INT AC Milan All About Ricardo Kaka

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Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁiˈkaʁdu iˈzɛksõ duˈsɐ̃tuz ˈlejtʃi]; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká (Portuguese: [kaˈka] ⓘ) or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime as a playmaker at AC Milan, a period marked by his creative passing, pace, goal scoring and dribbles from midfield, Kaká was widely considered one of the best players in the world, and is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest footballers of his generation. With success at club and international level, he is one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d'Or.

Kaká made his professional club debut at age 18 at São Paulo in Brazil in 2001, and his performances with the club led to him joining Serie A club AC Milan in 2003. In Italy, Kaká helped Milan win the Serie A title in his first season. Milan finished runners up in the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League with Kaká the top assist provider of the tournament, and he was named the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year. He led Milan to win the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League and was the tournament's top goal scorer. His performances saw him win the FIFA World Player of the Year, the 2007 Ballon d'Or and the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year. After six years with Milan, Kaká joined Real Madrid in 2009 for a transfer fee of €67 million, which was the second highest transfer fee at the time. However, after four injury troubled seasons in Spain, which saw his physical mobility rapidly decline, he returned to AC Milan for a single season in 2013, prior to joining MLS expansion club Orlando City SC. He initially returned to his former club São Paulo on loan, before returning to Orlando in 2015 and retiring in 2017.

Kaká made his debut for the Brazil national team in 2002, and was selected for their victorious FIFA World Cup squad that year. An established member of the team for the 2006 World Cup, he was part of a much vaunted quartet that included Ronaldo, Adriano and Ronaldinho that ultimately underperformed at the tournament before he made his final appearance in a World Cup in 2010. He was also a member of Brazil's 2005 and 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup-winning squads, winning the Golden Ball Award in 2009 as the tournament's best player.

In addition to his individual awards, between 2006 and 2009 he was named in both the FIFA World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year three times. In 2010, he was named in the AC Milan Hall of Fame. One of the world's most famous athletes during his playing career, Kaká was the first sportsperson to amass 10 million followers on Twitter. Off the field, Kaká is known for his humanitarian work, where he became the youngest ambassador of the UN World Food Programme in 2004. For his contributions on and off the pitch, Kaká was listed by Time as one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2008 and 2009.

 

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Honours


São Paulo

Supercampeonato Paulista: 2002
Torneio Rio – São Paulo: 2001

AC Milan

Serie A: 2003–04
Supercoppa Italiana: 2004
UEFA Champions League: 2006–07
UEFA Super Cup: 2007
FIFA Club World Cup: 2007

Real Madrid

La Liga: 2011–12
Copa del Rey: 2010–11

Brazil

FIFA World Cup: 2002
FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005, 2009


Individual

Ballon d'Or: 2007
FIFA World Player of the Year: 2007
FIFPro World Player of the Year: 2007
FIFPro World XI: 2006, 2007, 2008
UEFA Team of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2009
UEFA.com Team of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2009
UEFA Club Forward of the Year: 2006–07
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2006–07
UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year: 2004–05
UEFA Champions League Bronze Foot: 2005–06
Pallone d'Argento: 2006–07
World Soccer Player of the Year: 2007
Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2004, 2006, 2007
Serie A Footballer of the Year: 2004, 2007
Bola de Ouro: 2002
Bola de Prata: 2002
South American Team of the Year: 2002
CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2003
IFFHS World's Best Playmaker: 2007
IAAF Latin Sportsman of the Year: 2007
Onze d'Or: 2007
FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2007
Time 100: 2008, 2009
Maracanã Hall of Fame: 2008
Samba Gold: 2008
MARCA Legend Award: 2009
FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 2009
FIFA Confederations Cup Best XI: 2009
AC Milan Hall of Fame: 2010
MLS All-Star: 2015, 2016, 2017
MLS All-Star Game MVP: 2015
UEFA Ultimate Team of the Year: 2015 (substitute)

 

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Happy Birthday to Kaka

Just look at his teammates through the years

 

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Carlo Ancelotti: "Kaka landed at Malpensa Airport and I put my head in my hands: Eyeglasses, hair perfectly combed, the face of a good boy."

“All he was missing was schoolbooks and a snack. My god, we signed a college student. Kaka didn’t look anything like a Brazilian footballer, he reminded me of a Jehovah’s Witness.

