Alexandre Pato

Alexandre Pato
Personal information
Full name	Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva
Date of birth	2 September 1989 (age 19)
Place of birth	Pato Branco, Brazil
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Milan
Number	7
Youth career
2000–2006	Internacional
Senior career1
National team3
Competitor for Brazil
Men's Football
	1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 June 2009.; 2 Appearances (Goals).; 3 National team caps and goals correct as of 16 June 2009

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This is a Portuguese name; the first family name is Rodrigues and the second is Silva.

Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva (born 2 September 1989 in Pato Branco, Paraná), commonly known as Alexandre Pato, is a Brazilian striker, currently playing for Italian Serie A club Milan and the Brazilian national team. The nickname "Pato" is in honour of his place of birth, but has led to commentators calling him "The Duck," which is the literal translation of "Pato" from Portuguese.

[edit] Early life

Alexandre started playing indoor football (futsal) in his hometown at the age of three. Soon, his ability became known all around the south Brazilian state of Paraná for being skillful and talented goal scorer and, after being praised by many of his managers, the teenager went to Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, to try out for Grêmio. Despite dreaming of signing for Grêmio who he had supported since a boy, he was persuaded to sign for Internacional at age 11 by his parents. It is not known why his parents persuaded him to sign for Internacional, as Internacional and Grêmio are such fierce rivals.^[2]

In 2000, when he was aged 11, his doctors determined he had a potentially malignant tumor in his left arm, which occurred after he broke it twice in the same place. If it was not removed, he faced the possibility of it becoming cancerous in two months. His family couldn't afford the surgery but one of their family friends, who is a doctor, operated as a volunteer for free.^[3]

[edit] Club career

[edit] Internacional

On his first team debut, at the age of 17, Pato helped Internacional to a 4-1 win over Palmeiras on November 26, 2006. In this game, Pato had three assists and also scored a goal. His appearance put the spotlight on the young player and created expectations and comparisons with another southern Brazilian superstar, the then FC Barcelona player Ronaldinho.^[4]

Following this stunning debut, Pato was included in the Internacional squad that travelled to Japan in December 2006 to compete at the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup. Internacional had qualified for this tournament by winning the 2006 Copa Libertadores in August. On December 13, 2006, Pato scored Internacional’s first goal of the tournament in the 23rd minute of the semi-final against African club champions Al-Ahly, played at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. He was later substituted in the 65th minute due to cramp in his right leg. His replacement, Luiz Adriano, scored in the 72nd minute to give Internacional a 2-1 win and a place in the final against European club champions FC Barcelona.^[5]

The 2006 FIFA Club World Cup Final was played at the International Stadium in Yokohama on December 17, 2006, in front of 67,128 spectators. Alexandre Pato started the game, but was substituted for Luiz Adriano in the 61st minute with the score still 0-0. Therefore Pato was not on the field when Adriano Gabiru scored in the 82nd minute to give Internacional a shock 1-0 win and the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup.^[6]

[edit] Milan

Incumbent European champions Milan officially confirmed the signing of Pato on 2 August 2007.^[7] Due to FIFA football regulations regarding non-EU minors, Pato was unable to play official matches for Milan until 3 January 2008, when the Italian transfer window and registration reopened.^[8] However, Milan was allowed to include the player in friendlies and training beginning 3 September 2007, one day after his 18th birthday. Pato made his non-competitive debut in a 2–2 draw against Dynamo Kiev on 7 September 2007 and scored a header. On 4 January 2008, Pato's transfer to Milan became official.^[9]

Pato scored his first Milan goal on his Serie A debut against Napoli in a 5–2 home victory on 13 January 2008. He scored his first brace for Milan, in a 2–0 victory over Genoa at the San Siro on 27 January 2008. He finished the 2007–08 season with 9 goals in 20 appearances (18 in the league).

