Originally posted by Kevin:
<strong>According to a brazillian forum, Robinho is one if not THE biggest prospect in Brazil. Pele said Robinho might become better than him... then again, Pele hasn't exactly been succesful in the pundit department has he
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heres an article from FIFA about him... <a href="http://www.fifa.com/en/display/article,53890.html" target="_blank">http://www.fifa.com/en/display/article,53890.html</a>
Robinho - the 19-year-old with a $35m price tag
(FIFA.com) 24 Apr 2003
A new star has been born in Brazilian football. Robinho, a striker with electrifying dribbling skills, plays for reigning Brazilian champions Santos and has already been compared to the likes of Garrincha and Pelé. The latter has even said that Robinho might well overshadow him one day. FIFA Magazine traces the rise of Brazil’s newest phenomenon.
By Jörg Wolfrum
Not so long ago, Robinho was more of a concern to his mother and father – Marina and Gilvan – than to opponents on a football field. Much to his parents’ dismay, he would tear around the streets of São Paulo trailing after anything that even slightly resembled a football – entirely oblivious to the streams of traffic thundering past.
Today, 19-year-old Robinho is, however, quick to play down the effect that those hours of kicking around tin cans and makeshift balls fashioned from bundles of material have had on his breathtaking skills.
In December 2002, it was those skills that grabbed media attention worldwide when he produced a flash of brilliance that included an incredible seven step-overs in quick succession during his club Santos’ 3-2 victory in the second leg of the championship decider against Corinthians, which ultimately secured the Brazilian title. The only way Robinho’s frustrated opponent Rogerio could stop the dazzling dribbler was to cut him down in full flow inside the penalty area. Robinho stepped up to open the scoring from the resulting penalty kick, before later turning provider for his team’s second and third goals.
“I guess it was a little cheeky,” said Robson de Souza – Robinho’s full name – to jubilant reporters at the end of the game and the newspapers swiftly drew parallels between the youngster’s dribbling and the deft trickery of the legendary Garrincha. However, the latest in a long line of Brazilian talents would hear nothing of such a comparison and assertively put his ball skills down to a “gift from God” – and not the result of kicking around tin cans.
“King of the Dribble”
It is not only in Brazil that Robinho has been sending shivers down opponents’ spines. In Santos’ 5-1 win over Colombian giants América de Cali in a Copa Libertadores tie in February 2003, Robinho again proved to be a revelation alongside his congenial 17-year-old strike partner Diego, who served as an inspirational provider. Robinho’s performance was so impressive that he was even feted in the chants of the Colombian fans and after the match the press in Cali heaped compliments on the “King of the Dribble”.
The young striker has not merely gained accolades from the media in Colombia and Brazil, but he has also provoked comparisons with stars like Garrincha and even Pelé. Pelé himself is unreserved in his admiration for the striker: “Robinho has the ability to be even better than I was.”
The diminutive teenager, who stands just 1.72m tall and weighs only 60kg, first attracted Pelé’s attention a few years ago, when the retired great sent a 14-year-old Robinho to eat with the Santos first team.
Despite what he has been given “from above”, Robinho is still very slight in build, and his coach Emerson Leão, a former goalkeeper and coach of the Brazilian national team, is among the first to admit it. Leão pays the very highest tribute to his whirlwind talent (“Robinho is already a much better dribbler of the ball than Pelé”), but at the same time acknowledges the fledgling star’s weaknesses: “The main thing that he is missing is strength and at times he can also lack the vision to pick out a team-mate in a better position.”
In Leão’s mind, Robinho is very much an “old-fashioned” player, with a penchant for dribbling rather than shooting. And with the young prodigy still more of a rough diamond than a polished professional, he inevitably relies more on innate talent than technique. But Leão sees these shortcomings as “minor things that can be improved”.
Most promising discovery since Ronaldo
Robinho already deals with the plaudits like an old-hand. “It is too early to call me the new Pelé,” he says, before assuredly adding, “I have not reached my potential yet.” Having played football with Robinho when he was a boy in the suburb of São Vicente, sports journalist Juliano Costa is sure that the player who is probably the most promising discovery in Brazilian football since Ronaldo will still keep his feet on the ground in the face of so much acclaim: “He is used to praise.” At the age of six, Robinho was already the best youth player in Baixada Santista - another São Paulo suburb.
Santos recently ruled Robinho out of playing at the FIFA World Youth Championship 2003. His outstanding ability made the club’s management adamant that they could not do without the striker, since he will play an integral part in the club’s quest to win the Copa Libertadores.
In an attempt to hold on to Robinho’s masterly skills for as long as possible, the club has even slapped a USD 35 million price tag on the talented right-footed player. Nevertheless, many top clubs in Europe are already courting the youngster. Mention of such a huge transfer fee sends the baby-faced star into just as big a spin as one of his mazy runs: “I don’t think about the money”.
After all, he has got other things on his mind: “I want to go to Athens for the 2004 Olympics with the Brazilian team.” And of course win the 2003 Copa Libertadores too.
