Punta de Mata Monagas State Tuesday March 29, 2011

Unparalleled in sports!!!

Biography Of Kaka

Club Career

Personal Life

Authors:
Frederick Farias Eimy Valdiviezo David Mendez

Index:

Albani Bello Natali Morey

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos; born 22 April 1982, commonly known as Kak, is a Brazilian football midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid, and the brazilian national team. He also holds an Italian passport, which enables him to play as an EU player. He started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club. At the time, he also played tennis, and it was not until he moved on to So Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of fifteen that he chose to focus on football. In 2003 he joined A.C. Milan for a fee of 8.5 million. While at Milan, Kak won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007. After his success with Milan, Kak joined Real Madrid for a world record fee of $89 million, smashing the previous record of Zidane, $75 million. In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Kak is known for his humanitarian work. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became the youngest ambassador of the United Nations' World Food Programme.

Early life Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite was born in Braslia to Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite (acivil engineer) and Simone dos Santos (an elementary school teacher). He had a financially secure upbringing that allowed him to focus on both school and football at the same time. His younger brother Rodrigo (best known as Digo) and cousin Eduardo Delani are also professional footballers. When he was seven, Kak's family moved to So Paulo. His school had arranged him in a local youth club called "Alphaville," who qualified to the final in a local tournament. There he was discovered by hometown club So Paulo FC, who offered an assignment.

At the age of 18, Kak suffered a careerthreatening and possibly paralysisinducing spinal fracture as a result of a swimming pool accident, but remarkably made a full recovery. He attributes his recovery to God and has since tithed his income to his church.

So Paulo
Kak began his career with So Paulo at the age of eight. He signed a contract at fifteen and led the So Paulo youth squad to Copa de Juvenil glory. He made his senior side debut on 1 Feb 2001 and scored 12 goals in 27 appearances, in addition to leading So Paulo to its first and only Torneio Rio-So Paulo championship, in which he scored two goals in two minutes as a substitute against Botafogo in the final, which So Paulo won 21. He scored 10 goals in 22 matches the following season, and by this time his performance was soon attracting attention from European clubs. Kak made a total of 58 appearances for So Paulo, scoring 23 times

Miln
The steady European interest in Kak culminated in his signing with Italian club AC Milan in 2003 for a fee of 8.5 million, described in retrospect as "peanuts" by club owner Silvio Berlusconi. Within a month, he cracked the starting lineup, and his Serie A debut was in a 20 win over Ancona. He scored 10 goals in 30 appearances that season, as Milan won the Scudetto and the UEFA Super Cup. Kak was a part of the five-man midfield in the 200405 season, usually playing in a withdrawn role behind striker Andriy Shevchenko. He scored seven goals in 36 domestic appearances as Milan finished runner-up in the Scudetto race. Despite Milan losing the 200405 Champions League final to Liverpool on penalties, he was nonetheless was voted the best midfielder of the tournament.

200506 saw Kak score his first hattricks in domestic competition. On 9 April 2006, he scored his firstRossoneri hattrick against Chievo; all three goals were scored in the second half. The following season, he scored his first Champions League hat-trick in a 41 group stage win over the Belgian side Anderlecht. Andriy Shevchenko's departure to Chelsea for the 200607 season allowed Kak to become the focal point of Milan's offense as he alternated between the midfield and striker positions. He finished as the top scorer in the 200607 Champions League campaign with ten goals. One of them helped the Rossoneri eliminateCeltic in the quarter-finals on a 10 aggregate, and three others proved fatal for Manchester United in the semi-finals, despite Milan losing the first leg. Kak added the Champions League title to his trophy case for the first time when Milan defeated Liverpool on 23 May 2007. Though he went scoreless, he won a free kick that led to the first of Filippo Inzaghi's two goals, and provided the assist for the second. For his stellar play throughout the competition, he was voted the Vodafone Fans' Player of the Season in a poll of over 100,000 UEFA.com visitors. On 30 August, Kak was named by UEFA as both the top forward of the 200607 Champions League season and UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.

