Emerson Ferreira da Rosa (born 4 April 1976), simply known as Emerson, 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 ...

who played as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

. At international level, he played 73 games for the Brazil national team between 1997 and 2006, scoring 6 goals. With Brazil, he has taken part in two

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

s (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, 2006, missing out on the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

due to injury), two editions of the Copa América (

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, 2001), and three Confederations Cups (

, 2003, 2005), winning the 1999 Copa América and the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, while also reaching the 1998 World Cup Final. An experienced footballer who was nicknamed the ''Puma'' due to his powerful but elegant, ball-winning style of play, Emerson has played for two Brazilian clubs, Grêmio and Santos, as well as several European clubs in Germany, Italy, and Spain, including

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, Juventus, Real Madrid and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, winning several titles. In addition to his Brazilian passport, Emerson also holds Italian, German and Qatari passports.

Club career

Grêmio

Emerson made a name for himself in his native Brazil playing for Grêmio, where he won two state championships, two Brazilian Cups, one Brazilian Championship and one Copa Libertadores. He then went to Europe to play for German club

Bayer Leverkusen

In 1997, Emerson was transferred to Bayer Leverkusen. He made his debut on 1 August 1997 against

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 ...

. Leverkusen finished in third place in the

1997–98 Bundesliga The 1997–98 Bundesliga was the 35th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 1 August 1997 and ended on 9 May 1998. FC Bayern Munich were the defending champions. FC Kaiserslautern won the Bundesliga on 1 May 1 ...

season. This was followed by two consecutive second-place finishes in the

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 ...

, behind champions Bayern Munich on both occasions. Emerson spent three years at Leverkusen, scoring 11 goals in 82 league appearances. On 13 August 1997, he made his debut in UEFA competitions in the qualifying round for the

1997–98 UEFA Champions League The 1997–98 UEFA Champions League was the 43rd season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier club football tournament, and the sixth since its re-branding from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The tournament was won by ...

, in Bayer Leverkusen's 6–1 aggregate win over

Dinamo Tbilisi Dinamo Tbilisi is a sports club from Tbilisi, Georgia. It was founded in 1925. Among its highest honors, is the European trophy earned by its football team which won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1981, beating FC Carl Zeiss Jena of East Germany 2–1 ...

. Leverkusen would eventually reach the Champions League quarter-finals, losing out to eventual champions Real Madrid. Emerson also reached the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

round of 16 on two occasions with Leverkusen.

Roma

Emerson signed for Italian

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 ...

club

in the summer of 2000 for 35 billion

Italian lire The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...

(€18.1 million by fixed exchange rate). He signed a five-year contract with an average salary of 7.2 billion Italian lire per year before tax. However, due to the quota imposed on non-EU players, Emerson was unable to play until Emerson acquired Italian nationality in October 2000, as his wife is Italian–Brazilian. Emerson made his

debut in a 3–0 victory on 28 January 2001 against

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, replacing

Marco Delvecchio Marco Delvecchio (; born 7 April 1973) is a retired Italian footballer, who played as a forward. Although he played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, he spent most of it at A.S. Roma, where he is still remembered by the club's f ...

in the 56th minute. Roma eventually won the '' Scudetto'' and the Supercoppa Italiana in 2001. Roma would also reach the Coppa Italia final during the 2002–03 season, losing out to

Juventus

After a prolonged transfer saga in which Roma wanted to sell Emerson to Real Madrid instead of Serie A rivals Juventus, Emerson was eventually sold to Juventus (which he preferred) in 2004 for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

12 million plus

Matteo Brighi Matteo Brighi (; born 14 February 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. Regarded as one of Italy's most talented prospects in his early career, Brighi was named Serie A Young Footballer of the Ye ...

(who was valued at €16 million), following in the footsteps of his former club coach, Fabio Capello. Moreover, an additional €4 million was paid to the agents, which made Emerson cost €32 million in total. Emerson won two consecutive Serie A titles with Juventus during the 2004–05 and the 2005–06 seasons, but both titles were revoked following the club's involvement in the

2006 Italian football scandal ''Calciopoli'' () was a sports scandal in Italy's top professional association football league Serie A and to a lesser extent Serie B. Involving various clubs and numerous executives, both from the same clubs and from the main Italian footbal ...

Real Madrid

After two seasons with Juventus, and following their relegation to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

due to their role in the 2006 Italian football scandal, Emerson moved to Real Madrid on 19 July 2006, again following Fabio Capello, costing Real Madrid €16 million. However, due to the declining relationship between Emerson and Capello and Emerson's poor performances for Real Madrid, in January 2007 Emerson stated his desire to return to Juventus, while it was rumoured he would be willing to take a pay cut. However, by May, Emerson's performances had improved considerably, along with a great improvement in the team's results, and on 12 May 2007 he declared his intention to remain with Real Madrid. But in his conversation with the radio program ''El Larguero'', Real Madrid club president

Ramón Calderón José Ramón Calderón Ramos (born 26 May 1951) is a Spanish lawyer who is the former President of Real Madrid. He got his Law Degree in the University of Navarra, Spain in 1974 and he worked in London, England, as a lawyer, in 1975 and 1976. A ...

said Emerson would leave Real Madrid in the summer (along with the Italian striker

Antonio Cassano Antonio Cassano (; born 12 July 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A talented and technically gifted player, he was usually deployed as a supporting forward, but could also play as an attacking midfield ...

) for technical reasons. Emerson won

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' ...

in his only season with Real Madrid.

