Quick Facts
Biography
Rafael de Andrade Bittencourt Pinheiro (born 3 March 1982) simply known as Rafael, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Cagliari. He also holds an Italian passport.
Biography
He arrived in Italy after playing 17 (of 19) matches in 2007 Campeonato Paulista, ahead of Maurício. He was an understudy of Júlio Sérgio, Fábio Costa and Doni at Santos FC. In Verona, after missing only three games (of a possible 136) in four seasons of Lega Pro, the third highest football league in Italy, Rafael played a crucial role in helping his team reach the 2010-2011 Lega Pro Division One playoffs and win them, to return to Serie B after a four year absence. Two seasons later, the Brazilian goalkeeper and his teammates of Verona reach the second place and were promoted to Serie A, with Rafael that impose itself as the best goalkeeper in the junior category (only 29 goals conceded in 40 games).
Rafael was successively confirmed as first choice keeper for the club's Serie A comeback season in 2013, despite the signing of Bulgarian international Nikolay Mihaylov, playing 37 games out of 38 during the full championship.
Statistics
As of 15 July 2015.
| Team | Season | Domestic League | Domestic Cup | European Competition1 | Other Tournaments2 | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Santos | 2001 | 0 | -0 | 0 | -0 | – | – | 0 | -0 | ||
| 2002 | 0 | -0 | 0 | -0 | – | – | 0 | -0 | |||
| 2003 | 8 | -8 | 0 | -0 | – | – | 8 | -8 | |||
| 2004 | 0 | -0 | 0 | -0 | – | – | 0 | -0 | |||
| 2005 | 0 | -0 | 0 | -0 | – | – | 0 | -0 | |||
| Total | 8 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0 | 8 | -8 | |
| São Bento | 2006 | 0 | -0 | 0 | -0 | – | – | 0 | -0 | ||
| 2007 | 0 | -0 | 0 | -0 | – | – | 0 | -0 | |||
| Total | 0 | -0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0 | 0 | -0 | |
| Hellas Verona | 2007–08 | 34 | -41 | 1 | -1 | – | 2 | -1 | 37 | -43 | |
| 2008–09 | 34 | -32 | 2 | -3 | – | – | 36 | -35 | |||
| 2009–10 | 31 | -18 | 4 | -5 | – | 4 | -3 | 39 | -26 | ||
| 2010–11 | 34 | -30 | 2 | -2 | – | 4 | -2 | 40 | -34 | ||
| 2011–12 | 40 | -39 | 3 | -7 | – | 2 | -3 | 45 | -49 | ||
| 2012–13 | 40 | -29 | 4 | -6 | – | – | 44 | -35 | |||
| 2013–14 | 37 | -63 | 1 | -0 | – | – | 38 | -63 | |||
| 2014–15 | 20 | -35 | 2 | -6 | – | – | 22 | -41 | |||
| 2015–16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 270 | -287 | 19 | -30 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -9 | 301 | -326 | |
| Career Total | 278 | -295 | 19 | -30 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -9 | 309 | -334 | |
1European competitions include the UEFA Champions League.
2Other tournaments include the Supercoppa Italiana and Serie B relegation play–offs.