He played his 200th career match with Milan in a 11 home draw with Catania on 30 September, and on 5 October, he was named the 200607 FIFPro World Player of the Year. On 2 December 2007, Kak became the eighth Milan player to win the Ballon d'Or, as he finished with a decisive 444 votes, long ahead of runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo. He signed a contract extension. He won the honor again in 2009. BBC reported on 13 January 2009 that Manchester City made a bid for Kak for over 100 million. Milan director Umberto Gandini replied that Milan would only discuss the matter if Kak and Manchester City agreed to personal terms. Kak initially responded by telling reporters he wanted to "grow old" at Milan and dreamed of captaining the club one day, but later said, "If Milan want to sell me, Ill sit down and talk. I can say that as long as the club dont want to sell me, I'll definitely stay." On 19 January, Silvio Berlusconi announced that Manchester City had officially ended their bid after a discussion between the clubs, and that Kak would remain with Milan. Milan supporters had protested outside the club headquarters earlier that evening, and later chanted outside Kak's home, where he saluted them by flashing his jersey outside a window.

ReaL Madrid
On 3 June 2009, Football Italia reported that newly-elected Real Madrid president Florentino Prezhad offered Milan a 68.5 million deal for Kak, two days after the player had left for international duty with Brazil. Milan vice president Adriano Galliani did not deny the reports, and confirmed that he and Kak's father, Bosco Leite, had traveled to Mexico to meet with La Volpe. On 8 June, Milan and Real Madrid confirmed Kak has moved to the Bernabu on a six-year deal. Kak made his unofficial debut on 7 August 2009, in a 51 friendly victory against Toronto FC. He scored his first goal for Madrid during a pre-season match on 19 August 2009, in a 5 0 victory against Borussia Dortmund. Kak later made his league debut on 29 August 2009 in a 32 win against Deportivo La Corua. He scored his first goal, a penalty kick, on 23 September, in a 20 against Villarreal. On 5 August 2010, Real Madrid announced that Kak had undergone successful surgery on a long-standing left knee injury and will face up to four months on the sidelines. Kak returned to training after a long lay-off and manager Jose Mourinho said that having Kak back was like a new signing. After an eight-month absence, Kak returned to play by entering as a substitute for Karim Benzema on the 77th minute of a 32 victory overGetafe on January 3, 2011. He said he was "(...) happy for playing a game again and for stepping onto a pitch." His first league goal (and his first of the season) after his return from injury came with an assist from Cristiano Ronaldo on a 42 victory over Villareal on January 9.

Kak married his childhood sweetheart Caroline Celico on 23 December 2005 at a Rebirth in Christ church in So Paulo. Their first child, Luca Celico Leite, was born in So Paulo on 10 June 2008. Kak was sworn in as an Italian citizen on 12 February 2007. He features prominently in Adidas advertising and also has a modeling contract with Armani, the latter preventing him from appearing in a photo collection alongside his Milan teammates that was published by Dolce & Gabbana in early 2007. Ra, the former Brazilian and So Paulo FC captain, has always been the footballing role model of Kak. Kak's best friend is fellow Brazilian Marcelo Saragosa who plays as a midfielder for the teamChivas USA. They both served as best man at each other's wedding. Kak is a follower of the evangelical Rebirth in Christ Church and devout evangelical Christian. Kak became engrossed in religion at the age of 12: "I learnt that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not." He removed his jersey to reveal an "I Belong to Jesus"tshirt and openly engaged in prayer moments after the final whistle of Brazil's 2002 World Cup, and Milan's 2004 Scudetto and 2007 Champions League triumphs. During the postmatch celebration following Brazil's 41 win over Argentina in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup final, he

and several of his teammates wore t-shirts that read "Jesus Loves You" in various languages.

Though sharing a common goal, Kak is not currently a formal member of the organization Atletas de Cristo ("Athletes of Christ"). In goal celebrations he usually points to the sky as a gesture of thanks to God. Kak's favourite music is gospel, and his favourite book is the Bible. Since November 2004, he has served as an Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations' World Food Programme, the youngest to do so at the time of his appointment. On August 2010, EA Sports announceed that Kak has been chosen for the cover of FIFA 11. Kak has a musical side to himself as he performed a song with his wife, Caroline, on her debut album. The song, entitled Presente de Deus, was written by Kak himself for his wife and was resonated in the church during their wedding in 2005. On 8 December 2010 Kak announced on his Twitter account that his wife Caroline, was pregnant with a baby girl.