Cícero João de Cézare (born 24 June 1980), nicknamed Cicinho (), is a Brazilian retired 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 ...

who played as a right back. He had his breakthrough at

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, where he was named in the 2005 Bola de Prata as the team won the

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the FPF, the league is contested between 16 clubs and ty ...

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

and

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

. He then spent most of his career with mixed successes at

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

and

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Demir Grup Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department competes in Süper Lig, as of 20 ...

. He suffered from alcoholism during his time in Europe. Cicinho earned 15

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, winning the

2005 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the seventh FIFA Confederations Cup. It was held in Germany between 15 June and 29 June 2005, as a prelude to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The tournament was won by 2002 FIFA World Cup winners ...

and going to the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

Club career

Early career

Born in Pradópolis,

, Cicinho began his career at Botafogo-SP before joining Atlético Mineiro, who loaned him to the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

-based

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

. He won the

Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 20 ...

in 2005 while playing for

Real Madrid

After an interview with Sir

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all ti ...

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, Cicinho signed for

on 23 August 2005, effective from the new year. He joined for an undisclosed fee and accompanied compatriots Ronaldo, Robinho, Júlio Baptista and

Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his car ...

, under Brazilian manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo. He made his debut in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

on 8 January 2006, replacing the injured Ronaldo after 33 minutes in a goalless draw at Villarreal, and three weeks later, he scored his first goal to open a 2–1 win at

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, 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 ...

. On 14 February, he scored after 57 seconds in a 4–0 win over

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...

in the semi-finals of the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

, to no avail due to a 6–1 loss in the first round. In September 2006, Cicinho suffered an extensive injury to his ACL and missed over six months. His comeback, to not only the pitch, but also the starting lineup, was on 29 April 2007, against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain. They are known as ''Los Le ...

. He assisted Ruud van Nistelrooy's first goal with a cross, and played a part in the Dutchman's second goal in a 4–1 win. In preparation for the 2007–08 season, Cicinho received less playing time under new coach

Bernd Schuster Bernd Schuster (born 22 December 1959) is a German former professional footballer of the late 1970s through early 1990s, who won club titles playing for the Spanish sides FC Barcelona (1980–1987) and Real Madrid (1988–1990). He played as a ...

. Michel Salgado and Sergio Ramos were used on the right during most of pre-season, and he therefore requested a transfer to A.S. Roma who had been following him for some time.

Roma

On 22 August 2007, Cicinho signed for

for a fee up to €11 million. Cicinho signed a five-year contract with the capital club worth from €3.6M in the first year up to €4 million in the last year (in gross salary, i.e. include tax), with additional bonuses. He made his official debut in a Roma jersey on the first matchday of

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

against

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...

, as a substitute for Ludovic Giuly in the second half. Roma went on to win the game 2–0. On 9 February 2010, Cicinho joined

on loan until on 30 June 2010. This loan came after a 2009–10 season in which Cicinho received less playing time under new manager Claudio Ranieri in favor of

Marco Cassetti Marco Cassetti (; born 29 May 1977) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. Born in Brescia, he has previously played in Serie A for Verona, Lecce and Roma and in England with Watford. Cassetti won five caps for Italy at ful ...

and Marco Motta. On 13 January 2011, he returned to Spain; this time joining Villarreal on loan until the end of the season. In 2011–12 season Cicinho returned to Roma. He was the third choice for right back behind Marco Cassetti and Aleandro Rosi. He played only 2 matches in a 2011–12 season, first against Siena and second against Fiorentina in which he was a starter. His contract expired on 30 June, and he returned to Brazil.

Later career

Cicinho returned to Brazil after six years away on 21 June 2012, signing a one-year contract for

Sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

as part of president Gustavo Dubeux's promise to bring in a player who would be "greeted by the fans at the airport". In July 2013, Cicinho signed with Turkish club

, managed by his former club and international defensive partner

. After one year, Cicinho had become a key player, and, in April 2014, he renewed his contract for two more years. In September 2017, after over a year of unemployment, Cicinho signed with Brasiliense of Série D for the 2018 season. He rescinded his contract on 1 March, after two competitive games for the team from

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, due to a recurring knee injury.

International career

Cicinho made his debut for Brazil national team on 27 April 2005 in a 3–0 win over Guatemala at the Estádio do Pacaembu for

Romário Romário de Souza Faria Figueiredo (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and a former professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 750 goals and was ...

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

, assisting the opening goal by Ânderson. He was called up for the

in Germany, with he and

Léo Léo is a proper noun in French, meaning lion". Its etymological root lies in the Latin word Leo. Léo is used as a diminutive or variant of the names Léon, Léonard, Léonardon, Leonardo, Léonid, ''Léonor'', '' Léonore'', ''Eléonore'', ...

replacing veteran full-backs

Cafu Marcos Evangelista de Morais (born 7 June 1970), known as Cafu (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Known for his pace and energetic attacking runs along the right flank, he is regarded as one of the ...

and

respectively. He played every match as Brazil won. On 12 November 2005, Cicinho came on as a substitute for Cafú in a friendly against the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

in Abu Dhabi and scored his only international goal to cap an 8–0 victory. He was one of the 23 players called up by Carlos Alberto Parreira to defend Brazil's crown in the

in Germany. He made his tournament debut in the 4–1 group stage win over Japan, assisting one of Ronaldo's goals that made him the tournament's all-time top goalscorer. His one other appearance was in the 1–0 loss to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in the quarter-finals, as a late substitute for Cafú.

Personal life

In addition to being Brazilian, he is also an Italian citizen, having a grandfather from Tione degli Abruzzi in

Abruzzo , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1 ...

whose last name was "De Cesare", then poorly transcribed as De Cézare by the registry office. In 2012, Cicinho revealed that he was an alcoholic and smoker, and would have taken drugs were it not for doping tests in football. He told ESPN Brasil in 2016 that he smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. The following year, he confessed in a Fox interview that his addictions became a problem following his move to Real Madrid, and that he got more than 30 tattoos in a struggle to fight his depression.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;São Paulo *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

;Real Madrid *

: 2006–07 ;Roma *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...

: 2007–08

International

;Brazil *

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL ...

References

External links

*
Sivasspor profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cicinho 1980 births Living people Brazilian people of Italian descent People from Ribeirão Preto Footballers from São Paulo (state) Brazilian footballers Association football fullbacks Botafogo Futebol Clube (SP) players Clube Atlético Mineiro players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players São Paulo FC players Real Madrid CF players A.S. Roma players Villarreal CF players Sport Club do Recife players Sivasspor footballers Brasiliense Futebol Clube players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players La Liga players Serie A players Süper Lig players Brazil international footballers 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Copa Libertadores-winning players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Turkey