Milan

On 21 August 2007, Milan officially confirmed the transfer of Emerson for €6 million. He made his Milan debut in the club's 3–1

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 original ...

victory over

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

on 31 August. However, Emerson was unable to contribute significantly to his new club due to injury, only managing 20 appearances for Milan in the 2007–08 season. Nonetheless, he was also able to win the

2007 FIFA Club World Cup The 2007 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament played in Japan from 7 to 16 December 2007. It was the fourth FIFA Club World Cup, a tourn ...

with Milan. On 21 April 2009, he and the club mutually agreed to terminate his contract. Immediately following his release, Emerson began negotiations with Grêmio with the aim of ending his career with his first club. However, due to international transfer restrictions, Emerson was unable to join Grêmio until August 2009 at the earliest.

Santos

After his release from Milan, on 26 July 2009 Emerson signed a contract with Santos. On 16 October 2009, Emerson decided to terminate his contract and leave Santos due to injury problems. Emerson then underwent surgery and retired from active competition.

Miami Dade FC

On 3 November 2015, Emerson announced he was joining Miami Dade FC of the

American Premier Soccer League The American Premier Soccer League (APSL) was a soccer league sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) with teams primarily in Southern Florida. Competition format The official regular season ran from January through Sept ...

(APSL). On 7 May 2017, Emerson made his debut for Miami Dade alongside former Brazil national team player

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...

in a 3–1 victory against Jupiter United. On 2 July, he won the 2017 Regular Season Championship, undefeated.

International career

Emerson made his

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 ...

debut on 10 September 1997, in a home friendly match against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

, in Salvador, Bahia, also scoring a goal in the match, as Brazil went on to win 4–2. He was a late replacement for Romário at the 1998 FIFA World Cup following Romário's injury. The defending

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

champions Brazil reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

, losing 3–0 to hosts and eventual champions

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 ...

. (Four years later, it would be Emerson who would miss out on a spot at the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

due to injury.) The following year, Emerson won the 1999 Copa América with Brazil, as Brazil overcame

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. Emerson scored one goal during the tournament, in Brazil's 7–0 win in its opening group match against

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Brazil also reached the final of the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup that year, where they lost the trophy to hosts

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Emerson scored his second international goal on 31 March 1999, in a friendly match against Japan in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, which Brazil won 2–0. Emerson scored his first double for Brazil on 23 February 2000 in a friendly match in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

against

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, which Brazil won 7–0. Emerson was intended to be the original captain for Brazil's

team, but he suffered an unfortunate injury in training before the first match of the tournament, dislocating his shoulder when attempting to parry a shot by a teammate. He was replaced by Ricardinho of

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

, while

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 ...

replaced him as captain. Brazil would ultimately win the tournament. In 2005, Emerson won the 2005 Confederations Cup with Brazil, who defeated South American rivals

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

4–1 in

, as well as overcoming hosts

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 ...

3–2 in the semi-finals. On 30 March 2005, Emerson scored a goal in an away 1–1 draw against Uruguay in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match. In the

2006 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 the ...

, he played in three of Brazil's five matches at the tournament, appearing in Brazil's two opening wins over

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and Australia during the group stage, while he was rested in the final group match against Japan, which Brazil won 4–1. He also appeared in Brazil's 3–0 round of 16 victory over

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, although he was taken off in the 46th minute after sustaining an injury. This would be Emerson's final match for Brazil. Brazil were eventually knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual

finalists The final of a competition is the match or round in which the winner of the entire event is decided. In sports competitions following a knockout system, where only two individuals or teams compete in each match, the final is usually played between ...

France. Emerson was excluded from the starting line-up in Brazil's quarter-final match due to injury. After the 2006 World Cup, Emerson retired from the national team, having scored 6 goals in 73 appearances. In addition to the aforementioned tournaments, Emerson also represented Brazil in the

2001 Copa América The 2001 Copa América was held in Colombia, from 11 to 29 July. It was organised by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. Colombia won the tournament for the 1st time without conceding a goal. Brazil were the defending champions wh ...

, in Colombia, where Brazil lost in the quarter-finals to Honduras; and in the

2003 Confederations Cup The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup, held in France in June 2003. France retained the title they had won in 2001, but the tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroon player Marc-Vi ...

in France, where Brazil was surprisingly eliminated in the first round, finishing third in their group.

Playing style

Emerson was an experienced, quick, combative, hardworking and dynamic player, who was capable of being deployed in several

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

positions. He played as a

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, and as a

box-to-box midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

on occasion, although his main position was that of a defensive midfielder, who was renowned for breaking down the opposition's play through his efficient tackling, stamina, anticipation, and ability to read the game. He was also capable of subsequently starting up attacking plays once he won back possession, due to his quick and effective passing style, as well as his technique. These attributes led to his nickname ''Il Puma'' for his elegant, yet powerful, feline movements when chasing down opponents in midfield. He was also gifted with a powerful and accurate shot from distance, although he was also known to be injury prone.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Emerson goal''.

Honours

Club

Grêmio * Série A: 1996 *

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de P ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

* Copa Libertadores:

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

* Recopa Sudamericana: 1996 Roma *

: 2000–01 * Supercoppa Italiana: 2001 Real Madrid *

: 2006–07 Milan *

: 2007 * FIFA Club World Cup: 2007 Miami Dade FC * APSL Regular Season: 2016 * APSL Regular Season: 2017 * APSL Champions: 2017

International

;Brazil *

(runners-up) * Copa América:

* FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005

Individual

*''

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

Team of the Season: 1999–2000

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson 1976 births Living people People from Pelotas Brazilian footballers Association football midfielders Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players A.S. Roma players Juventus F.C. players Real Madrid CF players A.C. Milan players Santos FC players Miami Dade FC players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Bundesliga players Serie A players La Liga players United Premier Soccer League players Brazil international footballers 1998 FIFA World Cup players 1999 Copa América players 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2001 Copa América players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Copa América-winning players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Naturalised citizens of Italy Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate soccer players in the United States Sportspeople from Rio Grande do Sul