Birth Date: 4/22/1982
Birth Place: Brasilia, Brazil
Nationality: Brazil
Height: 186
Weight: 73
Position: Midfielder
Kaka Rumours and Transfers
28 10 2007
Real Madrid have admitted defeat in their battle to persuade Kaka to join them from AC Milan and will begin to look for other transfer targets.
The Spanish giants have been linked with the Brazilian superstar since president Ramon Calderon promised to sign him in his election manifesto in 2006.
While the stories have raged in the press, Milan refused to budge and Kaka seemingly in no hurry to leave the Rossoneri to move to the Bernabeu.
Now Madrid's sporting director, Predrag Mijatovic, has revealed that the club are no longer pursuing any lines of enquiry regarding the player.
"We cannot allow ourselves to waste too much time on something that is extremely difficult to obtain," he said.
"We have spoken a lot about this player over the past year and a half. Everybody likes him, but we know his situation and where he is playing, we'll move on to something else."
Los Merengues may have held out hopes of Kaka asking for a transfer, but Milan supremo Silvio Berlusconi was adamant that the player would be going nowhere.
"There has never been any possibility of it happening," he stated recently.
"He has never wanted to leave and I believe that he will never do so. Kaka is the symbol of Milan."
27 10 2007
Emmanuel Adebayor may well be enjoying his best season since moving to Arsenal, but he has told Gunners fans he intends to be a world-beater.
Adebayor has scored six league goals already this season, leaving him needing just another three to surpass his previous best tally of eight in an Arsenal jersey.
The Togo international could be heard singing the praises of Theo Walcott earlier in the week, predicting the teenager can surpass Thierry Henry, and Adebayor intends to achieve similar superstar status himself.
"In the game I'm very good," he told The Mail.
"I'm strong, I'm fast, I can jump high, my passing is good, my holding of the ball is per ... at the moment is very good. I nearly said perfect. But nothing is perfect, and I still need to work more on my finishing. I'm not saying I'm going to be the best player in the world, but I am going to be among them. When you talk to young players they all want to be Kaka, Ronaldinho, Henry. Their ambition is to be big and my ambition is to be big.'
A facet of Adebayor's game is his pace, which he reveals is only inferior to Armand Traore in the current Arsenal squad.
The powerful striker's performances have earned him comparisons to Chelsea's Didier Drogba, comparisons Adebayor is pleased to hear.
"A lot of people are saying that and it's a good thing, because Didier is one of the best," he added.
25 10 2007
World Cup-winning Azzurri coach Marcelo Lippi has declared himself ready to retake a managerial hotseat.
The boss-turned-pundit told the Gazzetta dello Sport, "I don't have a specific club in mind, but I'm ready for a new job. Working on TV has been enjoyable, but it was never going to be long-term. I'd love to coach in England, but since I can't speak English I'm at a massive disadvantage; after all, a manager has to manage his players. AC Milan? They already have a superb boss [in Carlo Ancelotti]; he's a great guy to have in charge."
Lippi resigned from the national team after that World Cup Final win over France in summer but, with Roberto Donadoni's new-look Azzurri struggling to hit form, many have called for the ex-Juventus man's return.
Some have even speculated that he would serve well as an assistant to Donadoni, but Lippi has laughed off such suggestions.
"Donadoni's a top coach and doesn't need my help," he puffed.
"The current Azzurri squad is fantastic and have only drawn and lost once against France. I'm sure that they will show the pedigree becoming of World Champions when they face Scotland [in November at Hampden] and consequently qualify."
Lippi is noted for having an eye for a player and, with that in mind, has made an unusual recommendation for the Ballon d'Or prize, awarded to the World Player of the Year by France Football magazine.
"I think that Andrea Pirlo deserves the prize," he said of the AC Milan midfielder.
"He's won as much as Kaka has and, of course, he's a World Cup winner. He's highly rated worldwide and is one of the few players can really exemplify a side."
23 10 2007
Kaka could potentially miss Wednesday's Champions League meeting between AC Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk at the San Siro due to a knee injury.
Kaka sat out AC Milan's humiliating 1-0 home defeat to Empoli at the weekend in preparation for the impending Champions League encounter with Shakhtar Donetsk, but could potentially miss that tie, too.
The Brazilian maestro is a slight doubt for the Matchday 3 tie due to a knee injury - one that was earlier played down by Milanese vice-president Adriano Galliani.
First team coach Carlo Ancelotti, though, refused to guarantee Kaka's presence against the Ukrainians.
"We have one more day to see if he can recover or not," said the manager.
Reigning champions Milan have taken three points from six so far, beating Benfica in the first match before losing out 2-1 to Celtic in Scotland in the second.
Kaka, aged 25, has an all-time Champions League record of 23 goals in 54 games. The former Sao Paolo attacker also set up the winning goal in last season's final, AC Milan defeating Liverpool 2-1 in Greece.
23 10 2007
Juventus goalkeeper Gigi Buffon has set his sights on emulating Alessandro Del Piero and becoming a Bianconeri legend.
The Azzurri custodian is a beloved figure amongst the Old Lady's faithful and was amongst Del Piero's most vocal supporters during his difficult period.
'I want to be a Juve idol like Del Piero,' Buffon told Rai Sport.
'I'd like to truly earn a place in the fans' hearts. I want to be a reference point for them and be remembered when I quit. My biggest wish is to win the Champions League in this shirt and continue to prove myself with the national side.'
Buffon has excelled in Juve's return to calcio's top table and been one of the reasons that they are currently sitting in second place.
