Biography
Born into a poor neighborhood, the young Róbson de Souza will learn his trade very early in futsal, and his potential will be apparent to all. Spotted by Santos, the small striker (1.72 m, 60 kg) will experience a great progression. After a first season that will see him score nine goals in 24 games, Robson will step up a gear and explode in 2004 where he will score no less than 21 times in 37 games!
He will help Santos become Brazil champion, after the 2002 title. Dribbler gifted with great mobility and a formidable ability to accelerate Robinho will become coveted by the major European clubs. And the leader of the pack is Real Madrid, which has not recovered from the transfer of Ronaldinho at Barcelona, will make every effort to secure the services of the Brazilian rising star.
In July 2005 Robinho will sign for the Spanish club and will end up scoring 14 goals in 37 appearances for his first season. However when Ramon Calderon took over at the Madrid side, Robinho will fall out of favor and will have to settle for a place on the bench. However this does not prevent him from doing some great performance and scoring some important goals. Indeed in 2007, just after the winter break, he will help Real Madrid mount a proper challenge in order to clinch their 30th league title.
When Capello will be fired his replacement, Bernd Schuster will once again give Robinho his chance. He will score 11 goals in La Liga and 4 goals in the Champions League but will be injured in the second half of the season. Although not fully recovered he will help the Spanish side overcome Recreativo and keep Barcelona at bay. Real Madrid will win the title this year.
However Ramon Calderon will not choose to renew the Brazilian contract and this will lead Chelsea and Manchester City to become interested in the striker. But Chelsea did not meet the asking price and this cause Robinho to head to City. There he will enjoy a fairly good start to the season and scored his first goal on 13 September 2008 and then his first hat trick one month later. He will ultimately finish the season as Manchester City’s top scorer with 14 goals.
However his second season will not be as good as he will be hindered by injury. As a result the will choose to return to Santos on loan because he wanted to get some playing time. Indeed this will help him to be selected for the Brazilian national team.
On the International scene, Robinho will also enjoy some success. He will indeed win the Confederations Cup in 2005, the 2007 Copa America and the 2009 Confederations Cup. He was also part of the Brazilian team in the 2010 World Cup.