About Kaká
Ricardo Izecson do Santos Leite, commonly known as Kaká (due to the way his brother mispronounced his name when he was a child), is an attacking midfielder of AC Milan in Serie A, and of the Brazilian National Team. Kaka is considered one of the three best current players worldwide, and in 2007 he was voted by journalists and coaches as the best (he won the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World player). Though people sometimes think he is a striker because he scores so much, Kaka is an attacking midfielder and he likes to start his action far from the goal, using his lightning sprint and his technical skills to shoot or give great passes to the strikers.Kaka is married to Caroline Celico, and he is a member of a Brazilian church called “Renascer em Cristo”. In 2007, he got the Italian passport, and this increased some rumours about his possible transfer to Real Madrid, that has always been denied in public by Kaká himself. His brother Digao plays with him at AC Milan.
Kaka's Background
Club Football
2002: the season where Kaká made his name, and caught many European clubs attention. He scored 10 goals in 22 appearances, and made his debut in Brazil National Team.
2003: just a few matches in 2003 with the “Tricolour” jersey, as in June he signed for AC Milan for 8,5 Million Euro. He finished his experience at Sao Paulo FC with 146 matches played, scoring 58 goals.
AC Milan
2004/05: the season started with the Italian Super Cup, where Kaká gave his contribution to AC Milan win over SS Lazio. The first part of the season was not Kaka’s best, but he came out in the second part with some great games, especially in Champions League, where AC Milan qualified to the Final in Istanbul: Kaká played a great first half, like the rest of the team, but he could not avoid Liverpool's draw. The English team won on penalty shootouts, though Kaká scored his.
2005/06: during his third season at AC Milan, Ricardo Kaká played at his highest levels, though the club didn't win anything. He scored his first Hat-trick in Serie A in AC Milan win over Chievo. Despite no wins in season, he got the award as “Serie A Foreign Player of the Year”, ex-aequo with David Suazo of Cagliari.
Real Madrid
Kaka recently completed his move to the Los Blancos for a thumping transfer fee of ₤68.5 on 3 June, 2009 which is currently the third highest transfer in football history ever. He is the first of the mojor signings of club president Florentino Perez who is looking to reestablish the Galacticos era.
International Football
World Cup 2002: Kaká has in his awards list the 2002 World Cup, but he just played 18 minutes in Brazil-Costa Rica, final game in the Groups stage, with the “Seleçao” already qualified to the Last 16.
In 2003, Kaká played an official competition, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, where Brazil finished as runner-up. These appearances and goals do not appear in official stats, as that was the U-23 Brazil National Team. In 2003, Kaká became the mainstay of the team, playing the 2006 World Cup Qualifying and the Confederation Cup in 2005. Brazil won that competition, and Kaká scored in the final that the Brazilian won over Argentina 4-1.
World Cup 2006: Brazil was a favourite, and not only because they were title holders. They had the “Fab Four” in attack, Kaká, Adriano, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Unfortunately, Brazil had a big disappointment, as they were knocked-out by France in quarter-finals. The “Fab Four” failed, just Kaká played well. He also scored a goal to Croatia, during the Group Stage.
2007: Kaká wrote a letter to the Brazilian Football Associations, where he wrote he needed some rest after three endless seasons. He did not play the Copa America that Brazil won, but he was capped for some friendlies in the US and then he played first four games for the South-American qualifying round for 2010 World Cup. He scored two goals in Brazil win 5-0 over Ecuador, and a goal to Peru. Kaká is the present and the future of the National Team, though he is not captain, he is considered a leader by his teammates.
2009: Was named the most valuable player in brazil's successfull Confederations Cup campaign. He was also the Man of the Match in the final against USA.
International Goals
Awards and Honors
Sao Paulo FC- Rio-Sao Paulo Cup: 2001
- Sao Paulo Championship: 2004
- UEFA SuperCup: 2003, 2007
- UEFA Champions League: 2006/07
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2007
- Intercontinental Cup 2003: runner-up
- UEFA Champions League 2004/05: runner up
- Scudetto Serie A 2003/04
- FIFA World Cup: 2002
- Confederations Cup: 2005
- CONCACAF Gold Cup 2003: runner-up
- Confederations Cup: 2009
Personal Awards
| Previous Winner | Award | Year | Successor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Mineiro | Bola de Ouro | 2002 | Alex |
| Pavel Nedved/Francesco Totti | Serie A Footballer of the Year | 2004 | Alberto Gilardino |
| Pavel Nedved | Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year | 2004 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic |
| Deco | UEFA Best Midfielder | 2005 | Deco |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year | 2006* | Incumbent |
| -- | FifPro World XI | 2006* | Incumbent |
| Samuel Eto'o | UEFA Best Forward | 2007 | Incumbent |
| Ronaldinho | UEFA Club Footballer of the Year | 2006/2007 | Incumbent |
| Andriy Shevchenko | UEFA Champions League Top Scorer | 2006/07 | Incumbent |
| -- | FifPro World XI | 2007 | Incumbent |
| Fabio Cannavaro | Ballon d'Or | 2007 | Incumbent |
| Fabio Cannavaro | FIFA World Player of the Year | 2007 | Incumbent |
| Deco | Golden Ball (Best Player FIFA CWC) | 2007 | Incumbent |
| Fabio Cannavaro | World Soccer Player of the Year | 2007 | Incumbent |
*2007 winners to be declared on Jan 31st 2008.
Career Statistics
| Team | Season | Domestic League | Domestic Cups | International | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | G | A | M | G | A | M | G | A | M | G | A | ||
| Sao Paulo FC | 2001 | 27 | 12 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 0 | - | 32 | 12 | - |
| 2002 | 22 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 22 | 9 | - | |
| 2003 | 10 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 2 | - | |
| Total Sao Paulo | 59 | 23 | 5 | 0 | - | 64 | 23 | - | |||||
| AC Milan | 2003-2004 | 30 | 10 | - | 4 | 0 | - | 11 | 4 | - | 45 | 14 | - |
| 2004-2005 | 36 | 7 | - | 2 | 0 | - | 13 | 2 | - | 51 | 9 | - | |
| 2005-2006 | 35 | 14 | - | 2 | 0 | - | 12 | 5 | - | 49 | 19 | - | |
| 2006-2007 | 31 | 8 | - | 2 | 0 | - | 15 | 10 | - | 48 | 18 | - | |
| 2007-2008 | 13 | 8 | - | - | - | - | 9 | 4 | - | 22 | 12 | - | |
| Total AC Milan | 145 | 47 | - | 10 | 0 | - | 60 | 25 | - | 215 | 72 | - | |
| Career Totals | 7* | 204 | 70 | - | 10 | 0 | - | 65 | 25 | - | 279 | 95 | - |
M = Matches, G = Goals, A = Assists
*7 seasons considering 2003 together with 2003-2004
Personal Info
Kaká is very religious; he is a member of the Evangelic Christian Church “Renascer Em Cristo”. Some rumours say that he gives to this church 10% of his salary he earns at AC Milan, about 1 Million Euro. In 2007, the Renascer founders Estevam e Sonia Hernandes have been arrested in Miami as they tried to smuggle $60,000 USD, and they have been blamed for taking the money of the donations for their wealth. Kaká keeps on defending them, and probably will have to go to Brazil to be interrogated as a witness about this case. The Hernandes' celebrated Kakás' wedding. He has said when he retires he might become a priest. At the beginning of 2008, a perfect replica of Kaká has been portrayed in a Brazilian Gay Magazine (G Magazine) cover, and Kaká has announced he will initiate a lawsuit against the magazine.Kaka's Wife
Kakás' first child "Luca Celico Leite" was born on the 10th of June 2008, in São Paulo.
