José Roberto Gomes Santana, commonly known as Zé Roberto (born September 13, 1978, in Pastos Bons) is an association footballer who last played for the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League *San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League *San Diego S ...

in the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

. Zé Roberto began his career in his native

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 ...

, where he played with several clubs in the lower divisions. In 2002, he went abroad to North America to sign with the

Hershey Wildcats Hershey Wildcats were a professional soccer team, based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, that played in the USL A-League between 1997 and 2001. The team was owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. The team played in Hersheypar ...

of the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

. After the Wildcats folded, Zé Roberto was signed by the Montreal Impact in 2002. In Montreal he played an important role that would transform the Impact into a league powerhouse that would eventually dominate the league for latter part of the decade. His accolades during his tenure with Montreal include the League Championship, Regular-Season Championship, and the

Voyageurs Cup The Voyageurs Cup (french: Coupe des Voyageurs) is the domestic trophy for professional soccer in Canada, awarded to the best men's and women's clubs in the country. The Cup was conceived and commissioned by fans of the Canada men's nationa ...

. In January, 2010 he was ranked 22nd in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

Top 25 of the Decade, which announced a list of the best and most influential players of the previous decade.

Career

Midway through the 2007 season, Zé Roberto was traded to the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

on July 26, 2007, along with

Alen Marcina Alen Marcina (born July 30, 1979) is a Canadian soccer coach and former player who is currently the head coach of USL Championship side San Antonio FC. He is a three-time champion with San Antonio Scorpions and Rayo OKC in the NASL. Club car ...

for

Joey Gjertsen Joey Gjertsen (born June 13, 1982) is an American professional soccer player. Career College Gjertsen started his college soccer at Tacoma Community College where he produced 31 goals and a school record 14 assists in his freshman campaign. He ...

and

David Testo David Testo (born August 7, 1981) is an American retired soccer player who, after his playing career ended in 2011, became the first male American professional player of that sport to come out as gay. Testo played professionally from 2003 to 2 ...

. On April 9, 2008, Zé Roberto,

Luke Kreamalmeyer Luke Kreamalmeyer (born September 28, 1982 in Edwardsville, Illinois) is a professional American soccer player. Career College and amateur Kreamalmeyer attended Edwardsville High School where he scored a hat trick in the final state championship ...

and

Leslie Fitzpatrick Leslie "Tiger" Fitzpatrick (born November 11, 1978 in Port of Spain) is a former Trinidadian soccer player. Career College Fitzpatrick came to the United States to play college soccer, and spent four years at Columbia University, where he was n ...

were signed by the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

for the 2008 season. On February 17, 2009, the Rhinos announced the re-signing of Zé Roberto and striker Chris Sanders to a one-year deal with a one-year option for 2010. They did not exercise the option, and signed with the

in the

at the end of the Rhinos' 2009 outdoor season. At age 41, Zé Roberto was still on the Sockers' roster in 2020, having played in 14 of 24 games during their 2018–19 season.

References

External links

Rochester Rhinos bioDetroit Ignition bio

CBF
*
Player of the week, PASL-Pro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ze Roberto 1978 births Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Brazilian men's footballers Detroit Ignition (MISL) players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football midfielders Hershey Wildcats players Living people Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Footballers from Maranhão Rochester New York FC players San Diego Sockers (2009) players Tuna Luso Brasileira players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Major Arena Soccer League players Philadelphia KiXX players