Rivellino

Roberto Rivellino (also Rivelino, Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁoˈbɛʁtu ʁiveˈlĩnu]; Italian: [roˈbɛrto rivelˈlino]; born 1 January 1946 in São Paulo) is a former Brazilian professional footballer. He was one of the stars of Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup winning team. Rivellino currently works as a pundit for Brazilian TV Cultura.
The son of Italian immigrants from Macchiagodena (Isernia), he was famous for his large moustache, bending free kicks, long range shooting, accurate long passing, vision, close ball control and dribbling skills. He also perfected a football move called the "flip flap", famously copied by Romário, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo in recent years. A former attacking midfielder, he is widely regarded as one of the most graceful football players ever, and among the best midfielders of his generation. With the close control, feints and ability with his left foot, Diego Maradona named Rivellino among his greatest inspirations growing up. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.

Rivellino started as a futebol de salao player at Clube Atletico Barcelona. After that, he tried his luck with Barcelona's biggest rival, Corinthians, where he moved on to professional football and quickly became a favourite of the fans—and was therefore nicknamed "O Rei do Parque" (King of the Park) (after the club's home ground, Parque São Jorge). However, the late 60s and early 70s were one of the most troubled periods in the history of the club, which did not win a single São Paulo state league title between 1954 and 1977.

Rivellino (left) playing in Saudi Arabia in 1979

In 1974, after Corinthians was defeated by arch-rivals Palmeiras in the São Paulo league finals, as the star player Rivellino was singled out by most fans as one of the most responsible for not winning. He moved on to Rio de Janeiro, where he defended Fluminense until the end of the 1970s. Rivellino was undoubtedly the greatest star in the excellent Fluminense of the mid 70s, dubbed "the tricolor machine", among Doval, Pintinho, Gil and Carlos Alberto Torres. He won the Rio de Janeiro league championship in 1975 and 1976. By the end of the decade, he moved on to play for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia; he retired from professional football in 1981.

Rivellino was a key member of Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup winning team, which is often cited as the greatest-ever World Cup team. Wearing the number 11 jersey, Rivellino was deployed on the left side of midfield and scored 3 goals, including the powerful bending free-kick against Czechoslovakia, which earned him the nickname "Patada Atómica" (Atomic Kick) by Mexican fans. Rivellino also played in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups, finishing in fourth and third place respectively.

After his professional retirement, Rivellino started a career as a football commentator and coach (he has managed Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan's J. League). Rivellino further represented Brazil in the 1989 edition of the World Cup of Masters, scoring in the final against Uruguay. Rivellino is sometimes credited with scoring the fastest goal in football history when he supposedly scored a goal direct from the kick-off after noticing the opposition goalkeeper on his knees finishing off pre-match prayers.

Regarding the 2014 World Cup held in his country, Rivellino criticized the inclusion of the Amazonian city of Manaus with its stadium Arena da Amazônia in the hosting venues, saying "it’s absurd to play in Manaus. You start sweating the moment you leave the locker room".

Club

Corinthians

• Torneio Rio – São Paulo: 1966

Fluminense

• Campeonato Carioca: 1975, 1976

Al Hilal

• Kings Cup (Saudi Arabia): 1980

Country

Brazil

• FIFA World Cup: 1970

Individual

• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team player: 1970
• Bola de Prata Brazilian Championship All-Star Team: 1971
• CONMEBOL All-Star Team: 1973
• Bronze ball South American Footballer of the Year: 1973, 1976
• Silver ball South American Footballer of the Year: 1977
• FIFA 100 Greatest Living Footballers: 2004
• Premio Golden Foot Award (Football Legend Award): 2005
• The Best of The Best – Player of the Century: Top 50
• World Soccer: 38th Greatest Player of the 20th Century
• IFFHS Brazilian Player of the 20th Century (12th place)
• Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame

• ^ "Rivelino: A very special left foot". FIFA.com. Retrieved 19 October 2015. 
• CONMEBOL All-Star Team Retrieved on 17 November 2015
• "South American Player of the Year 1973" Retrieved on 17 November 2015
• "South American Player of the Year 1976" Retrieved on 17 November 2015
• "South American Player of the Year 1977" Retrieved on 17 November 2015
• "Golden Foot Award Monaco 2005". Golden Foot. Retrieved 2 November 2015. 
• "The Best of The Best" Retrieved on 17 November 2015
• IFFHS' Century Elections