Cícero João de Cézare (born 24 June 1980), nicknamed Cicinho (), is a Brazilian retired 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 played 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 ...

. He had his breakthrough at

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 Ga ...

, where he was named in the 2005 Bola de Prata as the team won the Campeonato Paulista, Copa Libertadores and FIFA Club World Cup. He then spent most of his career with mixed successes at Real Madrid, Roma and

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Demir Grup Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department competes in Süper Lig, as of 201 ...

. He suffered from alcoholism during his time in Europe. Cicinho earned 15

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

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 ...

, winning the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and going to the

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

Club career

Early career

Born in

Pradópolis Pradopolis is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in 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 mi ...

, Cicinho began his career at

Botafogo-SP Botafogo Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Botafogo-SP, Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto or simply Botafogo, is a Brazilian association football club in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série B, the second tier of Braz ...

before joining

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

, who loaned him to the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

-based

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood ('' bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of ...

. He won the Club World Cup in 2005 while playing for

Real Madrid

After an interview with Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Cicinho signed for Real Madrid on 23 August 2005, effective from the new year. He joined for an undisclosed fee and accompanied compatriots Ronaldo,

Robinho Robson de Souza ( or , born 25 January 1984), known as Robinho (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. In 1999, at 15 years of age, Robinho was picked by Brazil legend Pelé as his heir apparent and, in 2002 ...

, Júlio Baptista and

Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his car ...

, under Brazilian manager

Vanderlei Luxemburgo Vanderlei Luxemburgo da Silva (born 10 May 1952) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player. He is currently a free agent. A left wingback, Luxemburgo represented Flamengo, Internacional and Botafogo before retiring in 1980. ...

. He made his debut in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

on 8 January 2006, replacing the injured Ronaldo after 33 minutes in a goalless draw at

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 ...

, and three weeks later, he scored his first goal to open a 2–1 win at

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...

. On 14 February, he scored after 57 seconds in a 4–0 win over

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at L ...

in the semi-finals of the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

, to no avail due to a 6–1 loss in the first round. In September 2006, Cicinho suffered an extensive injury to his ACL and missed over six months. His comeback, to not only the pitch, but also the starting lineup, was on 29 April 2007, against Athletic Bilbao. He assisted

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...

's first goal with a cross, and played a part in the Dutchman's second goal in a 4–1 win. In preparation for the 2007–08 season, Cicinho received less playing time under new coach

Bernd Schuster Bernd Schuster (born 22 December 1959) is a German former professional footballer of the late 1970s through early 1990s, who won club titles playing for the Spanish sides FC Barcelona (1980–1987) and Real Madrid (1988–1990). He played as a m ...

Michel Salgado Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

and Sergio Ramos were used on the right during most of pre-season, and he therefore requested a transfer to

A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

who had been following him for some time.

Roma

On 22 August 2007, Cicinho signed for Roma for a fee up to €11 million. Cicinho signed a five-year contract with the capital club worth from €3.6M in the first year up to €4 million in the last year (in gross salary, i.e. include tax), with additional bonuses. He made his official debut in a Roma jersey on the first matchday of

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

against Palermo, as a substitute for

Ludovic Giuly Ludovic Vincent Giuly (born 10 July 1976) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. Giuly represented France at international level, gaining 17 caps over a five-year period and was a member of their 2003 FIFA Confedera ...

in the second half. Roma went on to win the game 2–0. On 9 February 2010, Cicinho joined

on loan until on 30 June 2010. This loan came after a 2009–10 season in which Cicinho received less playing time under new manager

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in ...

in favor of Marco Cassetti and

Marco Motta Marco Motta (; born 14 May 1986) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a right back. Motta is a former Italy international and made his senior international appearance in 2010; at youth level, he participated in the 2008 Summer ...

. On 13 January 2011, he returned to Spain; this time joining

on loan until the end of the season. In 2011–12 season Cicinho returned to Roma. He was the third choice for right back behind Marco Cassetti and Aleandro Rosi. He played only 2 matches in a 2011–12 season, first against Siena and second against Fiorentina in which he was a starter. His contract expired on 30 June, and he returned to Brazil.

Later career

Cicinho returned to Brazil after six years away on 21 June 2012, signing a one-year contract for

Sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

as part of president Gustavo Dubeux's promise to bring in a player who would be "greeted by the fans at the airport". In July 2013, Cicinho signed with Turkish club

, managed by his former club and international defensive partner

. After one year, Cicinho had become a key player, and, in April 2014, he renewed his contract for two more years. In September 2017, after over a year of unemployment, Cicinho signed with Brasiliense of Série D for the 2018 season. He rescinded his contract on 1 March, after two competitive games for the team from

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, due to a recurring knee injury.

International career

Cicinho made his debut for Brazil national team on 27 April 2005 in a 3–0 win over Guatemala at the

Estádio do Pacaembu Estádio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho, colloquially known as Estádio do Pacaembu (), is an Art Deco stadium in São Paulo, located in the Pacaembu neighborhood. The stadium is owned by the Municipal Prefecture of São Paulo. The stadium w ...

for Romário's

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

, assisting the opening goal by Ânderson. He was called up for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany, with he and Léo replacing veteran full-backs

Cafu Marcos Evangelista de Morais (born 7 June 1970), known as Cafu (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Known for his pace and energetic attacking runs along the right flank, he is regarded as one of the gr ...

and

respectively. He played every match as Brazil won. On 12 November 2005, Cicinho came on as a substitute for Cafú in a friendly against the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

in Abu Dhabi and scored his only international goal to cap an 8–0 victory. He was one of the 23 players called up by

Carlos Alberto Parreira Carlos Alberto Gomes Parreira (born 27 February 1943) is a Brazilian former football manager who holds the record for attending the most FIFA World Cup final tournaments as manager with six appearances. He also managed five different national te ...

to defend Brazil's crown in the

in Germany. He made his tournament debut in the 4–1 group stage win over Japan, assisting one of Ronaldo's goals that made him the tournament's all-time top goalscorer. His one other appearance was in the 1–0 loss to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in the quarter-finals, as a late substitute for Cafú.

Personal life

In addition to being Brazilian, he is also an Italian citizen, having a grandfather from

Tione degli Abruzzi Tione degli Abruzzi ( Abruzzese: ') is a ''comune'' in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo, region of Italy. Transport Tione degli Abruzzi has a stop on the Terni–Sulmona railway, with trains to L'Aquila and Sulmona Sulmona ( nap, label= ...

in Abruzzo whose last name was "De Cesare", then poorly transcribed as De Cézare by the registry office. In 2012, Cicinho revealed that he was an alcoholic and smoker, and would have taken drugs were it not for doping tests in football. He told ESPN Brasil in 2016 that he smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. The following year, he confessed in a Fox interview that his addictions became a problem following his move to Real Madrid, and that he got more than 30 tattoos in a struggle to fight his depression.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;São Paulo * Campeonato Paulista: 2005 * Copa Libertadores: 2005 * FIFA Club World Cup: 2005 ;Real Madrid *

: 2006–07 ;Roma *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

: 2007–08

International

;Brazil * FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005

References

External links

*
Sivasspor profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cicinho 1980 births Living people Brazilian people of Italian descent People from Ribeirão Preto Footballers from São Paulo (state) Brazilian footballers Association football fullbacks Botafogo Futebol Clube (SP) players Clube Atlético Mineiro players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players São Paulo FC players Real Madrid CF players A.S. Roma players Villarreal CF players Sport Club do Recife players Sivasspor footballers Brasiliense Futebol Clube players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players La Liga players Serie A players Süper Lig players Brazil international footballers 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Copa Libertadores-winning players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Turkey