Rivellino

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography Roberto Rivellino ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 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.<ref>Roberto Rivelino from Planetworldcup.com</ref> He also perfected a football move called the "flip flap", famously copied by Romário, Mágico González, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo in later years.<ref name="Goldblatt">David Goldblatt (2009). "The Football Book". p. 129. D Kindersley Ltd,</ref> 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.<ref name="Pitch">"Football's Greatest – Rivelino". Pitch International LLP. 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2014</ref> In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Rivellino currently works as a pundit for TV Cultura.<ref>Rivellino assina com a TV Cultura at TV Cultura</ref>

Club careerEdit

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.

File:Roberto Rivelino from left and right Najeeb Al Imam in 1979 in Saudi Arabia.jpg

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 careerEdit

File:Roberto Rivelino 1974.jpg

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.<ref name="BBC review">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Brazil poll">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Independent">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>"Dutch take plaudits but Germany take the prize". FIFA. Retrieved 27 December 2014</ref><ref>"Kempes key as Argentina are crowned with confetti". FIFA. Retrieved 27 December 2014</ref>

After retirementEdit

Template:Quote box 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.<ref>Football Legends: The Midfielders at soccerlens.com</ref>

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".<ref>Rivelino: 'Manaus an absurd venue'. Football Italia. 14 June 2014</ref>

Career statisticsEdit

InternationalEdit

Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref>Template:NFT player</ref>
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	1965	1	0
	1968	17	6
	1969	1	1
	1970	8	5
	1971	7	1
	1972	5	0
	1973	9	3
	1974	15	6
	1976	8	1
	1977	12	3
	1978	8	0
Total		91	26

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	Template:Abbr
1	Template:Dts	10th-Anniversary Stadium, Warsaw, Poland	Template:Fb	2–2	6–3	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2	Template:Dts	10th-Anniversary Stadium, Warsaw, Poland	Template:Fb	6–3	6–3	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation
3	Template:Dts	Estádio da Machava, Matola, Mozambique	Template:Fb	–	2–0	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
4	Template:Dts	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	Template:Fb	1–1	1–2	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
5	Template:Dts	Estadio Nacional del Perú, Lima, Peru	Template:Fb	1–0	4–0	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
6	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	FIFA World XI	1–0	2–1	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
7	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Template:Fb	5–1	6–2	1970 FIFA World Cup qualification	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
8	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Template:Fb	–	2–1	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
9	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
10	Template:Dts	Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico	Template:Fb	1–1	4–1	1970 FIFA World Cup	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
11	Template:Dts	Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico	Template:Fb	1–0	4–2	1970 FIFA World Cup	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
12	Template:Dts	Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico	Template:Fb	3–1	3–1	1970 FIFA World Cup	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
13	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Template:Fb	1–1	2–2	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
14	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Template:Fb	–	5–0	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
15	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Template:Fb	–	5–0	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation
16	Template:Dts	Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria	Template:Fb	–	2–0	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
17	Template:Dts	Estádio Governador Hélio Prates da Silveira, Brasília, Brazil	Template:Fb	–	4–0	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
18	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Template:Fb	2–0	2–1	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
19	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Template:Fb	–	2–0	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
20	Template:Dts	Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Template:Fb	2–0	3–0	1974 FIFA World Cup	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
21	Template:Dts	Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	1974 FIFA World Cup	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
22	Template:Dts	Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany	Template:Fb	1–0	2–1	1974 FIFA World Cup	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
23	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Template:Fb	–	2–1	1976 Taça do Atlântico	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
24	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Template:Fb	6–0	6–0	1978 FIFA World Cup qualification	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
25	Template:Dts	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Template:Fb	–	1–1	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
26	Template:Dts	Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil	Template:Fb	–	3–1	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>