Roberto Rivellino (; born 1 January 1946), known as just Rivellino, is a Brazilian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

pundit A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

and former player who was one of the key members of Brazil's

1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the 9th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May to ...

-winning team. The son of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

immigrants from Macchiagodena,

Isernia Isernia () is a town and ''comune'' in the southern Italian region of Molise, and the capital of the province of Isernia. Geography Situated on a rocky crest rising from between the Carpino and the Sordo rivers, the plan of Isernia still refl ...

, he played as an

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. ...

and was famous for his iconic moustache,

bending In applied mechanics, bending (also known as flexure) characterizes the behavior of a slender structural element subjected to an external Structural load, load applied perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the element. The structural eleme ...

free kicks, long range shooting, accurate long passing, vision, close ball control and

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

skills. He also perfected a football move called the "flip flap", famously copied by

Romário Romário de Souza Faria (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and former professional association football, footballer who is currently a Senator for Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro and the presi ...

, Mágico González, Ronaldo,

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

and

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

in later years.David Goldblatt (2009). "The Football Book". p. 129. D Kindersley Ltd, A former

, he is widely regarded as one of the most graceful football players ever, and one of the greatest players of all time. With the close control, feints and ability with his left foot,

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

named Rivellino among his greatest inspirations growing up."Football's Greatest – Rivelino". Pitch International LLP. 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2014 In 2004, he was named by

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

in the

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural Histor ...

list of the world's greatest living players. Rivellino currently works as a pundit for

TV Cultura TV Cultura, or simply Cultura, is a free Brazilian non-commercial public television network headquartered in São Paulo and a part of Father Anchieta Foundation, a non-profit foundation funded by the São Paulo State Government. It focuses on ...

Club career

Rivellino was born in

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 started as a

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

player at Clube Atlético Barcelona. After that, he tried his luck with Barcelona's biggest rival, Corinthians, where he moved on to professional football and quickly became a favourite of the fans—and was therefore nicknamed "O Rei do Parque" (King of the Park) (after the club's home ground, Parque São Jorge). However, the late 60s and early 70s were one of the most troubled periods in the history of the club, which did not win a single São Paulo state league title between 1954 and 1977. Roberto Rivelino from left and right Najeeb Al Imam in 1979 in Saudi Arabia

Roberto Rivelino from left and right Najeeb Al Imam in 1979 in Saudi Arabia

In 1974, after Corinthians was defeated by arch-rivals Palmeiras in the São Paulo league finals, as the star player Rivellino was singled out by most fans as one of the most responsible for not winning. He moved on to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, where he defended Fluminense until the end of the 1970s. Rivellino was undoubtedly the greatest star in the excellent Fluminense of the mid 70s, dubbed "the tricolor machine", among Doval, Pintinho, Gil and Carlos Alberto Torres. He won the Rio de Janeiro league championship in 1975 and 1976. By the end of the decade, he moved on to play for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia; he retired from professional football in 1981.

International career

Rivellino was a key member of Brazil's

winning team, which is often cited as the greatest-ever World Cup team. Wearing the number 11 jersey, Rivellino was deployed on the left side of midfield and scored three goals, including the powerful bending free-kick against

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, which earned him the nickname "Patada Atómica" (Atomic Kick) by Mexican fans. Rivellino also played in the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

and

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...

s, finishing in fourth and third place respectively.

After retirement

After his professional retirement, Rivellino started a career as a football commentator and coach (he has managed

Shimizu S-Pulse is a Japanese professional association football, football club located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. S-Pulse is going to compete in the J1 League for the 2025 Season, after winning promotio ...

in Japan's J. League). Rivellino further represented Brazil in the

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

edition of the

World Cup of Masters The World Cup of Masters, also known as the Pelé World Cup and Mundial de Seniors, was an event that ran every two years from 1987 until 1995. The tournament was for senior (35+) players and it was under the rules of the IMFA (International Mast ...

, scoring in the final against Uruguay. Rivellino is sometimes credited with scoring the fastest goal in football history when he supposedly scored a goal direct from the kick-off after noticing the opposition goalkeeper on his knees finishing off pre-match prayers. Regarding the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

held in his country, Rivellino criticized the inclusion of the Amazonian city of

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

with its stadium

Arena da Amazônia Arena da Amazônia (''Amazon Arena'') is a Association football, football stadium in Manaus, Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas, Brazil, located on the former site of the Vivaldão stadium. The stadium has an all-seater capacity of 42,924 and ...

in the hosting venues, saying "it’s absurd to play in Manaus. You start sweating the moment you leave the locker room".

Career statistics

International

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

Managerial

Honours

Corinthians * Torneio Rio-São Paulo:

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

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 ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

Al Hilal *

Saudi Premier League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

: 1978–79 * King Cup:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

Brazil *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

Individual * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team player: 1970; third place: 1978 * ''Bola de Prata'' Brazilian Championship All-Star Team: 1971 * World XI: 1971 *

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 ...

All-Star Team: 1973 * Bronze ball South American Footballer of the Year: 1973, 1976 * Silver ball South American Footballer of the Year: 1977 * FIFA 100 Greatest Living Footballers: 2004 * Premio Golden Foot Award ( Football Legend Award): 2005 * The Best of The Best – Player of the Century: Top 50 * World Soccer: 38th Greatest Player of the 20th Century * IFFHS Brazilian Player of the 20th Century (12th place)IFFHS' Century Elections
/ref> * Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame

References

External links

Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame

Rivellino Sport Center

Rivellino from the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol

IMNO Interviews Rivelino

Corinthians All Time Best XI Placar Magazine
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivellino, Roberto 1946 births Living people FIFA 100 Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian football managers Brazilian people of Italian descent Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players SE Palmeiras players São Paulo state football team players Fluminense FC players Al-Hilal Saudi FC players Footballers from São Paulo 1970 FIFA World Cup players 1974 FIFA World Cup players 1978 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players Expatriate football managers in Japan J1 League managers Shimizu S-Pulse managers Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Men's association football midfielders Saudi Pro League players Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen