Ricardo José Dognella Lima de Oliveira (; born 6 May 1980) 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 lea ...

who played as a striker. Oliveira represented

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 ...

and Santos in two different spells, but also played in Spain, amassing

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 ...

totals of 120 games and 58 goals for three teams. A Brazil international from 2004 to 2016, he helped the national team win one

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

and one

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 football championships, continental champions ...

Club career

Portuguesa

Born in

, Oliveira joined Corinthians' youth setup in 1997. After being released by the club in 1999, he moved to Portuguesa, being promoted to the first team in the following year. Oliveira made his professional debut on 24 September 2000, coming on as a second-half substitute and scoring the game's only in a

Copa João Havelange The 2000 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (officially the Copa João Havelange) was the 44th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top-level of professional football in Brazil. Due to legal complications, the championship was organized ...

home win against

Sport Club do Recife Sport Club do Recife (), commonly known as Sport Recife or simply Sport, is a Brazilian sports club, located in Recife, Pernambuco. Founded in 1905, the club currently competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top tier of football i ...

. He scored 23 goals over the course of three seasons in the Série A and, in March 2001, equalled a club record by netting in seven consecutive matches.

Santos

In early 2003, Oliveira moved to Santos, although this was disputed in a sports court. He scored in the group and knockout stages of the 2003 Copa Libertadores, and he appeared in both legs of the final, although his team lost to

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

Valencia

On 31 July 2003, Oliveira moved to Spain and joined

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 ...

, signing a five-year contract with Santos retaining part-ownership. Under the guidance of

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He was most recently the manager of La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, Celta Vigo. Beníte ...

he scored eight

goals in 21 games, including a fantastic long-range effort at

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

in a 1–0 win in October, netting a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

the following month at

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, ...

(5–0 victory). The ''Che'' were eventually crowned national champions, adding that season's

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 ...

Betis

After one season, Oliveira joined

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 ...

for a reported fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

4 million. He scored a career-best 22 league goals in 37 appearances as the club reached the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

for the first time ever after finishing fourth, and also won the season's

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

against CA Osasuna, with the player netting the first in a 2–1

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

win. Oliveira scored his first official Champions League goal on 28 September 2005 at R.S.C. Anderlecht, following a brace – including a solo effort – against

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

in the third qualifying round. Due to knee ligament damage sustained against Chelsea on 1 November 2005, he only played nine times in

the league ''The League'' is an American television sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football l ...

, although he netted four times. Oliveira moved on loan to

in early 2006, in a bid to gain a place in

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 ...

's 2006 World Cup squad – prolonged recovery time meant he never made it but he did continue to compete for the club in all the fronts until 10 August 2006. Previously, in August 2005, he had threatened with leaving the ''Verdiblancos'' over economic issues. Oliveira returned to Betis on 21 August following his loan spell, nine days later than he was requested, which caused controversy among the club's board of directors. The delay was caused by an unplanned schedule change made by

CONMEBOL CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...

, which postponed the Libertadores final match in one week, and his contract was due on the day after the previous final match date; he wanted to play on the decisive match and tried to reach an agreement with the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

ns, even with a special allowance from

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

, but the Spanish team would not cooperate and he was not able to take part in the game.

AC Milan

The

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

giants had just lost

Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former Manager (association football), football manager and Football player, player. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest Striker (association football), strik ...

after the 2006 Italian football scandal, and signed Oliveira as his replacement on 31 August 2006, to a five-year deal. Johann Vogel moved in the opposite position as part of the deal after the two clubs negotiated nearly a week over the transfer fee, which reportedly reached €17.5 million. Oliveira made his debut in the second half of the 2006–07 opening-day match against S.S. Lazio, heading past Angelo Peruzzi from the goalline in a 2–1 home win. He scored twice more after that for the ''Rossoneri'' in the league, adding two more in their run in the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

; he spent most of the season under the stress of the October 2006 kidnapping of his sister, Maria Lourdes, who was released unharmed on 12 March 2007.

Zaragoza

On 14 July 2007, Oliveira moved back to Spain and joined

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 football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

on loan, forming an impressive striker partnership with Argentine Diego Milito as the two scored 33 of the side's 50 goals during the campaign, which nonetheless ended in relegation. The

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

ese would have an option to purchase him for an agreed price when the loan period finished. On 25 May 2008, Zaragoza bought Oliveira from Milan for a reported €10 million.

Betis return

In late January 2009 Oliveira re-joined Betis on a fee of €8.9 million with commission, signing until June 2013. He scored in the 83rd minute of his very first appearance, netting the second goal in the

derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

against

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

on 7 February, a 2–1 win at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. Betis would be eventually relegated, as both Oliveira (who struck in the last match, a 1–1 home draw with

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

) and former Zaragoza teammate Sergio García met the same fate for the second consecutive year.

Al-Jazira

In mid-July 2009 Oliveira, already immersed in pre-season with Betis, left for

Al Jazira Club Al Jazira Club () is an Emirati professional football club based in Abu Dhabi, that currently competes in the UAE Pro League. History Al-Jazira was established in 1974 as a merger between ''Khalidiyah'' and ''Al Bateen''. The club struggled ...

in a lucrative deal of about €14 million. In January of the following year, he returned to his country and São Paulo on loan. In Al Jazira's opening match of the

2012 AFC Champions League The 2012 AFC Champions League was the 31st edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 10th under the current AFC Champions League title. Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea wo ...

, Oliveira scored his side's last goal in a 4–2 defeat of FC Nasaf on 7 March 2012, netting three against the same opponent on 2 May (4–1 victory). Two weeks later, he scored all of his team's goals against Al-Rayyan SC in a 4–3 win at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

. In the competition's

round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

clash against Al-Ahli, Oliveira netted twice in a 3–3 draw, but missed his

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

attempt to see his team be eliminated 2–4. In late January 2014, following the arrivals of Felipe Caicedo and Jucilei, he was released.

Return to Santos

On 12 January 2015, Oliveira returned to Santos after agreeing to a five-month deal. He played his first match after his return on 1 February, coming on as a second-half substitute for Geuvânio in a 3–0 home win over Ituano. On 1 May 2015, after being the club's top goalscorer in that year's

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

– also being elected the best player of the competition – Oliveira extended his contract until December 2017. In the subsequent ''Brasileirão'', he also scored braces against his former club São Paulo (2–3 away defeat) and Chapecoense (3–1 home win), again leading the charts with 20 goals. Oliveira scored the decisive goal in 2016 Campeonato Paulista final against Audax on 8 May. He later revealed playing the match with a knee injury, which subsequently kept him sidelined for two months. On 27 July, he netted a hat-trick in a 3–0 home win over Gama for the

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, ...

. After a 2017 campaign marked by injuries, Oliveira still managed to score nine times in the league as his side finished third. On 20 December, after failing to agree new terms, he left the club.

Atlético Mineiro

A day after announcing his departure from Santos, 37-year-old Oliveira agreed to a two-year deal with fellow league team Atlético Mineiro. In September 2020, he officially left the club after alleging upaid wages and leaving back in June.

Coritiba

On 29 September 2020, aged 40, Oliveira was announced at Coritiba still in the top tier. On 28 May 2021, after spending three months without playing, he left the club.

Later career

On 24 January 2022, Oliveira was announced at São Caetano, but left the club ten days later after having disagreements with the club's board when signing his contract. On 5 February, he signed for Athletic-MG. Oliveira left Athletic on 5 April 2022, after helping the club to win the Campeonato Mineiro do Interior title. He stayed without a club for the remainder of the year, before being announced at

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

on 2 January 2023. Oliveira departed Brasília on 15 March 2023, after just seven matches. He announced his retirement from professional football on 28 July, during an interview to portal ge.

International career

Oliveira made his debut for the Brazil national team against the Catalan XI on 25 May 2004, scoring in a 5–1 win. The game was not considered an official

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

by FIFA. He was subsequently included in the squad for the 2004 Copa América, winning his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

on 8 July 2004 against

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. During the event he also scored his first international goal, in the quarter-final match against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

on the 18th, as Brazil went on to win the cup. Subsequently, Oliveira became a regular as a cover for Adriano,

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 ...

and Ronaldo. He was also included in the squad for the

2005 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup association football, 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 FI ...

, only missing out on the

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

due to injury with Betis. After a one-year absence from the national team, new national coach Dunga recalled Oliveira for a friendly match with

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

on 15 November 2006. On 24 September 2015, exactly 15 years after his professional debut and eight after his last

, he was called up as a replacement to injured Roberto Firmino for the first two matches of the 2018 World Cup qualification campaign against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, starting in the latter and scoring his side's last in a 3–1 win in

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

. Oliveira scored again on 29 March 2016, netting his side's first in a 2–2 2018 World Cup qualification draw with

. On 5 May he was named among the 23-man list for the Copa América Centenario to be held in the United States, but was replaced by Jonas on 21 May due to injury.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Oliveira goal.''

Honours

Valencia *

: 2003–04 *

: 2003–04 Betis *

: 2004–05 São Paulo *

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 ...

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 ...

AC Milan *

: 2006–07 Al Jazira * UAE Pro League: 2010–11 * UAE President's Cup: 2010–11, 2011–12 * UAE League Cup: 2009–10 Santos *

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 ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Brazil *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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, CONMEBO ...

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 ...

Individual *

Team of the Year:

Best Player:

* Chuteira de Ouro:

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Top scorer:

* Best Forward in Brazil: