Rafael Augusto Sóbis (born 17 June 1985) is a Brazilian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. Before joining Ceará, Sóbis played for

Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional, Inter de Porto Alegre, a cidade do Grêmio or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the ...

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

Al-Jazira Jazira, al-Jazira, Jazeera, al-Jazeera, etc. are all transcriptions of Arabic meaning "the island" or "the peninsula". The term may refer to: Business * Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazira, a traditional ...

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...

and

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

. He won the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

with Internacional, and was a runner-up with Tigres in 2015. Sóbis also represented the Brazil national team, winning a bronze medal at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

Club career

Internacional

Born in

Erechim Erechim () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the States of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul, located in the South Region, Brazil, South Region of Brazil. Recognized as a subregional hub in the country, it serves as the central cit ...

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

, he started in the youth categories of

, known only as ''Rafael''. Inter's president at the time,

Fernando Carvalho Alberto Fernando Carvalho Oliveira (born 5 February 1965) was a leading Portuguese road cyclist in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His strength was that of a great all-rounder, able to win tough mountain stages, time-trials and sprints; he was ...

, suggested the change to only ''Sobis'', his maternal surname of Ukrainian origins, because it could be more attractive for the

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

leagues, where the boy could get

dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

."A estrela Sobis", Leandro Behs, ''Placar'' nº. 1289, December 2005, Editora Abril, pg. 78 He went to the main team in 2004 and quickly won a place in it, being known by his name along the surname (with

acute accent The acute accent (), , is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin alphabet, Latin, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic, and Greek alphabet, Greek scripts. For the most commonly encountered uses of the accen ...

), ''Rafael Sóbis''. Sóbis scored 19 goals in 35 matches in the 2005 season at the age of 19. In the following year, he was one of the main players in the

squad that finished the Brazilian League in second place, and was selected by the CBF to play in the ''all star team'' at the end of the season. The 2006 season started slowly for him, as he fought against a series of injuries. He eventually recovered his place in the first team and helped

secure the

title; scoring twice in the first-leg of the final match against

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Real Betis

Sóbis signed for

in August 2006 for €9 million, ( R$21.8 million) putting pen to paper on an 8-year contract, a length reminiscent to that of fellow Brazilian international Denílson. Internacional only received 25% of the fee and the rest belong to other parties. Among 25% of Inter, R$272,500 was further deducted as agent fee. He was officially unveiled to the press on 8 September and made his

and

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

two days later at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera stadium, a game his team won 3–0. Sóbis scored his first goals against city rivals

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

on 17 September, a match that Betis eventually lost 3–2. He also managed to score important goals against

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

, a debut game for then newly appointed coach

Luis Fernández Luis Miguel Fernández Toledo (born 2 October 1959), known as Luis Fernandez, is a French football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Fernandez spent most of his playing career for Paris Saint-Germain. He earned ...

. Ligament damage sustained in a game against

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

meant that he missed a month of action. Sóbis' major contribution to the 2006–07 season was his late equaliser against

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

, assisted by fellow Brazilian

Marcos Assunção Marcos dos Santos Assunção (born 25 July 1976) is a Brazilian former professional footballer. A central midfielder, he was renowned as a world-class free kick specialist. Assunção played for clubs in four countries; he is best known for his ...

. He began his second season with Betis strongly, scoring three goals in his first six games, against

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

and 2007

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

finalists

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

but once again the Brazilian's form dipped. Betis received an offer of €10 million from English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

for Sóbis in July 2008.

Al-Jazira

On 2 September 2008, Sóbis joined

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

side

for €10 million.

Second spell at Inter

In July 2010, Sóbis returned to Internacional on loan for one year to play the Copa Libertadores. On 18 August, they defeated

Chivas Guadalajara Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A de C.V. (;), nicknamed ''"Chivas"'' () and simply known as Guadalajara or internationally as Chivas de Guadalajara, is a Mexican professional football club based in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, Jalisco. It c ...

in the

2010 Copa Libertadores The 2010 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2010 Copa Santander Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 51st edition of the Copa Libertadores de América The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de Améric ...

final with Sóbis scoring their first goal in their 3–2 win. He hurt his arm while scoring the goal by falling over it, and had to be replaced later on by

Leandro Damião Leandro Damião da Silva dos Santos (; born 22 July 1989), known as Leandro Damião or simply Damião, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Coritiba. He has been capped at international level by Brazil. Club care ...

, who also ended up scoring a goal during the match. After the loan ended, Internacional did not use the buy option, due to his injuries and high price, and he returned to the Middle East.

Fluminense

On 21 July 2011,

announced three signings at the club's 109th birthday: Sóbis and Argentinian midfielders

Alejandro Martinuccio Alejandro "El Negro" Martinuccio (born 16 December 1987 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for Boston River. Career Nueva Chicago Martinuccio made his debut at Club Atlético Nueva Chicago in ...

and

Manuel Lanzini Manuel Lanzini (; born 15 February 1993) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for Argentine Primera División club Club Atlético River Plate, River Pl ...

