 seconds. Kaká was once again nominated for the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player Awards, finishing 9th and 8th in the respective rankings.
Andriy Shevchenko's departure to Chelsea for the 2006–07 season allowed Kaká to become the focal point of Milan's offense as he alternated between the midfield and forward positions, operating at times as a striker or as a second striker behind Inzaghi as well as in his more typical attacking midfield position. He finished as the top scorer in the 2006–07 Champions League campaign with ten goals. One of the goals helped the Rossoneri eliminate Celtic in the last 16 round on a 1–0 aggregate, and three others proved fatal for Manchester United in the semi-finals, despite Milan losing the first leg. Milan reached the semifinals of the Coppa Italia that season, losing out to winners Roma, and finished fourth in Serie A. Kaká added the UEFA Champions League title to his trophy case for the first time when Milan defeated Liverpool 2–1 on 23 May 2007, avenging the previous loss on penalties two years before. 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. On 30 August, Kaká was named by UEFA as both the top forward of the 2006–07 Champions League season and UEFA Club Footballer of the Year, as well as being named as part of the UEFA Team of the Year for the second time. He once again finished as the second best assist provider of the Champions League, providing five, and was voted the 2007 IFFHS World's Best Playmaker.
Due to his contributions on and off the pitch, Time magazine named Kaká in the Time 100, a list of the world's 100 most influential people, on 2 May. On 14 October, he cast his footprints into the Estádio do Maracanã's sidewalk of fame, in a section dedicated to the memory of the country's top players. He won the honor again in 2009. Kaká finished the 2007–08 season with 15 goals in Serie A and was nominated as a finalist for the FIFA World Player, finishing in fourth place, and was nominated for the Ballon d'Or, finishing in 8th place. He was elected to be part of the FIFPro World XI for the third time in his career.
BBC reported on 13 January 2009 that Manchester City made a bid for Kaká for over £100 million. Milan director Umberto Gandini replied that Milan would only discuss the matter if Kaká and Manchester City agreed to personal terms. Kaká initially responded by telling reporters he wanted to "grow old" at Milan and dreamed of captaining the club one day, but later said, "If Milan want to sell me, I'll sit down and talk. I can say that as long as the club don't want to sell me, I'll definitely stay." On 19 January, Silvio Berlusconi announced that Manchester City had officially ended their bid after a discussion between the clubs, and that Kaká would remain with Milan. Milan supporters had protested outside the club headquarters earlier that evening, and later chanted outside Kaká's home, where he saluted them by flashing his jersey outside a window. Kaká finished his final season with AC Milan by scoring 16 goals, allowing Milan to finish tied in second place with Juventus, once again being elected as a finalist for the FIFA World Player of the Year Award, finishing in fourth place for the second consecutive year. He was also nominated for the Ballon D'Or award, finishing in sixth place, and was elected to be part of the UEFA Team of the Year for the third time in his career.
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