'We are doing so well – much better than was expected in pre-season,' the ex-Parma man stated.
'We may not have the quality of the past, but we are a hard-working squad and we are sure that we can do just as well.'
Despite his passion for the Turin giants, Buffon finished by praising Milan's finest.
'Inter are strongest side in Italy and they have a strength in depth that nobody else has,' he admitted. 'But I think Kaka deserves the Ballon d'Or.'
22 10 2007
Italy are dominating the Golden Ball list of 50 candidates with eight players, while Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona each contributed seven names on the list.
- Golden Ball 2007 nominees:
Éric Abidal (Olympique Lyon, FC Barcelona)
Daniel Alves (FC Sevilla)
David Beckham (Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy)
Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus Turin)
Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Petr Cech (Chelsea)
Rogerio Ceni (Sao Paulo)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Deco (FC Barcelona)
Mahamadou Diarra (Real Madrid)
Diego (Werder Bremen)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Michael Essien (Chelsea)
Samuel Eto'o (FC Barcelona)
Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Gennaro Gattuso (Milan)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Thierry Henry (Arsenal, FC Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter)
Filippo Inzaghi (Milan)
Kaka (Milan)
Frederic Kanoute (FC Sevilla)
Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen, Bayern Munchen)
Younis Mahmoud (Algharafa)
Paolo Maldini (Milan)
Florent Malouda (Olympique Lyon, Chelsea)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic Glasgow)
Guillermo Ochoa (America Mexico)
Andrea Pirlo (Milan),
Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto),
Raul (Real Madrid)
Franck Ribery (Olympique Marseille, Bayern Munchen),
Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors, Villarreal)
Robinho (Real Madrid)
Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
Clarence Seedorf (Milan)
Carlos Tevez (West Ham, Manchester United)
Luca Toni (Fiorentina, Bayern Munchen)
Kolo Toure (Arsenal)
Jose Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid, Liverpool)
Francesco Totti (AS Roma)
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
David Villa (Valencia)
16 10 2007
Barcelona left-back Sylvinho has defended those Barcelona players who wish to continue their international careers despite the condemnation of president Joan Laporta.
The former Brazil international said, "Players love to play football and, if summoned by their country, they will gladly heed the call. Footballers are just looking to play, but it seems that we have the least to say on the subject."
Nonetheless, the veteran defender admitted that there are complications.
"It's a simple comment, but a complex issue," he conceded, adding that his time with the Brazil team - which coincided with his spell at Arsenal - had its difficulties.
Sylvinho is currently a squad player at the Nou Camp, with new signing Eric Abidal having made the left-back slot his own. The 33 year old, though, has not given up hope of regaining his place from the younger Frenchman.
"As a player, you want to play, and you're happy when you can," he began.
"I will continue to work hard in training in order to play my role well when the coach decides that it's time for me to do so."
On the subject of Lionel Messi's Golden Ball candidacy, he said, "Messi is a player without equal, and every day he gets better, but I prefer not to talk about who's the best in the world. I always say that there are four or five very good players, and Messi is one of them, like Kaka, Ronaldinho, or Cristiano Ronaldo."
Sylvinho, formerly of Celta Vigo, arrived at the Nou Camp from Arsenal in 2004. He has 6 caps for Brazil.
15 10 2007
AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has strongly denied that his club has received an offer from Chelsea for Brazilian midfielder Kaka.
Reports have claimed FIFA's World Player of the Year nominee could be on the move to the Premier League outfit in a £100m deal.
But when asked about Kaka's link to Chelsea, Galliani said after a press conference with club sponsors on Monday: "Chelsea's mega offer is a hoax. No team has asked for him (Kaka) with the exception of Real Madrid and when they did, we kindly responded that the player is not for sale."
Kaka, whose 10 goals made him the top scorer in last season's Champions League, had been Madrid's top target this summer but the Rossoneri have reiterated they have no intention of letting him leave the club.
"He (Kaka) will respect his contract until June 2011," said Galliani.
10 10 2007
AC Milan and Brazil football sensation Kaka says he would consider a move to English football.
The midfielder reckons that if he leaves Ac Milan it will be for an English or Spanish team, with Man Utd and Arsenal at the top of his list.
'I'm very happy at Milan - and I don't expect that situation to change,' he told Esquire magazine.
'But if you want to talk hypothetically, if I were ever to leave it would have to be for a club of equal stature - and I think I would only find that in England or Spain. Manchester United are a wonderful side. They have so many creative players Ronaldo, Rooney and Giggs. I like Arsenal too, they are fun to watch and I like the fact that they give space to younger players. As for Chelsea and Liverpool, they are more tactically-oriented; they base themselves on solidity and organisation. They are maybe less creative, but they have good managers. I especially admire (Rafael) Benitez.'
08 10 2007
Lazio coach Delio Rossi has apologised to the club's fans following their 5-1 hammering at the hands of AC Milan on Sunday.
Kaka and Alberto Gilardino both scored twice alongside a strike from Massimo Ambrosini to leave the Rome faithful venting their anger at club president Claudio Lotito.
Stefano Mauri scored the only goal for the Biancocelesti in a match which also saw goalkeeper Fernando Muslera come under criticism after conceding a penalty and being at fault for at least two of the Rossoneri's other four goals.
"You can lose against Milan but certainly not in this manner. I want to apologise to our fans," said Rossi.
"The goalkeeper is just another player in the team. Sometimes he does well and other times not as well - as was the case with our goalkeeper on Sunday. Now we must heal our injuries and prove that a team of our level can bounce back from this defeat."