In late 2008, Pato scored two goals in Milan's 5–1 win over Udinese just before the Christmas break, and managed to shine again with a brace against Roma the following matchday at the Stadio Olimpico on 11 January 2009, proving that he is a vital part of Milan's attack. He continued his impressive form for Milan, hitting six goals in four games, including a game winning strike against Fiorentina on 18 January. On 15 February, he scored his 11th goal of the season in a 2–1 defeat against home rivals Internazionale. On 26 February, Pato scored his 12th goal of the season against Werder Bremen in the UEFA Cup, a game Milan drew 2–2; but with this, were knocked out the competition on the away goals rule. Pato continued his good form with two goals against Siena on 15 March.

[edit] International career

After gaining prominence at club level, Pato was called up for the youth teams of Brazil. He helped Brazil win the 2007 South American Youth Championship, which qualified the country for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and has been selected by Dunga for the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[10] He scored his first goal for the senior Brazilian team on his debut against Sweden at the Emirates Stadium in England on 26 March 2008, beating Pelé's record of scoring a goal within seconds of his full international debut.

[edit] Praise

"I have seen him in training and on the pitch. He is only 19 years of age and I think he can become one of the greatest players in the world."^[11]

—former Milan teammate David Beckham

"He has an incredible shot and great speed. In fact, he is twice as fast as a normal athlete."^[11]

—former Milan manager and current Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti

[edit] Personal life

Since 2007, Pato has been engaged in a relationship with Brazilian actress Sthefany Brito, two years his senior. They broke up in January 2009 and it is said that they both agreed on breaking up because they cannot keep a long-distance relationship.^[12] On the evening of 7 July 2009, Pato wed Sthefany Brito in a ceremony at the Copacabana Palace.^[13]

[edit] Career statistics

Club	Season	Domestic League		Domestic Cups		Continental Competitions¹		Other Tournaments²		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Internacional	2006	1	1	-	-	-	-	2	1	3	2
	2007	9	5	-	-	7	4	9	3	25	12
	Total	10	6	-	-	7	4	11	4	28	14
Milan	2007–08	18	9	-	-	2	0	-	-	20	9
	2008–09	36	15	-	-	6	3	-	-	42	18
	Total	54	24	-	-	8	3	-	-	62	27
Career Total		64	30	-	-	15	7	11	4	90	41

Senior club appearances and goals correct as of 16 June, 2009.

¹Continental Competitions include the Copa Libertadores, Recopa Sudamericana, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup
²Other Tournaments include the FIFA Club World Cup and Campeonato Gaúcho

[edit] International statistics

As of June 28, 2009^[14]^[15]

National team	Club	Season	Apps	Goals
Brazil	Milan	2007–2008	3	1
Brazil	Milan	2008–2009	5	0
Total			8	1

South Africa||

Egypt|| 4–3 || 0 || 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

International appearances and goals
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Goal	Competition
2007–2008
1.	March 26, 2008	London, England	Sweden	1–0	1	Friendly
2.	May 31, 2008	Seattle, United States	Canada	3–2	0	Friendly
3.	June 6, 2008	Boston, United States	Venezuela	0–2	0	Friendly
	June 22, 2008	Volta Redonda, Brazil	Rio de Janeiro State Selection	1–0	1	Unofficial friendly (Brazil U-23)
2008–2009
	July 28, 2008	Singapore	Singapore	3–0	0	Friendly (Brazil U-23)
	August 1, 2008	Hanoi, Vietnam	Vietnam	3–0	1	Friendly (Brazil U-23)
	August 7, 2008	Shenyang, China PR	Belgium	1–0	0	2008 Olympic Games (Brazil U-23)
	August 10, 2008	Shenyang, China PR	New Zealand	5–0	1	2008 Olympic Games (Brazil U-23)
	August 13, 2008	Qinhuangdao, China PR	China PR	3–0	0	2008 Olympic Games (Brazil U-23)
	August 19, 2008	Beijing, China PR	Argentina	0–3	0	2008 Olympic Games (Brazil U-23)
4.	October 15, 2008	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Colombia	0–0	0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.	February 10, 2009	London, England	Italy	2–0	0	Friendly