Kléber Soriano de Carvalho Corrêa (born 1 April 1980), commonly known as Kléber, 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 ...

, who played as a

left wing-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Club career

Corinthians

Kléber began his career in

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () 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-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

. He was a regular team when Corinthians won the Brazilian Championship twice in the 1998 and 1999 campaigns. He won the

FIFA Club World Championship The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) 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 contes ...

in 2000,

São Paulo State Championship 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), t ...

in 2001 and Brazil Cup in 2002.

Hannover (loan)

In July 2003, he moved to

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

on loan for a fee of nearly 1 million Euro, but he failed to establish himself with the German club. At the end of the season they did not pull the buy-out option in the loan contract, and he had to return to his club of origin.

Basel

Kléber moved to

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

in the summer of 2004 on a three-year contract. He joined Basel's first team for their 2004–05 season under head coach

Christian Gross Christian Jürgen Gross (born 14 August 1954) is a Swiss football manager and former player. He played as a sweeper and central midfielder. Gross was manager of Basel from 1999 to 2009, winning four Swiss Super Leagues and four Swiss Cups. As ...

. Kléber became a regular at the Swiss club immediately. After playing in two test games he played his domestic league debut for the club in the home game in the

St. Jakob-Park St. Jakob-Park () is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. "Joggeli", as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity w ...

on 17 July 2004 as Basel won 6–0 against

Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the d ...

. As reigning Swiss champions, Basel entered 2004–05 UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round and their aim was to reach the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. However, they were drawn against

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 ...

and Inter won the qualifier 5–2 on aggregate. Basel subsequently dropped into the

2004–05 UEFA Cup The 2004–05 UEFA Cup was the 34th edition of the UEFA Cup. The format of the competition had changed from previous seasons, replacing that from the previous one after the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999; an extra qualifying round was ...

. Beating

Terek Grozny Republican Football Club Akhmat (; ), commonly known as Akhmat Grozny, and formerly as Terek Grozny from 1958 to 2017, is a Russian professional football club based in Grozny that plays in the Russian Premier League. History The club was foun ...

in the first round, Basel qualified for the group stage. A 1–1 draw away against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

was followed by a home defeat against Hearts. But with two victories, 2–1 away against

Ferencvárosi TC Ferencvárosi Torna Club, commonly known as Ferencváros (), Fradi, FTC is a Hungary, Hungarian professional Association football, football club based in Ferencváros, Budapest, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hunga ...

and 1–0 at home against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

, saw Basel rise to third place in the group table and advance to the knock-out stage. In the round of 32 in the

, a home game in the

on 17 February 2005, Basel played a goalless draw against

Lille OSC Lille Olympique Sporting Club (), commonly referred to as LOSC, LOSC Lille or simply Lille, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lille, Northern France competing in Ligue 1, the top division of Football in Franc ...

, but the return leg were defeated 2–0 and were eliminated. Kléber scored his first goal for his new club on 16 March 2005 in the home game in the

as Basel won 4–3 against

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

. Basel completed all the 2004–05 Super League season's seventeen home games undefeated, winning thirteen and drawing four. They ended the season as Swiss champions with 10 points advantage over second placed

Thun Thun () is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Thun (administrative district), Thun in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Switzerland. ...

. Kléber started the next season with the team, playing six of the first seven league games. But then came the players wish to return home to Brazil, the club complied with his request, loaning him out, but he never returned. During his time with them, Kléber played a total of 72 games for Basel scoring a total of three goals. 36 of these games were in the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

, three in the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

, 11 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 22 were friendly games. He scored one goal in the domestic and the other two were scored during the test games.

Santos

To the beginning of September 2005, Kléber joined

Santos Santos may refer to: People *Santos (surname) * Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter * Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War Places *Santos, São Paulo, a municipality in São Paulo ...

on a one-year loan The loan contract had an option for a definitive transfer. In 2006, Kléber was a part of the team that won São Paulo State Championship. Santos pulled the option and purchased his contract. The team finished fourth in the Brazilian League. Santos won the state title once again in 2007, with Kléber delivering the cross to the winning 2–0 goal against São Caetano.

Internacional

On 26 January 2009, the left wingback was signed by Internacional. The investment company

DIS Esporte D.I.S. Esporte e Organização de Eventos LTDA. is a private football investment fund. It was set up by Rio Grande do Sul native Delcir Sonda and Idi Sonda. They operate one of the São Paulo state supermarket chains, Sonda. DIS was the strategic ...

bought Kléber from Santos for R$ 5 million and sold to Inter for undisclosed fee. In September 2010 he signed a new contract which last until January 2013.

International career

Kléber made his debut for

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

on 31 January 2002 in a friendly match against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. A year later, he was included in Brazil team for

2003 FIFA 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-Vivi ...

. He appeared in all three matches, as Brazil was eliminated in the group stage. After missing out from the national team for more than four years, he was recalled to the team in March 2007 and subsequently earned a place in Brazil's team for

2007 Copa América The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The c ...

, which Brazil went on to win. He scored his first international goal on 12 September 2007 in a friendly match against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. In May 2009, he was selected for the Brazil squad for the

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 ...

in South Africa.

Personal life

Kléber is the father of the Brazilian footballer

Kaique Kenji Kaique Kenji Takamura Correa (born 30 January 2006) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Cruzeiro. Club career Kenji began playing football with Corinthians before he was 10 ...

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Corinthians *

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 ...

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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () 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 it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

* Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 2002 *

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), ...

: 1999, 2001, 2003 *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Basel *

: 2004–05 Santos *

: 2006, 2007 Internacional *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, 2012 *

Suruga Bank Championship The J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship was an annual intercontinental football match held in Japan, contested by the reigning champions of the J.League Cup and the Copa Sudamericana. The tournament was previously officially called the ...

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana (), also known as Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club Association football, football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1988. It ...

International

Brazil *

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 ...

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 football championships, continental champions ...

Superclásico de las Américas The Superclassic of the Americas (, ), was an annual Exhibition game, friendly association football, football match between the national teams of Argentina national football team, Argentina and Brazil national football team, Brazil. Established ...

Individual

* Bola de Prata: 2006, 2007, 2009 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

References

Sources

* Die ersten 125 Jahre. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel.
Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleber Living people 1980 births Footballers from São Paulo Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Brazil men's international footballers 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2007 Copa América players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Copa América–winning players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players SC Internacional players Santos FC players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Figueirense FC players Hannover 96 players FC Basel players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Bundesliga players Swiss Super League players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Copa Libertadores–winning players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen