KAKA

 Personal Information

Name: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite  Famous As: Kak á  Date of Birth: 22 nd April, 1982  Hometown: Brasilia, Brazil    Height: 6' 1"   Nationality: Brazilian  Current Club: AC Milan  Playing Position: Attacking Midfielder

 Life before Professional Football

 Ricardo Kaká, another promising youngster, was born on 22 nd Arpril, 1982. Kaká is the
 nickname given to Ricardo. This name was given to him by his brother Rodrigo, who
 used to call him "caca" because of his inability to pronounce Ricardo. He is now often 
 called "Ricky Kaká" by the European Media. Kaká is a member of an association called
 Atletas de Crist, meaning Athletes of Christ. He is still very much into religion and sees
 faith to be the decided of fate. He sometimes wears shirts entitled "I belong to Jesus"
 and "God is Faithful".

 International Career

 Kaká started his International Career representing Brazil in January , 2002 against
 Bolivia. He only contributed to his team for 19 minutes in the Fifa World Cup 2002 and
 all of this was in the first round match against Costa Rica.

 In 2003, Kaká was the captain of the Brazilian side in the Gold Cup tournament. Brazil
 were able to reach the final but could not win it. Kaká scored his second best lot of
 three goals. Kaká was again a member of the Brazilian side in the 2005 Federations Cup. 
 He scored the only goal in the 4-1 defeat against Afghanistan with one of his greatest
 shots on goal, hitting it the right corner of the goal. His efforts and skills took him upto
 tenth place for the 2004 Fifa World Player of the Year.

 Kaká played for the first time for his National side in a World Cup finals in 2006. here
 he featured Brazil's first match agaisnt Croatia in their 1-0 victory. He could not
 continue the good form and Brazil were elminated from the quarterfinals stage by the
 hands of the French. Despite his poor form, he was always the member of the first 11
 of the Brazilian team.

 Kaká refused to play in the Copa America 2007, because of the hectic schedules of
 Serie A and the Champions League. Kaká however played in the friendly match against
 Brazil on June 1 st and was in the field for 70 minutes.

 Club Career  

 Kaká started his club career by first registerign to the Club named Sau Paulo FC, in
 2000, when he was 17 years of age. He made his Debut in January 2001, and then
 moved on very comprehensively. He went on to score 12 goals in 27 appreances. He
 even got the oppurtunity to lead the Club in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo championship.
 His great performances in this season attracted many European managers.

 He stepped his first in AC Milan in the year 2003. His great performances got him into
 the favourites of the team and very soon, he became a regular member of the starting
 lineup. He made his Serie A debut against A.C. Ancona. He scored heavily in that
 season, 10 times finding the back of the net in 30 appearances. Milan went on to win
 the European Super Cup that season.

 The 2004-2005 reason gave great respect and confidence to the young Brazilian. He
 was a regular member in the attacking midfield region. He made great assissts and also
 scored 7 goals in 36 appearances, which made Milan runnersup to Juventus.

 One of the main strikers of Milan, Shevchenko departed to Chelsea for the 2006-2007
 season. This layed the spotlight on the young Brazilian, Kaká. he now swticed between
 midfield and the striker position. He was named the highest scorer in this season,
 scoring ten magnificent goals. One of the greatest achievements of Kaká were helping
 Milan out in the Champions League semifinal against Manchester United. He scored two
 great goals in the second leg of the match, when they were 3-2 behind on aggregate.
 He got appreciation from the Manchester United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson who
 called him "One of the best players in the world". Kaká was in the starting lineup
 against Liverpool in the final of the League which Milan won by a 2-1 margin.

 Career Highlights

 For AC Milan

• Torneio Rio-São Paulo 2001
• Supercampeonato Paulista 2002
• European Super Cup: 2003
• Serie A: 2004
• Italian Super Cup: 2004
• UEFA Champions League 2004-05: Runners-up
• FIFA World Cup: 2002
• 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup: Runners-up
• Confederations Cup: 2005
• UEFA Champions League:2006-2007

 Personal Awards

• Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball; Best Player Of Brazilian League), 2002
• 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI
• UEFA Club Football Awards 2004-05, Best Midfielder
• Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year 2004, 2006
• Serie A Footballer of the Year 2004
• UEFA Team of the Year 2006
• FIFPro World XI 2006
• UEFA Champions League Top scorer: 2006-2007
• UEFA Champions League Fans Player of the season: 2006-2007
• Kicker Best player in the world: 2006-2007