Alexandre Pato
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Internacional | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva (born September 2, 1989, in Pato Branco, Paraná) is better known for his nickname: Alexandre Pato (or Pato Alexandre, as the club directors want the journalists to call him). It is translated as Alexander Duck, and he is a Brazilian striker, a soccer prodigy who have been playing for Internacional since 2002.
Early Life
Alexandre started playing indoor soccer (futsal) in his hometown at the age of 3. Soon his ability became known all around the south Brazillian state of Paraná and after being praised by many of his managers, the teenager went to Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, to try out for Sport Club Internacional. In 2002, at the age of 13, he moved there and started sharing housing with other 83 teenagers that, like him, wanted to play for the first team of Inter.
Career
After a contract settlement that boosted the player's salary from R$3.000 to R$25.000 and extended his stay on the team until 2009 with a contract fee of 18 million euros in case a foreign club wants to sign him, Alexandre was finally considered ready to start a game in the Brazilian soccer league.
On his team debut, at the age of 17, Alexandre helped Internacional play an excellent game, a 4-1 win over Palmeiras on November 26, 2006. Alexandre had 3 assists and scored a goal. His appearance put all the spotlights on the young player and created expectations and comparisons with another southern Brazillian superstar, Ronaldinho Gaúcho.
The fans of Internacional now count on the young player to help the team win the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup. Pato scored Internacional's first goal of the competition on 13th December in the semi-final game against Al-Ahly Cairo, helping the team win 2-1 and a spot in the final. The player was taken off the field during the second half because of a cramp on his right leg and his substitute scored the second, and winning goal, of the game.
Before his team's match against Barcelona in the final of the competition, Barca's Brazilian star Ronaldinho identified Pato as a player to watch in Brazilian football.
Unfortunately, in the final against Barcelona, Pato failed to impress. During the finals, he turned Puyol, one of Europe's finest defenders, before being dispossessed illegally from behind by Van Bronckhost.
Pato is currently being linked with a January transfer to Italian and English giants AC Milan and Chelsea FC respectively.