Vasco da Gama (Brazil),
PSV Eindhoven (Holland), FC Barcelona (Spain), Valencia CF (Spain),
Flamengo (Brazil), Valencia CF (Spain), Flamengo (Brazil), Vasco
da Gama (Brazil), Fluminense (Brazil)
Honours
3 x Dutch Championship
: 1988-1989, 1990-1991, 1991-1992
2 x Dutch Cup : 1988-89, 1989-90
1 x Spanish Championship : 1993-1994
2 x Copa America : 1989, 1997
1 x World Cup : 1994
2 x Dutch League Top Scorer : 1988-89, 1990-1991
1 x Spanish League Top Scorer : 1993-1994
1 x FIFA World Player of the Year : 1994
International Record : 79 caps, 64 goals
Biography
Romário de Souza Faria (born January 29, 1966 in Rio de
Janeiro), better known simply as Romário, is a Brazilian
football player. He is one of a select group of players with
over 50 goals in international matches and one of Brazil's most
famous and outstanding forwards. He is considered to be one of
the greatest footballers in the history of the game.
Romário is the 2nd highest scorer in the history of professional
football, being surpassed only by Pelé. On January 28, 2006, one
day before his fortieth birthday, he scored his 950th goal (official
FIFA count). He is pursuing the 1.000 "One-Thousand" goal, a
mark obtained only by 1 other player in history: Pelé.
He started his career playing for Vasco da Gama, where he won
two State Championships (1987/88). Between 1988 and 1992 he
played for PSV Eindhoven, who won the Dutch League in 1989, 1991
and 1992. In 1993 he moved to FC Barcelona and won the Spanish
League the same year. As a member of the Brazilian national
team, Romário won the silver Olympic medal in Seoul in 1988.
Partnering with Bebeto in the attack, he led his country to the
1994 World Cup title, scoring five goals in the tournament. He
was voted the most outstanding player of the tournament and
captured the imagination of soccer fans everywhere with his
incredible skill and touch. Romário was named FIFA World Player
of the Year in 1994, after being the runner-up in 1993. In 1995
he returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo, spent the next year
in Valencia.. In 1998, he missed out the World Cup due to injury
and then returned to Flamengo until 1999.
He played for Vasco da Gama again, winning with them the
Mercosur Cup and the Brazilian League in 2000. From 2002 until
2004 he played for Fluminense. On October 21, 2004 he was fired
from the club after a conflict with the coach. He then went back
to play for the team he started in, Vasco da Gama, and has been
playing then ever since. He has recently hinted that he might
play for the entire season of 2006, and then retire, although
his retirement has been announced numerous times before.
On April 28th 2005, Romário played his last game with the
Brazilian national team. He scored the second goal on Brazil's
3-0 win against Guatemala.
In 2005 at nearly 40 years of age, Romário scored an outstanding
amount of goals (22) in the Brazilian Championship, making him
the league's top goalscorer.
Despite rumors stating he would play for Corinthians or
Fluminense during the 2006 season, Romário decided to stay for
another season at Vasco da Gama.
He is the second best scorer of all times in the Brazilian
League being leading scorer 6 times.
Romário was named as one of the top 125 greatest living
footballers in March 2004.
Many of Romário's fans, both in Brazil and around the world,
feel that he is still, at 40 years of age, good enough to play
for Brazil in the World Cup to be held in Germany 2006, but that
appears highly unlikely as Romário has retired from the national
side. Brazil are unlikely to include him, at age 40, despite
Romário being the top scorer in the 2005 Championship.
