Name:
Romário de Souza Faria
Nationality:
Brazilian
Date and Place of Birth:
January 29, 1966 in Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Career Appearances and Goals:
1985-1988 Vasco da Gama - 47 apps,17 goals
1988-1993 PSV Eindhoven - 109 apps,98 goals
1993-1995 Barcelona - 46 apps,34 goals
1995-1996 Flamengo - 16 apps,8 goals
1996 Valencia - 5 apps, 4 goals
1996-1997 Flamengo - 7 apps,3 goals
1997 Valencia - 6 apps,1 goals
1998-1999 Flamengo - 39 apps,26 goals
1999-2002 Vasco da Gama - 46 apps,41 goals
2002-2003 Fluminense - 26 apps,16 goals
2003 Al-Sadd - 3 apps,0 goals
2003-2004 Fluminense - 34 apps,18 goals
2005-2006 Vasco da Gama - 32 apps,22 goals
2006 Miami FC - 25 apps,19 goals
2006 Adelaide United - 4 apps,1 goals
2007-2008 Vasco da Gama - 6 apps,3 goals
International Career:
1987 - 2005 Brazil - 74 apps, 56 goals
Playing Honours:
Rio de Janeiro State Championship (1987, 1988, 1996, 1999)
KNVB Cup (1989, 1990)
Dutch League (1989, 1991, 1992)
Seoul Olympic Games (1988) - Silver Medal
Copa America (1989, 1997)
Spanish League (1994)
FIFA World Cup 1994 - Champion and Golden Ball Winner
Confederations Cup (1997)
Mercosur Cup (1999, 2000)
Brazilian Championship champion (2000)
FIFA World Player of the Year 1994
Romario's Style of Play:
Standing only 5 feet 6 inches tall, Romario was a stocky and extremely powerful player with the ball at his feet. A deceptive turn of speed, close tight control coupled with inherent Brazilian skill and a hammer shot from anywhere in the penalty area. Lauded by his peers, Johan Cruyff called him a master of the goal area while Diego Maradona has said he was in awe of Romario as an incredible finisher.
Romario's International Career:
Romario made his Brazil national debut in 1987 and went on to represent his country at two World Cups in 1990 and 1994. He almost missed out on his greatest career moment after a disagreement with Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira in 1992 and was only recalled during the 1994 World Cup qualifiers after a national outcry. Romario went on to score five goals at the 1994 World Cup and picked up the Golden Ball as well as a World Cup winners medal. Injury kept him out of the 1998 World Cup and indiscipline from the 2002 tournament. He retired from international football in 2005.
Romario's Club Playing Career:
With a wide and varied career that took in clubs in South America, Europe, Africa, North America and Australia, Romario never truly seemed to find the peace at one club that would allow him to set down roots. Four spells at his first club Vasco Da Gama, three at Flamengo and two at Fluminense may suggest that his heart never strayed far from his Brazilian homeland but despite his amazing success at virtually very club he played for, there was none able to tie him down for long.
Two Rio championships with Vasco in his early career led to a big money move to PSV Eindhoven in 1988 and Romario went on to help the club to three Dutch league titles between 1989 and 1992 before once again packing his bags and heading for the bright lights of Barcelona. Playing with one of Barca's great sides including Hristo Stoichkov, Ronald Koeman and Michael Laudrup, Romario finished the 1993/1994 season as a Spanish league champion, scoring 30 goals in 33 games to lead the Spanish scoring charts. Having became a World Cup winner in 1994 with Brazil he rounded off an amazing year by winning the World Footballer of the Year award.
1995 saw the beginning of Romario's nomadic years as he left Barcelona to return to Flamengo and flitted between the Brazilian club and Valencia in Spain for four years before rejoining his first club Vasco Da Gama for a fruitful spell which brought a Brazilian league title, Mercursor Cup victory and a South American Player of the Year award for the now 34 year old striker.
Spells at Fluminense interspersed with a three game spell at Al Sadd in Saudi Arabia brought more domestic goals and eventually another return to Vasco Da Gama in 2005 where the reinvigorate Romario scored 22 goals in the Brazilian league, making him that season's top goalscorer at the age of almost 40. A goal laden spell in the USL in 2006 with Miami FC saw Romario score 18 goals as he shot Miami to their first ever play-offs and he still managed to show up in Australia's A-League for four games and a goal with Adelaide United.
A fourth and final return to Vasco Da Gama brought his club career to a finish and allowed Romario to score his 1000th career goal in all competitions as well as try his hand, albeit briefly, at coaching the club. He retired in April 2008 at the age of 42.
