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NDTV
22-07-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Ex-Bayern Munich Defender Rafinha Calls Time On Career
Former Brazil international defender Rafinha has announced his retirement from professional football, ending a career that spanned more than 20 years. The 39-year-old had been undecided about his future since leaving Brazilian Serie B side Coritiba in March. "Today I officially announce the end of my career as a professional soccer player," Rafinha told Sportv. "It's been a wonderful journey and I didn't expect to get to where I am today. "It's with a heavy heart that I'm ending something that I've done my whole life. But everything has a beginning and an end, and I have no regrets. I achieved everything that I wanted to in football," he said. Rafinha began his career at Coritiba in 2002 before moving to Germany's Schalke in 2005 till 2010. The right-back later played for Genoa (2010 - 2011), Bayern Munich and Flamengo, among others, before returning to Coritiba in December last year. He was capped four times for Brazil. The Brazilian right-back made a total of 266 competitive appearances for Bayern. He lifted seven Bundesliga titles, four DFB Cups and was an integral part of the 2013 treble-winning team. Rafinha's club Sao Paulo paid tribute to their departing captain, recognising the significance of his contributions both in terms of silverware and his leadership. "Our captain in the conquests of the 2023 Copa do Brasil and the 2024 Supercopa Rei, Marcio Rafael Ferreira de Souza announced his retirement from the pitch on this 21st of July, 2025. "A Sao Paulo fan at heart, Rafinha fulfilled his dream of defending the Tricolor from 2022 to 2024, honouring our jersey in 117 matches. Congratulations on your beautiful journey in football and much success in your next challenges!"


New York Times
27-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Igor Jesus – The Premier League-bound Club World Cup star who last year was a nobody
Igor Jesus, one of the breakout stars of the Club World Cup, celebrates his goals by imitating a character from a Japanese cartoon. Team-mates at youth level called him Sapinho — Little Frog — because he used to leap around when playing in goal. As a kid, he spent his weekends at a market stall in his hometown, helping his grandfather clean fish. Advertisement These are all fun facts. Together, they tell you a bit about the Botafogo striker and where he comes from. But the most interesting thing about Igor Jesus is something else entirely. It is this: just over a year ago, barely anyone had even heard of him. In 2023 and the first months of 2024, his name cropped up in a lot of excitable articles in the Rio de Janeiro press. His name, but not him: the buzz was about Flamengo midfielder Igor Jesus, a former Brazil Under-23 midfielder who now plays for Los Angeles FC. His namesake — our Igor Jesus — was about as relevant to the local football scene as you or I. He was playing for Shabab Al Ahli in the United Arab Emirates. He had been there since October 2020. Even fans of Coritiba, the Brazilian club at which Igor Jesus first made his breakthrough, had all but forgotten he existed. It is not unusual for Brazilian footballers to move to the Middle East. The money can be incredibly good: a few years there might provide financial security for years, sometimes even generations. Countless players have gone to the UAE, to Qatar, to Saudi Arabia. Coaches, too. Many of them return for second, third, fourth stints. That option normally comes at a cost, however. When you move to Dubai at 19, as Igor Jesus did, people will — rightly or wrongly — infer certain things about your ability, your priorities, how you see your career. Stay until you are 23 and those thoughts are amplified. These are the runway years of any career. It is incredibly rare for a player to spend them out of the spotlight and still have enough momentum for lift-off. Igor Jesus has laughed in the face of that convention. He arrived at Botafogo in July 2024, ostensibly as a backup to first-choice striker Tiquinho Soares. That didn't stop him from stating his intention to break into the Brazil team. Three months and 19 Botafogo appearances later, he did just that, scoring on debut against Chile. By January, he was turning down offers from Europe. Now he is starring on the global stage, with a move to Premier League side Nottingham Forest already agreed. Not a bad year's work for a nobody. Igor Jesus owes a lot to Alessandro Brito, Botafogo's sporting director, the man behind the transfer that brought the forward back to Brazil. As a scout for Athletico Paranaense, Brito had watched Igor Jesus a lot at youth level and rated him highly. When he arrived at Botafogo in 2022, he knew who to place at the top of his wish list. Advertisement At that point, Igor Jesus was rebuilding fitness and confidence after a long-term injury. His form as the 2023-24 season progressed — he would end it with 17 goals in all competitions — strengthened the case for signing him. Botafogo tried to get him in January 2024 but settled for a pre-contract agreement ahead of a free transfer in the summer. An offer of €10million (£8.5m; $11.7m) from another Emirati club came in before Igor Jesus had even travelled for his medical in Rio. Botafogo turned it down. It proved to be a smart decision. Igor Jesus adapted quickly, clambering past Soares in the pecking order and registering six goals and an assist in his first seven starts. There was also a tonal shift beyond the numbers. His movement pushed opposition defences back. He drifted wide, inviting Thiago Almada and Luiz Henrique infield. Those three, plus Venezuelan playmaker Jefferson Savarino, looked like they had been playing together since they were kids. His coach, Artur Jorge, could not hide his delight. 'He's the best forward in the country, there's no doubt about it,' he said in October. Dorival Junior, Brazil's coach at the time, agreed. He threw Igor Jesus straight into his starting XI and reaped the benefits, the striker capping a fine display against Chile with a goal. 'Igor gave us that presence in the area,' Dorival said. 'He can act as a pivot in certain moments, but still looks to get in behind.' By the end of the season, he had helped Botafogo to the Brazilian championship and the Copa Libertadores. That could easily have been that. Forest bid around €30m in January, enough for Botafogo. The player, though, wanted to stay, at least until after the Club World Cup. The start of 2025 was turbulent. Botafogo parted company with Artur Jorge and went off the boil. Igor Jesus paid the price with his Brazil place. Only with the arrival of Renato Paiva — another Portuguese coach — did things begin to pick up again. Advertisement Paiva has used Igor Jesus in a slightly different way. He plays with three fairly defensive midfielders, tasking the wide players with creative duties. There is less position-swapping, less room for improvisation. 'Under Artur, I had a lot of freedom to move around and create space for the wingers,' Igor Jesus told GloboEsporte in March. 'We were always swapping positions and that made it hard for teams to mark us. Today, with Paiva, I play more as a No 9. He asks me to stay in the penalty area more, to be there to finish from rebounds and loose balls.' If there was any ambivalence there, it has evaporated over the past fortnight. Paiva may have him playing a more conventional game, but he has done it to perfection, holding the ball up brilliantly, bringing team-mates into play, occupying defenders with his strength, darting in behind. His two goals so far — that brilliant breakaway strike against PSG, a towering header against Seattle Sounders — were the least he has deserved. The farewell tour kicked off at the start of June when Igor Jesus played his final match at Botafogo's Estadio Nilton Santos. It was an emotional night: fans unveiled a huge banner in his honour and clapped him off the pitch at the end of a 3-2 win over Ceara. 'This has been a marvellous journey,' the 24-year-old said. 'Botafogo made me believe in my potential again.' He returned to that theme before the start of the Club World Cup, reflecting on the decisions that have led him to this point. His atypical path to the big time is not just a quirk of his story, a curious little footnote. It is the story. The way he sees it, it was the making of him. 'If I had left Brazil at 19 or 20, I think I would be nervous about playing in a competition like the Premier League,' he told GloboEsporte. 'Today, I feel prepared. I'm leaving here a more experienced footballer. I've matured a lot. I'm sure that will help me in Europe.' Before that, of course, there is one big job left to do. On Saturday, Botafogo face Palmeiras. Win that and the Club World Cup bracket may start to open up. The team that stunned everyone to win the Libertadores may yet have another surprise or two up its sleeve. 'I didn't leave at the start of the year because I wanted to play in this tournament,' Igor Jesus said at the start of the month. 'I'll do my best to help this club and my team-mates. I feel that obligation.'


BBC News
23-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Forest target Brazil's 'modern day Drogba'
Botafogo striker Igor Jesus, 24, has been named player of the match in both of his games at the Club World is arguably the breakout player in the tournament so far and will get another chance to impress against Atletico Madrid on Monday is nicknamed Little Frog, is a huge fan of the Anime series Dragon Ball Z and has been heavily linked with a move to Nottingham who is he?Jesus started his career at Coritiba, a then Serie-B side based in Brazil's eighth largest an 18-year-old he scored three goals in 24 appearances to help Coritiba secure after initially struggling at a higher level, he left midway through the following campaign to join Emirati side Shabab spent four seasons in the Middle East, scoring 46 goals in 92 games, before returning to Brazil by joining Botafogo in July he has excelled. He led the line as his side lifted the Serie A and Copa Libertadores titles last the scouting departments at numerous club around the world are on high even made his Brazil debut last October, scoring in a 2-1 World Cup qualifying win in difficult conditions in American football expert Tim Vickery called him , external "the modern-day Drogba" after his goal against Paris St-Germain, a side who had thrashed Inter Milan in the Champions League final just 20 days more about Igor Jesus here


The Sun
20-06-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Botafogo striker Igor Jesus is modern Didier Drogba who scored winner v PSG and will be at Nottingham Forest next season
IN the space of the current decade, Botafogo of Rio have gone from Brazil's second division, to reigning national and South American champions, to unlikely conquerors of Paris Saint Germain. The extraordinary rise has been bankrolled by US businessman John Textor, who also owns Lyon in France and is trying to sell his stake in Crystal Palace. 11 11 11 But the Botafogo story is now just a tale of the chequebook. It is also about wonderful work by the scouting department - exemplified by the case of centre forward Igor Jesus. The Brazil international scored the only goal as Botafogo shocked PSG with a 1-0 win and joins Nottingham Forest after the Club World Cup. The 24-year-old began his professional career with Coritiba in the south of Brazil, where he showed promise but not much more. And then he found his way to Shabab Al Alhi in the Arab Emirates. This took him off the radar screen of most people - but not Botafogo. He did well in his new surroundings, and even had an offer to take on local citizenship and play for the national team. He declined, declaring that he was prepared to wait for an opportunity to play for Brazil. It seemed a fanciful dream but Botafogo were watching and signed him on a free when his contract ran out. They brought him back to Brazil where he was unknown but they unleashed him in July of last year. And by September he was playing and scoring for Brazil in World Cup qualification. Amid the recent turmoil of the Brazilian national team he soon lost his place. But he will be back - especially because he gave new coach Carlo Ancelotti a powerful demonstration of his merits. Ancelotti arrived to coach Brazil at the end of May. The next day he called up his first squad - without Igor Jesus. And the day after he was in Botafogo's stadium for a crunch game in the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League. Botafogo had to win to stay in the competition and defend the title they won last year. They were up against Universidad de Chile who found themselves a man up early in the match. Nottingham Forest's other signing, gangling centre back Jair Cunha, launched himself into a bad tackle and was sent off. Botafogo had to win the game with ten men - and Igor Jesus ensured that they did. Textor has described him as the perfect centre forward. He has a strong physical presence, he can hold the ball up and shrug off defenders. 11 11 He is quick and mobile, able to work the channels and he has an extraordinary spirit of sacrifice. In the final of last year's Libertadores against fellow Brazilians Atletico MIneiro, Botafogo had a man sent off in the first thirty seconds. Igor Jesus had to dedicate himself to being the first line of defence, and carried out the task tirelessly. In this game against Universidad de Chile he had to be the first line of defence and the cutting edge of the attack - Botafogo had to win. Every time he got on the ball he was a nightmare for the Chilean defenders and he scored the goal that takes his side through to the knock out phase. Against PSG he had to go through his repertoire against much better defenders. 11 11 And he worried Lucas Beraldo and William Pacho all through the game, giving options for the besieged Botafogo defenders to clear their lines, combining with his midfielders, and charging towards Gianluigi Donnarumma to score - with the help of a deflection - the only goal in a famous victory. Textor appeared after the match to thank Igor Jesus by pretending to polish his boot. Igor Jesus is looking increasingly like a modern day version of Didier Drogba - a one man forward line capable of performing every function a striker needs to do and able to take on entire defences all on his own. His performance would not have been enough to secure victory without the splendid disciplined defending of his team-mates in which Jair Cunha played the game of his life. The 20-year-old was signed at the start of the season after helping Santos win promotion back to the top flight last year. 11 11 Injuries meant that he has been thrown in at the deep end and it has not always been easy. He can struggle for balance and though he scored with a towering header in the opening game against Seattle Sounders, he had plenty of defensive problems. But he rose to the challenge in fine style against PSG. He was well protected, and able to spend the game defending in reduced space. But he kept his head well under pressure and made Forest fans hope that Igor Jesus will not be the only Brazilian signing making an impact next season at the City Ground.

The Hindu
20-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Where will Igor Jesus, Botafogo's hero against PSG, play next season?
Centre-forward Igor Jesus turned out to be the hero for Botafogo as the Brazilian club upset European champion Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in a group-stage match in the FIFA Club World Cup, at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, United States, on Thursday. Igor, the 24-year-old Brazilian, scored the only goal of the match in the 36th minute. Since his professional debut for Coritiba in 2019, Igor has played 194 matches, scoring 65 goals and assisting 28. He played four seasons for Emirati club Shabab Al-Ahli (from 2020 to 2024), where he had a vital role in securing four trophies, including the UAE Pro League, UAE League Cup and two UAE Supercups. In 87 appearances for the club, he found the back of the net 43 times and assisted 20. READ | FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Botafogo beats PSG 1-0; Jesus scores against Champions League winner In July 2024, he signed with Botafogo and has been a stand-out player for the side since then, helping it win the top-division title and the Copa Libertadores. Later, in October, he made his international debut for Brazil against Chile in a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier and scored in the first minute of added time in the first half. Where is Igor headed to next season? According to The Telegraph, Igor is close to completing a move to Premier League club Nottingham Forest, managed by Nuno Espirito Santo. Forest will play European football for the first time since 1995-96 after finishing seventh in the 2024-25 Premier League season. The team will compete in the Europa Conference League.