Caçapa

For the former Palmeiras player, see Gérson Caçapa.

Caçapa

Personal information
Full name	Cláudio Roberto da Silva
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Defender, Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Cruzeiro
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:15, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Cláudio Roberto da Silva, commonly known as Caçapa (Pronounced Cashapa), (born May 29, 1976 in Lavras) is a Brazilian football player. He plays as a central defender who currently plays for Cruzeiro.

Club career

Atlético Mineiro

Caçapa began his career in 1996 with Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro, where he established himself as a first team regular. He received the Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball) award in 1999 after being voted the best defender in Série A that season.

Lyon

In 2001 Caçapa began attracting interest from European clubs and he signed for Lyon in 2001 and played his first game in the French Ligue 1 championship on February 17, 2001. He was captain of Lyon for five seasons, winning the French championship in each of these seasons. He became a French citizen in October 2006 after living in the country for over 5 years.

His contract with Lyon expired in the summer of 2007 and he refused to sign a new deal with the club.

Newcastle United

Caçapa signed for Newcastle United on a Free transfer after his contract with previous club Lyon expired, on 3 August 2007, signing an initial two year deal with an option for a third. He made his debut for Newcastle as an 89th minute substitute during the goalless draw against Aston Villa on 18 August, and in doing so he became the 1,000th player to represent the Magpies in a competitive match.

He made his home debut for Newcastle in a 2-0 win over Barnsley on 1 September, and then his Premier League home debut three days later in a 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic on 4 September. He scored his first goal for the club with a header against Tottenham Hotspur on 22 October.

On November 3, Caçapa suffered a setback, being substituted out of Newcastle's game against Portsmouth after only 18 minutes. It was later announced that his poor play in the game was due to a "slight hamstring strain". Caçapa made a triumphant return to the Newcastle squad on December 12, when he was named Man of the Match in their away win at Fulham.

He scored his second goal for Newcastle on 16 January 2008 when they went through to the FA Cup 4th Round after a 4–1 replay victory over Stoke City with Caçapa getting the second goal.

He was ruled out for 5 weeks on 22 March after suffering a groin injury before the 2–0 win over Fulham. Cacapa had an indifferent 2007-08 campaign, he was in and out of the starting X1, and although turning in some impressive performances, he struggled for consistency.

In the 2008–09 season he has been utilised both as a defender and a midfielder due to Newcastle having both a small squad and numerous injuries to players. Most of Cacapa's 2008-09 campaign was blighted by injury. He made his last appearance in December, failing to appear throughout 2009 before being released on 1 July 2009 when his contract expired.

Cruzeiro

After being released by Newcastle at the end of the 2008-2009 Premier League season, Caçapa signed contract with Cruzeiro in August 2009.

International career

Caçapa's impressive form at Atlético Mineiro was rewarded with a call-up to the Brazilian national team. He made his debut for his country on February 23, 2000 against Thailand and has so far made three international appearances and one unofficial international appearance in a match against Japanese club Tokyo Verdy.

Sporting titles and awards

Club

Atlético-MG

• Minas Gerais State championship: 1997
• Copa Conmebol: 1997

Lyon

• Ligue 1: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
• Trophée des champions: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
• Coupe de la Ligue: 2001

Personal life

He and his wife had their first child in 2006.

External links

• Claudio Cacapa at Soccerbase