Márcio Rafael Ferreira de Souza (born 7 September 1985), commonly known as Rafinha (; "Little Rafa"), is a Brazilian 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 ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

. He is known as a skilled defender with good passing skills, quick pace, agility and a strong shot. He has earned four caps with the Brazil national team.

Club career

Brazil and Schalke

Rafinha began his football career at the age of seven, playing for Gremio Londrinense, a

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

team from his home town of

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and fourth largest in the southern regi ...

, Paraná. By age 12, he had begun training with PSTC, a local football club, before signing for

Londrina Esporte Clube Londrina Esporte Clube, more commonly referred to as Londrina, is a Brazilian professional association football club in Londrina, Paraná which currently plays in Série B, the second tier of Brazilian football, after being promoted from Sé ...

in 2000 at the age of 15. At the end of his second year with Londrina, Rafinha was signed by

Coritiba Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as "Coxa-Branca" or "Coxa", is a Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest f ...

. This meant moving hundreds of kilometers from his home town, but it also allowed Rafinha to display his talents on the national stage. For Coritiba, Rafinha made 23 appearances in the 2004 season and scored three goals in 13 appearances in the 2005 season. At Coritiba, Rafinha eventually found his way into the Brazil under-20 national team and played in the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Worl ...

in the Netherlands. During the tournament, he scored two goals and played an integral part in Brazil's progress to the bronze medal. Rafinha's performance at the tournament alerted numerous European teams to his ability, with German club

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

ultimately signing the right-back from Coritiba for an estimated €5 million on a four-year contract. At Schalke, he made 42 appearances in 2005–06 season, two goals in 35 appearances in the 2006–07 season, five goals in 46 appearances in the 2007–08 season, two goals in 40 appearances in the 2008–09 season, and two goals in 35 appearances in the 2009–10 season.

Genoa

On 4 August 2010, it was confirmed that Rafinha moved from Schalke to Italian side

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. The transfer had cost Genoa €8 million. He scored two goals in 34 appearances in his only Serie A season. After Genoa had failed to pay the transfer fee in time, however, Rafinha's former club Schalke sued Genoa through the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...

(CAS).

Bayern Munich

Rafinha Training 2016-11 FC Bayern Muenchen-5

On 1 June 2011,

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

confirmed Rafinha's transfer from Genoa on the same day that they signed his former Schalke teammate

Manuel Neuer Manuel Peter Neuer (; born 27 March 1986) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper and captains both club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the ...

. Rafinha signed a three-year contract, and reports say Bayern paid €5.75 million for him. He scored his first goal for Bayern against

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

, as a substitute in a 2–0

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

win on 14 September 2011. He finished the 2011–12 season with a goal in 35 appearances. Entering as an 83rd-minute substitute on 20 October 2012 during an away match against

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

, he scored his first Bundesliga goal for Bayern in a 5–0 win. He played a total of 13 Bundesliga games throughout the season, adding another goal on 13 April in a 4–0 win over 1. FC Nürnberg. He finished the 2012–13 season with two goals in 17 appearances. During the 2013–14 season, after fellow right back

Philipp Lahm Philipp Lahm (; born 11 November 1983) is a German former professional footballer who played as a full-back. Considered by many to be one of the greatest full-backs of all time, Lahm was the captain of Bayern Munich, having led them to numerous ...

was moved to defensive midfield, Rafinha found more opportunities to play regularly. He made 46 appearances across all competitions, including the entire DFB-Pokal Final in which Bayern secured a second consecutive

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

after defeating

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

. He finished the 2014–15 season with 41 appearances. He started the 2015–16 season by coming in as a substitute for

Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Barcelona and captains the Poland national team. Recognised for his positioning, technique and finishing, Lewandowski is co ...

in the 72nd minute of the

German Super Cup German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. He finished the 2015–16 season with 34 appearances. He started the 2016–17 season by coming in as a substitute for

Thomas Müller Thomas Müller (; born 13 September 1989) is a German professional footballer who plays for club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. A versatile player, Müller has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking m ...

in the 87th minute of the

. He finished the 2016–17 season with a goal in 28 appearances. He started the 2017–18 season by starting in the

. He finished the 2017–18 season with a goal in 39 appearances. Rafinha was an unused substitute in the

. He made his first appearance of the 2018–19 season in the

German Cup The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

. He started the match and played the full 90 minutes. He finished the 2018–19 season with a goal in 26 appearances.

