Zé Roberto

Zé Roberto
Zé Roberto with Palmeiras in 2017
Personal information
Full name José Roberto da Silva Júnior
Date of birth (1974-07-06) 6 July 1974
Place of birth São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Left wing-back, midfielder
Youth career
Palestra de São Bernardo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1996 Portuguesa 61 (1)
1997 Real Madrid 15 (0)
1998 Flamengo 24 (0)
1998–2002 Bayer Leverkusen 113 (17)
2002–2006 Bayern Munich 110 (5)
2006–2009 Nacional 0 (0)
2006–2007Santos (loan) 13 (2)
2007–2009Bayern Munich (loan) 59 (9)
2009–2011 Hamburger SV 54 (7)
2011–2012 Al-Gharafa 14 (1)
2012–2014 Grêmio 82 (6)
2015–2017 Palmeiras 68 (3)
Total 648 (51)
International career
1995–2006 Brazil 84 (6)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Brazil
Copa América
Winner1997 Bolivia
Winner1999 Paraguay
FIFA Confederations Cup
Winner1997 Saudi Arabia
Winner2005 Germany
Runner-up1999 Mexico
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up1998 France
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

José Roberto da Silva Júnior (born 6 July 1974), commonly known as Zé Roberto, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a left wing-back or as a midfielder. He is most well-known for his time with Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, as well as Portuguesa, Grêmio and Palmeiras in the Brazilian league.

He made his debut for Portuguesa where he played for two seasons before joining Real Madrid in January 1997. He left Real Madrid later that year to get more playing time and increase his chances of selection for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He joined Flamengo before returning to Europe in the summer of 1998, signing for Bayer Leverkusen.

At Bayer Leverkusen, Zé Roberto challenged Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga title, as Leverkusen finished runner-ups on three occasions. Leverkusen also made it to the 2002 UEFA Champions League final which they lost to Real Madrid. In 2002, Zé Roberto joined Bayern Munich where he won four Bundesliga titles over six seasons. He also played for Santos, Hamburger SV, Al-Gharafa, Grêmio and Palmeiras. Over the course of his career, he played 961 club games and took the field 84 times for Brazil.

Currently, he is a technical advisor to Palmeiras, acting directly with the players and the coaching staff.