José Roberto da Silva Júnior (born 6 July 1974), commonly known as Zé Roberto, 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 or as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He is most well-known for his time with Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, as well as Portuguesa, Grêmio and Palmeiras in the Brazilian league. He made his debut for Portuguesa where he played for two seasons before joining Real Madrid in January 1997. He left Real Madrid later that year to get more playing time and increase his chances of selection for the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

. He joined Flamengo before returning to Europe in the summer of 1998, signing for Bayer Leverkusen. At Bayer Leverkusen, Zé Roberto challenged Bayern Munich for the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

title, as Leverkusen finished runner-ups on three occasions. Leverkusen also made it to the

2002 UEFA Champions League final The 2002 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The show-piece event was contested between Bayer Leverkusen of Germany and Real Madrid of Spain at Hamp ...

which they lost to Real Madrid. In 2002, Zé Roberto joined Bayern Munich where he won four Bundesliga titles over six seasons. He also played for Santos, Hamburger SV, Al-Gharafa, Grêmio and Palmeiras. Over the course of his career, he played 961 club games and took the field 84 times for Brazil. Currently, he is a technical advisor to Palmeiras, acting directly with the players and the coaching staff.

Club career

Early career

Zé Roberto started in the youth ranks of Palestra de São Bernardo but it was while playing for Portuguesa, as a left-back, that he became known throughout Brazil after finishing as runner-up in 1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. He then joined

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

in January 1997 for a brief spell, where he helped them win the 1996–97 Spanish league championship. He was also part of the Madrid's 1997–98 UEFA Champions League winning squad, scoring his only goal for the club in the opening group match against

Rosenborg BK Rosenborg Ballklub, commonly referred to simply as Rosenborg () or RBK, is a Norwegian professional association football, football club from Trondheim that plays in Eliteserien (football), Eliteserien. The club has won a record 26 league titles ...

, before moving back to Brazil to play for

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

midway through the season. In an interview in 2012, Zé Roberto spoke of his decision to leave Madrid because of his ambition to play for Brazil at the

in France and had limited opportunities to prove his talents in Spain. The first half of 1998 Zé played for Flamengo under manager

Paulo Autuori Paulo Autuori de Mello (born 25 August 1956), known as Paulo Autuori, is a Brazilian football executive and coach. He is the current manager of Peruvian club Sporting Cristal. Early life A football fan since early childhood and a futsal player ...

alongside

Romário Romário de Souza Faria (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and former professional association football, footballer who is currently a Senator for Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro and the presi ...

, Palinha,

Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philip ...

(who would later play for Leverkusen and

AS Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: Help:IPA/Italian, ) is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier ...

), and his former Portuguesa teammate Rodrigo Fabri for the Rio de Janeiro State Championship, finishing disappointingly as runners-up. After this he was signed by German

club

Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

Bayer Leverkusen

He joined

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

in the summer of 1998. It was at Leverkusen that he really made a name for himself, quickly becoming a popular figure at the club. During his four-year stay, Bayer enjoyed their most successful period at the time, finishing as runners-up in the German

on three occasions. On 4 December 2001, he opened the scoring with a curling free kick against

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

in the 64th minute, as Bayer comprehensively beat the Spanish side 3–0 in the second group stage of the Champions League. Following Bayer's victory over

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on 9 April 2002, Zé Roberto announced that he would be joining former teammate

Michael Ballack Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He was selected by Pelé as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. He won the German Footballer of ...

at Bayern Munich. Despite the transfer distractions, Zé Roberto helped Bayer reach the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the Champions League on 15 May 2002, losing 2–1 to former club Real Madrid in Glasgow. In four years at the club, Zé Roberto appeared in 113 league matches scoring 16 goals.

Bayern Munich and Santos

In May 2002, Zé Roberto joined Bayern Munich for a reported fee of €12 million, signing a three-year deal, linking up with emerging German talent Sebastian Deisler and former Leverkusen teammate

. With Bayern, he claimed the domestic league and cup double three times between 2002 and 2006. He found his starting spot threatened under new coach Felix Magath and left the club in 2006. Following the announcement that he would not return to Bayern Munich, he publicly criticized the club's style of play and predicted struggles if changes were not made. Being a free agent, Zé Roberto signed through his agent Juan Figer a three-year contract with

Club Nacional de Football Club Nacional de Football (, ''National Football Club'') is a Uruguayan professional sports club based in La Blanqueada, La Blanqueada, Montevideo. The club was founded on 14 May 1899 as a result of the merger between ''Uruguay Athletic Club'' an ...

in Montevideo, a club he would never play for. In August 2006, it was announced that Zé Roberto would join

Santos FC Santos Futebol Clube () is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a ''bairro'' in the city of Santos, São Paulo, Santos. It plays in the Campeonato Paulista, the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo's premier State football lea ...

in Brazil for one year. He helped the team win the 2007

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), ...

, his first title in a Brazilian competition. He scored seven goals in the 2007 Copa Libertadores, where Santos reached the semi-finals. During his time with Santos, Zé Roberto appeared in 48 official matches and scored 12 goals, playing for the first time in his career as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. In June 2007, it was announced that Zé Roberto would return to Bayern Munich, which paid one million euro to Nacional for a two-year loan. He stated, "It was as if I’d never been away", en route to winning a fourth domestic double with the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

ns. The revitalised Zé Roberto demonstrated all his newly acquired skills by scoring five goals and forming a rock-solid partnership with

Mark van Bommel Mark Peter Gertruda Andreas van Bommel (born 22 April 1977) is a Dutch Association football, football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. His FIFA World Cup profile describes him as "a tackling machine and expert ball-winner, but ...

in his new role in central defensive midfield. Zé Roberto made a successful start to the 2008–09 season, scoring four goals in his first 11 starts. He would conclude his second spell at the club appearing in 59 league matches and scoring nine goals. Zé Roberto left the club at the end of the 2009 season after Bayern executives refused to offer him a new two-year deal.

Hamburger SV

upZé Roberto training with Hamburg in 2009 Zé Roberto's contract with Bayern ran until 30 June 2009. The club offered him a contract until 2010, though he declined. Bundesliga side

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

officially announced his signing to a two-year contract on 2 July 2009.

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

reported that Hamburg actually paid €4 million sign-on fees to Zé Roberto's agent Juan Figer, which Bayern also paid €1 million in 2007. In May 2011, Zé Roberto confirmed that he would not renew his contract with the German team as he wanted a longer contract than the new one offered by the club.

Al-Gharafa

On 10 July 2011, Zé Roberto signed a two-year contract with the

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

i club Al-Gharafa.

Return to Brazil

After a season with Qatari outfit Al-Gharafa, Zé Roberto returned to Brazil in May to join Grêmio FBPA in Puerto Alegre, helping them finish third in the

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 ...

. On 10 December 2012, he expressed his desire to retire at Grêmio after extending his contract by a further year. On 9 December 2014, Zé Roberto left Grêmio as the club decided not to renew his contract.

Palmeiras

Zé Roberto playing for Palmeiras in 2017 On 22 December 2014, Zé Roberto joined Palmeiras on a one-year contract, valid until 31 December 2015. He was immediately appointed team captain, helping them win the 2015 Copa do Brasil with four goals scored in the competition and a successful penalty in the final. In the

, Palmeiras finished in the 9th position. He signed a one-year extension to his contract on 19 October 2015, valid until 31 December 2016. On 28 November 2016, he won his first national championship in Brazil. He declared after the final match against Chapecoense that he would not retire at the end of the season. Eventually, on 9 December, he signed a new contract with Palmeiras, keeping him at the club until the end of 2017. On 24 November, he announced that the Palmeiras match against

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 M ...

two days later would be the last of his career and that he would retire.

International career

Zé Roberto was part of the

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 ...

squads at the

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 ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

World Cups. In 1998, he helped the Seleção to the final, making one appearance, but was an unused substitute as Brazil lost to hosts

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

3–0. He was left out of the 2002 World Cup winning squad due to a calf injury. In the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany Zé Roberto scored Brazil's third and final goal in a man of the match performance in Brazil's second round match against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. He was the only Brazil player to feature in the all star team of the tournament. Zé Roberto helped Brazil to wins at the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

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 ...

editions of the Copa América, scoring Brazil's third goal in their 3–1 defeat of

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 ...

in the final on 26 June 1997. He also represented Brazil at the

and

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

FIFA Confederations Cups in Saudi Arabia and Germany respectively, winning both. He played the full ninety minutes of the

in 2005, as Brazil overpowered arch rivals

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

4–1 on 29 June 2005.

Style of play

upZé Roberto in 2011 Capable of playing both as a left-sided defender and in several midfield positions, Zé Roberto was a quick, hard-working and versatile left-footed player who in his prime was known for his technique, vision and efficient style of play as well as his

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

, passing, crossing and tackling ability. He started his career as an attacking full-back or wing-back on the left flank, occasionally functioning in a box-to-box role in midfield; he was later deployed as a left-winger and subsequently in a more creative role as an

, although he struggled to find space in the national side in this position due to the presence of several other world-class playmakers in the squad. During his time at Bayern Munich, Zé Roberto excelled alongside van Bommel as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

due to his ability to read the game, break down opposing plays and subsequently start counter-attacks; his adeptness at this new holding role led him to be called up to the Brazil national team once again, where he also formed an effective and consistent defensive midfield partnership with Emerson.

Career after retiring as a player

In 2022, Betsson, the leading international sportsbook and casino operator, announced Zé Roberto as a global ambassador on a three-year deal across all brands in its portfolio describing him as the best strategic partner to represent its brand in Brazil. As of July 2024, Roberto had over 2.8 million followers on Instagram and has become a major fitness influencer in Brazil.

Personal life and views

Zé Roberto is married to Luciana, with whom he has three children. He is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, stating, "Aside from the fame, the money, from not being able to have anything and today being able to have everything, I find that the difference is to have God in my heart, by accepting Jesus. The money will finish, fame will be forgotten, but God is special. Today I have God and tomorrow I will live with God in a much better place, that is, Heaven." He defended Brazil manager Tite's decision to call up Dani Alves to play in the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Real Madrid *

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

: 1996–97 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

: 1997-98 Bayern Munich *

: 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

: 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08 * DFL-Ligapokal:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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 ...

Santos *

Palmeiras * Série A:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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, ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

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 ...

FIFA 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 championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

; runner-up:

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

runner-up:

Lunar New Year Cup The Lunar New Year Cup, previously known as the Carlsberg Challenge or the Carlsberg Cup, is an annual invitational association football, football tournament organised in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) since 1908. It is usua ...

Individual * '' kicker''

Team of the Season: 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2007–08 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team:

* Bola de Prata: 2012, 2014 *

Team of the year:

* Goal of the Year in the Brasileirão:

References

External links

*
Zé Roberto profile
at Leverkusen.com * * Tom Sanderson:
How Zé Roberto defied time to remain a star at 43
', These Football Times, 24 July 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ze Roberto 1974 births Living people Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players FC Bayern Munich footballers Hamburger SV players Brazilian men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Brazilian expatriate men's footballers La Liga players Real Madrid CF players CR Flamengo footballers Santos FC players Grêmio FBPA players SE Palmeiras players Footballers from São Paulo (state) 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1997 Copa América players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 1999 Copa América players 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Copa América–winning players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players Brazil men's international footballers Bundesliga players Al-Gharafa SC players Qatar Stars League players São Paulo state football team players Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar UEFA Champions League–winning players Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Brazilian Christians 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen