PLAYER PROFILE

Gilberto Silva

Position: Midfield

Height: 6'3

Weight: 12st 4lbs

Date of Birth: 1976-10-07 Lagoa da Prata, Brazil

Gilberto Silva

Gilberto Silva was born Gilberto Aparecido da Silva October 7, 1976 in Lagoa da Prata, Brazil. He started his professional career with the South America club in the state of Minas Gerais but only two years later he joined one of the one of the biggest clubs in the state, Atletico Mineiro.

After two years at the club, he had his first taste of silverware with the club known as the 'Galo' when they won the Minas Gerais State Championship.

The performances in the successful Belo Horizonte team brought him to the attention of the Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, who gave him his international debut in Brazil's surprise 3-1 World Cup qualifying defeat in Bolivia.

The midfielder soon improved in a Brazil team that was in danger of being the first team not to qualify for a World Cup. His second performance in the famous yellow jersey saw Silva make amends for his disappointing international debut. He scored his first goal for Brazil in a 6-0 rout of Bolivia in a friendly in Goiania.

When Brazil reached the World Cup final, he was one of few players to be on the pitch for every minute of Brazil's successful World Cup campaign.

The Brazilians won every game and Silva's tenacity in all areas of the midfield allowed flair players such as Juninho and Ronaldinho to create opportunities for themselves and strikers Ronaldo and Rivaldo.

Silva's place in Brazilian football history was assured when the 'Canarinha' carried off the 2002 World Cup after the final in Yokohama, Japan on June 30 2002.

The performances given by Silva in the World Cup were only part of what brought Silva to the attention of the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who has a keen interest in bringing talented Brazilian players to Europe. The Gunners boss had already brought Edu and Silvinho from Corinthians Paulista of Sao Paulo.

Gilberto Silva joined Arsenal in July 2002 for a fee of £4.5m and was excited about the prospect of playing alongside Vieira despite not having heard a lot about English football until the last three years before his move came about.

Gilberto excelled in his first season at the club in 2002/03 starting over forty games and establishing himself as Patrick Vieira's partner in central midfield. His international experience was a huge asset for the north Londoners in Europe, although his dip in form coincided with Arsenal's exit from the Champions League.

However, his second season was less impressive as he often found himself behind countryman Edu in the pecking order. However, he did score four times and will hope that he can convince Arsene Wenger and the Gunners fans that he deserves to be Vieira's regular partner in midfield.

Sadly for Silva his problems continued into the 2004/05 season. After a fine start which saw him score the opener in the FA Community Shield, he suffered a back injury in September. He did not return to action until April 2005 where he made nine further appearances, including Arsenal's FA Cup Final triumph against Manchester United.

Free of injury, he returned stronger than ever in the 2005/06 campaign to make 47 appearances, scoring four goals along the way. Such form did not translate onto the international stage, however, as Silva, along with the rest of his Brazil team-mates, looked lethargic during their World Cup 2006 campaign which ended in defeat to France in the quarter-finals.

However, he emerged in the 2006/07 re-energised and was handed the vice-captaincy of the club following the retirement of Dennis Bergkamp. As Thierry Henry suffered with injury and poor form through much of the campaign, Silva found himself captain and he ended up scoring eleven goals in 46 appearances.