Gilberto da Silva Melo (born 25 April 1976), more commonly known as Gilberto, is a Brazilian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He played at

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for the majority of his career. Gilberto's brothers Nenei and Nélio are also former footballers.

Club career

Born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Gilberto started his career in his native Brazil, playing for América-RJ,

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

and Cruzeiro. He moved for one season to Italian club

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

. However, he soon left for

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

. He also played with Grêmio and São Caetano.

Hertha BSC

Gilberto returned to Europe in 2004 with Germany club

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

. He played four years at this club. Gilberto combined a successful defense with permanent participation in the attacks from the left winger position. He had fast speed and good shot, and often threatened the goal, scoring six goals at the first season as a left back. In his first two seasons in Germany, Hertha finished fourth in the 2004–05 season and finished sixth in the following season.

Tottenham Hotspur

Gilberto signed for

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

from Hertha on 31 January 2008. After an initial period out injured, he made his Spurs debut against PSV in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

on 6 March 2008, but was replaced by Jamie O'Hara at half-time, after he had made a mistake that allowed PSV to score the game's only goal. Spurs manager

Juande Ramos Juan de la Cruz "Juande" Ramos Cano (born 25 September 1954) is a former Spanish footballer and manager. After playing and managing at an amateur level, Ramos led Rayo Vallecano to promotion to La Liga, followed by reaching the quarter-finals ...

stated after the match that Gilberto was substituted not because of the error, but rather because he is still recovering from his calf injury. Nevertheless, in playing, he became the first Brazilian to play for Spurs at first-team level, with their previous Brazilian players Rodrigo Defendi and Diego Bortolozzo only featuring in the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

. In Spurs' next game, Gilberto came on as a substitute to score the team's third goal in a 4–0 win over

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. Gilberto played his first full Spurs match against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

on 26 April 2008. Gilberto only made three appearances for Spurs in the 2008–09 season. He started a league game against Portsmouth and a UEFA Cup tie with Spartak Moscow. He was substituted at half time in both games. His last appearance for Spurs came against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup on 26 February 2009.

Cruzeiro

On 17 July 2009, Brazilian club Cruzeiro announced Gilberto will sign a two-year contract after a medical. Tottenham Hotspur announced his contract was mutually terminated on 24 July. He was unveiled to press on 29 July after the medical on the same day. He confirmed that he had quit the team during the season after ongoing discord among fans and the other squad members, and the club terminated his contract on 20 September 2011.

Vitoria

On 26 September 2011, Gilberto signed for the

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (commonly referred to as the Brasileirão Série B, the Série B or the Brazilian Série B to distinguish it from the Italian and the Ecuadorian Serie B), and currently officially called Brasileirão Série B ...

side

Esporte Clube Vitória Esporte Clube Vitória () is a Brazilian professional club based in Salvador, Bahia, Salvador, Bahia founded on 13 May 1899. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, as well as in the Campeonato Baiano, the top flight of the Bahia St ...

until the end of the season.

International career

In 1998 was the first time that Gilberto had training with the national team, after a successful season. He played for Brazil in the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

in Germany and scored against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in the group stage, his first goal for the national side, having made his debut for the team against

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

on 11 June 2003. Gilberto also featured as Brazil's first choice

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

in the

Copa America 2007 Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Association * Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association * Parlia ...

. Due to club performance, he lost his place on the national team to Kléber, and then to

André Santos André Clarindo dos Santos (born 8 March 1983) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a left-back, but was also utilised as an attacking midfielder or left winger. On 15 June 2009, he made his first international appearan ...

, which both of them selected to

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth FIFA Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton ...

and left Gilberto out. However, he has been called up in February 2010 to a friendly match against

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

since returned to Brazil. But he played as unused bench as

Michel Bastos Michel Fernandes Bastos (born 2 August 1983) is a Brazilian retired professional Association football, footballer who mainly played as a winger (association football), left winger. Bastos started his career at hometown club Esporte Clube Pelot ...

's backup. Moreover, most of the 22-men squad for the Ireland match (except Adriano and Carlos Eduardo), plus

Elano Elano Blumer (born 14 June 1981), known as Elano, is a Brazilian football coach and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his accurate passing and precise set pieces, Elano started his senior career at Santos, and spe ...

Luís Fabiano Luís Fabiano Clemente (born 8 November 1980), commonly known as Luís Fabiano, is a retired Brazilian professional footballer who played as a striker most notably for Sevilla, São Paulo, and the Brazil national team. He is a prolific goals ...

(who both pull out from the friendly by injury) and

Heurelho Gomes Heurelho da Silva Gomes (born 15 February 1981) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He played for Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur and Watfor ...

, became the provisional 23-men squad for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. And 7 more players were call-up as backup players. He played twice for the ''Seleção'' at the tournament, both as sub, including the match losing to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the quarter-finals. After the dismiss of Dunga, he never received any call-up again, and one year later, in 2011 he retired from the international football.

Career statistics

International

:''Score and result list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Gilberto goal''.

Honours

Flamengo *

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

: 1996 *

Copa de Oro The Copa de Oro (English: ''Gold Cup'', Portuguese: ''Copa Ouro''), or Copa de Oro Nicolás Leoz, was a football cup winners' cup competition contested on three occasions by the most recent winners of all CONMEBOL continental competitions. These i ...

: 1996 Cruzeiro * Minas Gerais State Championship: 1998, 2011 Vasco da Gama *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

: 2000 *

Copa Mercosur The Copa Mercosur (, , "Mercosur Cup") was a Association football, football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by the traditional top clubs from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile. The competition was created by CONMEBOL to generate ...

: 2000 São Caetano *

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

: 2004 Brazil *

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Lunar New Year Cup The Lunar New Year Cup, previously known as the Carlsberg Challenge or the Carlsberg Cup, is an annual invitational association football, football tournament organised in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) since 1908. It is usua ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilberto 1976 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Men's association football utility players Brazil men's international footballers 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 Copa América players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Copa América–winning players America Football Club (Rio de Janeiro) players CR Flamengo footballers CR Vasco da Gama players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Grêmio FBPA players Associação Desportiva São Caetano players Hertha BSC players Inter Milan players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Esporte Clube Vitória players América Futebol Clube (MG) players Araxá Esporte Clube players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Serie A players Bundesliga players Premier League players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city)