“Moggi started to send shade: ‘With that name in Italy he’s done for. At Juventus we’re all constipated. We don’t pay for Kaka’."

"Then, he stepped on the pitch still jet lagged and all: the heavens opened. With the ball at his feet he was monstrous. I stopped talking simply because I was at a loss for words. Words didn’t even exist for what I was seeing."

"The Jehovah’s Witness was actually someone who spoke directly with God. And, I’m sure in one of those conversations, they talked about football."

"In his first challenge in training as a Milanista Kaka found himself in front of Gattuso, who gave him a terrifying shoulder barge, but Kaka didn’t even lose the ball. Rino in his own way of encouraging his new teammate said: ‘F**k off’."

"Then, after keeping the ball, Kaka played a 30-yard pass, taking even Nesta by surprise who wasn’t able to intercept it."

"At the end of every training [ex-Milan CEO Adriano] Galliani and I always spoke on the phone so that I could tell him what was going on, and then hear his thoughts."

"That day I called him: ‘Mr Galliani, I have some news for you’. ‘Good or bad?’ ‘Good. Very good’. ‘Carletto, are you giving your resignation?’ ‘No, I’m staying, because we just signed a phenomenon’."

 

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Kaká in 2007:

Ballon d'Or winner
Champions League Winner
UEFA Super Cup Winner
Club World Cup Winner
FIFA World POTY
FIFPro World XI
UEFA POTY
UCL Top Scorer
Serie A POTY
UEFA Club World Cup Golden Ball
Champions League TOTY

 

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Kaka's Long Football Career Until Retirement

 

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Kaká “The no.10 position has already been completely lost... with the defences so advanced, there is hardly any space left in the center of the field.”

“I don’t know where I would play in this more physical football? Maybe a little more to the left or box-to-box.”

“I played for Milan as a midfielder for many years, something that has evolved with the appearance of box-to-box midfielders.”

Kaka career stats:
Games: 651
Goals: 214
Assists: 170

 

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Carlo Ancelotti shared his thoughts on the arrival of Kaká at Milan:

"When we signed Kaká and he arrived at the Milan airport, I thought: ‘We’ve signed a university student.’ But when I saw him play, I stopped talking because I couldn’t find the words. I didn’t know how to define what I was watching."

"In his first training session, he faced off against Gattuso, who gave him a strong push, but couldn’t take the ball from him. In that play, he got rid of Nesta, who couldn’t stop him. We took off this kid’s student glasses, put him in a football kit, and he became a phenomenon."

Ancelotti’s admiration for Kaká is evident in these memories of the Brazilian's early days at Milan.

 

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🖼 17 years ago, the Champions League final left us with this iconic photo.

Milan, led by Ricardo Isezcson dos Santos Leite, finally got their revenge from the 2005 edition and were crowned champions of Europe against Liverpool, captained by Steven Gerrard.

After the final whistle, Kaká fell to his knees, thanking God in his tank top, while Stevie walked by to congratulate him... If anyone deserved that trophy, it was Kaká. He scored in the Round of 16 against Celtic, in the Quarterfinals against Bayern, in the Semifinals he netted a brace against United at Old Trafford and another at San Siro, and provided an assist to Inzaghi in the grand final. The top scorer with 10 goals, surpassing Crouch, Drogba, Morientes, Van Nistelrooy, and was named MVP of the competition.

As Carletto Ancelotti said, the day he saw him train for the first time: “With the ball at his feet, he was monstrous. I was at a loss for words watching him. In one of his first actions, he faced Gattuso, who gave him a terrific shove. Kaká didn’t lose the ball and Rino let out a ‘vaffanculo’. We took the glasses off that kid and put him in a football uniform, and he became what none of us expected, he was a star.”

 

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The most famous collision in Champions League history.
Gabriel Heinze and Patrice Evra assessing the damage.

- Ricardo Kaká, with a brilliant header feint, made Manchester United’s defensive duo crash into each other and coolly slotted the ball past Van der Sar.
- At the time, Paul Scholes recalled: *"Sir Alex Ferguson told us: 'Stop Kaká, and we’ll reach the final.'"*
- We knew Milan had many stars. Nesta, Maldini, Seedorf, Pirlo, Inzaghi, but the manager was fixated on Kaká:
- *"Stop Kaká, because Milan plays at his pace."*

That night, Kaká lit up the Theatre of Dreams in an unforgettable way.