Flamengo

On 9 June 2019,

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

confirmed Rafinha's transfer from

. Rafinha signed a two-year contract.

Olympiacos

On 23 August 2020, Rafinha joined

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

after signing a one-plus-one-year contract. He was officially released on 2 February 2021, as he was no longer in the plans of manager Pedro Martins, especially after signing right full-back

Kenny Lala Kenny Lala (born 3 October 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ligue 1 club Brest. Career Lala began his career with local amateur club ES Parisienne before signing with semi-professional club Paris at the a ...

as a free transfer a few days earlier. Although, before the mutual termination of his contract, he won the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

and alongside, Olympiacos set an agreement that, after winning that season's

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

, Rafinha will get a commemorative medal for that title.

Grêmio

On 29 March 2021, Rafinha joined Grêmio on a deal running until December.

International career

Brazil

U-23 (2008 Olympics)

In the summer of 2008, Rafinha was involved in a dispute with his club about his participation for Brazil at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Schalke 04 (to send Rafinha) along with

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

(

Diego Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. Et ...

) and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

(

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

) did not want to release their players for the Olympic games so that they could help them in their domestic and European competitions. The case was taken to

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

, which ruled that all clubs should release their players aged under 23 for the Games. Schalke, Werder Bremen and Barcelona, however, took their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) who eventually ruled in the clubs' favour, stating, "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the appeals filed by FC Schalke 04, SV Werder Bremen and FC Barcelona against the decision issued on 30 July 2008 by the Single Judge of the FIFA's Players' Status Committee that consequently has been set aside in its entirety." Schalke continued its bar on Rafinha from attending the Olympics. Despite his club's wishes, however, he ultimately did compete for the Brazil squad, which won bronze.

Senior team

Rafinha made his senior debut for

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

on 26 March 2008 in a friendly match against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. He then went through a six-year absence from the national team, making his second appearance in a friendly against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on 5 March 2014. In May 2014, he was named by Brazil head coach

Luiz Felipe Scolari Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Athletico Paranaense. Scolari was a defender during his playing days, and notab ...

as a standby player for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. On 17 September 2015, Rafinha was called up by head coach

Dunga Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born 31 October 1963), known as Dunga (), is a Brazilian football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. Under his captaincy, Brazil won the 1994 FIFA World Cup and he lifte ...

for two qualifying fixtures for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

, but five days later turned it down, while also denying claims of rejecting the call-up to represent his adopted homeland

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In June 2017, Rafinha was called up for international friendlies against Argentina and Australia.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

Bayern Munich *

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018–19 * DFL-Supercup:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

: 2012–13 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

Flamengo *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Supercopa do Brasil The Supercopa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Super Cup) is a Brazilian association football trophy organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). It is contested between the champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro and the winners of the Copa d ...

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, B ...

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club association football, football compe ...

runner-up:

Olympiacos *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

: 2019–20 Grêmio *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho Série A1 (Gaúcho Championship A1 Series or Série A1), officially named as Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF - Divisão Especial - Série A1 and commonly known as Campeonato Gaúcho or Gauchã ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Recopa Gaúcha The Recopa Gaúcha ( en, Rio Grande do Sul Winners Cup), is a super cup tournament organized by the Rio Grande do Sul Football Federation (FGF), disputed between the winners of Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho Série A1 (Gaúcho Cha ...

São Paulo *

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

runner-up:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Individual

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

* Bola de Prata:

Team of the Year:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafinha footballer 1985 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Londrina Brazilian footballers Association football defenders Coritiba Foot Ball Club players FC Schalke 04 players Genoa C.F.C. players FC Bayern Munich footballers CR Flamengo footballers Olympiacos F.C. players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players São Paulo FC players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Bundesliga players Serie A players Super League Greece players UEFA Champions League winning players Brazil youth international footballers Brazil under-20 international footballers Olympic footballers of Brazil Brazil international footballers Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Greece