. He reunited with manager

Abel Braga Abel Carlos da Silva Braga (born 1 September 1952), known as Abel Braga, is a Brazilian former football coach and player. He played as a central defender during a professional career that started with Fluminense in 1968. He earned one cap f ...

at the

carioca Carioca ( or ) is a demonym used to refer to residents of the City of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil and their culture. Like other Brazilians, ''Cariocas'' speak Portuguese. The ''carioca'' accent and sociolect (also simply called "''carioca''", ...

club, having been his player at Inter and Al-Jazira. Despite scepticism from fans and press because of his injury history, Sóbis went on to play an important role at the team's title run and ultimate 3rd-place finish in 2011 Série A, scoring 10 goals in 26 games. After one year playing on loan from

, Fluminense bought Sóbis' economic rights for R$8.75 million in July 2012, with him signing a three-year contract. The ''Tricolor'' ended that season winning the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. On 24 December 2014, he left Fluminense by mutual consent.

Tigres UANL

Four days after leaving Fluminense, Sóbis joined Mexican side

for the Clausura 2015 season. He became champion of the Apertura 2015 season of

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

and runner-up of the

2015 Copa Libertadores The 2015 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2015 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 56th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. ...

Cruzeiro

On 23 June 2016, Sóbis signed for Cruzeiro until 2019, joining a day after Argentine striker

Ramón Ábila Ramón Darío Ábila (born 14 October 1989) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, forward for Club Atlético Huracán, Huracán. He is commonly known by the Argentine ...

. Sóbis went on to become an important part of the team's 11, playing as a winger and as a central striker. Cruzeiro's supporters embraced the player's grit and determination, specially during important matches and derbies, during which Rafael Sóbis shown to rise to the occasion. The player's samurai haircut or Viking style was also referenced and copied by supporters during the first half of 2017.

Back to Internacional

On 5 January 2019, Sóbis joined

for the third time, on a one-year contract.

Ceará

In January 2020, Sóbis joined

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

on a one-year contract, being their sixth signing for the season. He went on to play well at that year

State League A state league is a level of competition in Sport in Australia, Australian sport directly below that of a national league. Most of these competitions are based in a single States and territories of Australia, state or territory, and from this the te ...

and

Copa do Nordeste Copa do Nordeste (English: ''Cup of the North-East''), also known as Campeonato do Nordeste (''English: Championship of the North-East'') or Copa Nordeste (English: ''Northeastern Cup'') is a Brazilian football competition among Northeastern re ...

, but his performances declined when playing in Série A.

Return to Cruzeiro and retirement

In November 2020, Sóbis rejoined Cruzeiro until the end of the 2021 season. He reportedly returned to help the

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

team to overcome their financial difficulties and relegation to Série B. Sobis then retired at the end of his contract, being a fan favourite throughout his two spells at the club.

International career

Sóbis made his debut for

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

on 3 September 2006 against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

in London; Brazil won the match 3–0 with Sóbis making his appearance as last-minute substitute for

Robinho Robson de Souza (; born 25 January 1984), known as Robinho (), is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer and convicted rapist who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In 1997, at 12 years of age, Robin ...

. He scored his first Brazil's goal in an unofficial friendly match against

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

i club

Al Kuwait Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif P ...

on 7 October 2006. He won a bronze medal with the Brazil U-23 team at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in China. As a substitute in the group stage against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, he concluded a 5–0 win from

Lucas Leiva Lucas Pezzini Leiva (born 9 January 1987), known as Lucas or Lucas Leiva (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder for Grêmio, Liverpool, Lazio and the Brazil national team. Lucas began his caree ...

's pass.

Style of play

A dynamic forward, Sóbis often plays a creative role due his intelligence on the pitch, mobility, vision and passing, features that make him effective at creating chances to provide assists for teammates. Although his favored position is that of a

supporting striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

, he is capable to play as a winger and lone striker. Under coach

Ricardo Ferretti Ricardo Ferretti de Oliveira (born 22 February 1954), also known as Tuca, is a Brazilian-Mexican professional football manager and former player who currently works for ESPN Deportes and ESPN Mexico as an analyst. As a player, Ferretti was ...

, Sóbis played a versatile role as he was deployed as a striker in the Tigres' 4–4–2 formation, second striker in 4–4–1–1 and as a central

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

in 4–2–3–1. A right-footed accurate set-piece taker, he is also capable to pass, cross and finish with the left.

Career statistics

Honours

Internacional *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

: 2011 *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Fluminense *

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

: 2012 *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Cruzeiro *

Campeonato Mineiro The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is run by the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: bef ...

: 2018 *

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

UANL *

Apertura 2015 The ' () and ' () tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is ...

runner-up:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Concacaf Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

runner-up: 2015–16 Brazil *

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

Bronze medal:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Individual * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

top scorer: 2017

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sobis, Rafael 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Erechim Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian people of Ukrainian descent Men's association football forwards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Copa Libertadores–winning players SC Internacional players Fluminense FC players Ceará Sporting Club players La Liga players Real Betis players Al Jazira Club players Tigres UANL footballers Brazil men's youth international footballers Brazil men's under-20 international footballers Brazil men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Brazil Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in football Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Liga MX players UAE Pro League players Footballers from Rio Grande do Sul 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen