kaka

Birthday:

1982/04/22

Full name:

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite

Place of Birth:

Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil

Height:

1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)

Weight:

73 kg

Position:

Offensive Midfielder, Second Forward

Nickname(s):

Kaká

Wife / girlfriend:

Caroline Celico

Lives in:

Madrid, Spain 

Club information

Current club:

Real Madrid (2009- )

Previous clubs:

AC Milan (2003-09) Sao Paulo FC (1999-2003)

National team:

Brazil

Youth clubs:

Sao Paulo FC

About Kaká

Ricardo Izecson do Santos Leite, commonly known as Kaká (due to the way his brother mispronounced his name when he was a child), is an attacking midfielder of AC Milan in Serie A, and of the Brazilian National Team. Kaka is considered one of the three best current players worldwide, and in 2007 he was voted by journalists and coaches as the best (he won the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World player). Though people sometimes think he is a striker because he scores so much, Kaka is an attacking midfielder and he likes to start his action far from the goal, using his lightning sprint and his technical skills to shoot or give great passes to the strikers.
Kaka is married to Caroline Celico, and he is a member of a Brazilian church called “Renascer em Cristo”. In 2007, he got the Italian passport, and this increased some rumours about his possible transfer to Real Madrid, that has always been denied in public by Kaká himself. His brother Digao plays with him at AC Milan.

Kaka's Background

Born in Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil on April 22nd 1982, Kaká moved to Sao Paulo when he was a child and joined the Sao Paulo FC Youth Academy when he was 8. Seven years after he joined the “Tricolour”, he signed his first contract as a professional player. His debut was really exciting; he scored two goals in two minutes to Botafogo, giving Sao Paulo the Rio-Sao Paulo Cup. This did not prevent him from criticism but his coach, Oswaldo, was very confident in its strengths because he knew of his accident while diving in a water theme park. It was March 2001, during that year Kaká played also FIFA Under 20 World Cup. After that, he had to work hard, but at the end nobody had a doubt: a new star was born.

Club Football

Sao Paulo FC 2001: Kaká's first year at the Sao Paulo first team, after he took part to the Youth Sao Paulo Cup, without playing. He suffered some criticism, “Nice to see him playing, but he cannot play important games”. One day his coach Oswaldo, replaced him on minutes 38, and he left the field crying. Nobody believed in him, except his coach. And he was right: 27 games and 12 goals in his first professional season.
2002: the season where Kaká made his name, and caught many European clubs attention. He scored 10 goals in 22 appearances, and made his debut in Brazil National Team.
2003: just a few matches in 2003 with the “Tricolour” jersey, as in June he signed for AC Milan for 8,5 Million Euro. He finished his experience at Sao Paulo FC with 146 matches played, scoring 58 goals.