Giovane Élber
Élber in 2022
Personal information
Full name Élber de Souza
Date of birth (1972-07-23) 23 July 1972
Place of birth Londrina, Brazil
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1989–1990 Londrina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1994 AC Milan 0 (0)
1990–1994 → Grasshoppers (loan) 78 (55)
1994–1997 VfB Stuttgart 87 (41)
1997–2003 Bayern Munich 169 (92)
2003–2005 Lyon 30 (11)
2005–2006 Borussia Mönchengladbach 4 (0)
2006 Cruzeiro 21 (6)
Total 389 (205)
International career
1998–2001 Brazil 15 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Élber de Souza (born 23 July 1972), commonly known as Giovane Élber, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

A prolific goalscorer in various clubs, Élber's career was mostly spent in Germany, where he represented most notably Bayern Munich (six full seasons), scoring a total of 133 league goals in 260 matches for three clubs.[1]

Club career

Born in Londrina, Paraná, Élber is a youth product of Londrina.

AC Milan

At the age of 18 he signed for A.C. Milan in 1990,[2] Élber went almost unnoticed during his one-year spell with the Serie A side.

Grasshoppers

Subsequently, he moved to Switzerland Grasshopper Club Zürich, initially on loan. He immediately started showing displays of offensive talent at his new club, namely in a 1992–93 UEFA Cup tie against Sporting Clube de Portugal where, after a 1–2 home loss, he was influential in the club's 4–3 aggregate win, scoring twice.

VfB Stuttgart

After more than 50 official goals for Grasshoppers, Élber signed with VfB Stuttgart of Germany in the 1994 summer. He scored in his Bundesliga debut, a 2–1 home win against Hamburger SV, and finished his debut season with eight goals, which would be the only campaign he netted in single digits for the following seven years.

In the 1996–97 season, Élber netted 20 official goals for Stuttgart, 17 in the league, and three in the cup, including both against FC Energie Cottbus in the final (2–0 win). At Stuttgart he formed the so-called magic triangle (German: Magisches Dreieck) with Krassimir Balakov and Fredi Bobic.

Bayern Munich

The following summer, he moved to fellow league team Bayern Munich where, save for one year, he was always crowned the club's top scorer (Carsten Jancker prevented that honour); additionally, he was instrumental in the conquest of four leagues, the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, scoring in both legs in the semi-finals against Real Madrid,[3] and the 2001 Intercontinental Cup, whilst winning the Torjägerkanone award for 2002–03 with 21 goals; the Bavarians won the double.

Lyon

31-year-old Élber then spent the vast majority of the 2003–04 campaign (played four matches with Bayern) in France with Olympique Lyonnais, replacing compatriot Sonny Anderson who had left for Spain. In the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, he scored against his former club Bayern Munich to win 2–1 in Germany.[3] Later on, he scored in a 2–2 draw against Porto in the quarter-finals; however, Lyon were eliminated from the competition after losing 4–2 on aggregate.[4]

Eventually, he helped the club to the third of its seven consecutive Ligue 1 accolades, but then suffered a severe fibula and tibia injury which put him out of action for more than one year.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Élber in 2005

He made his comeback to professional football in Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach, whom he joined in January 2005.[1]

Cruzeiro

In January 2006, after nearly 15 years of absence, Élber returned to his country, finishing his career at Cruzeiro. After an emotional announcement, he retired from the club three months before the end of the season on 9 September, after injuries and the loss of his father.[5]

International career

Due to stiff competition, Élber could not translate his club form to the Brazil national team. In his first year of international play, 1998, he scored six goals in as many games, but would only collect nine more caps in the following three years.

In the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship, Élber scored four in six matches as the under-20s lost to hosts Portugal, on penalties.[6]

After retirement from active play

Élber in a charity match in 2014

After announcing his retirement he then returned to Bayern, where he began working for the club as a scout, searching in his country for young talents.

Élber works as a pundit for German television station Das Erste. He provided expert analysis during the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and reappeared in this capacity during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life

He is mostly referred to as Giovane Élber (sometimes also mistakenly as Giovanni Élber), which is a German variation of his Italian nickname il giovane Élber ("the young Élber").

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
AC Milan 1990–91 Serie A 0 0 — — — — 0 0
Grasshoppers (loan) 1991–92 Nationalliga A 21 9 — — — 21 9
1992–93 Nationalliga A 30 25 — 4[lower-alpha 3] 2 — 34 27
1993–94 Nationalliga A 27 21 — — — 27 21
Total 78 55 — 4 2 — 82 57
VfB Stuttgart 1994–95 Bundesliga 23 8 1 0 — — — 24 8
1995–96 Bundesliga 33 16 1 0 — — — 34 16
1996–97 Bundesliga 31 17 6 3 — 1[lower-alpha 4] 0 — 38 20
Total 87 41 8 3 — 1 0 — 96 44
Bayern Munich 1997–98 Bundesliga 28 11 6 5 2 2 8[lower-alpha 5] 3 — 44 21
1998–99 Bundesliga 21 13 5 2 2 3 9[lower-alpha 5] 3 — 37 21
1999–2000 Bundesliga 26 14 3 2 0 0 12[lower-alpha 5] 3 — 41 19
2000–01 Bundesliga 27 15 1 0 0 0 16[lower-alpha 5] 6 — 44 21
2001–02 Bundesliga 30 17 3 1 1 0 11[lower-alpha 5] 6 2[lower-alpha 6] 0 47 24
2002–03 Bundesliga 33 21 6 6 1 2 8[lower-alpha 5] 2 — 48 31
2003–04 Bundesliga 4 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 — 5 2
Total 169 92 24 16 7 8 64 23 2 0 266 139
Lyon 2003–04 Ligue 1 27 10 2 2 1 0 9[lower-alpha 5] 3 0 0 39 15
2004–05 Ligue 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[lower-alpha 7] 1 4 2
Total 30 11 2 2 1 0 9 3 1 1 43 17
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2004–05 Bundesliga 0 0 0 0 — — — 0 0
2005–06 Bundesliga 4 0 1 0 — — — 5 0
Total 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 5 0
Cruzeiro 2006 Série A 21 6 5 6 — 1[lower-alpha 8] 0 13[lower-alpha 9] 6 40 18
Career total 389 205 40 27 8 8 79 28 16 7 532 275

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Brazil 199866
199940
200031
200120
Total157
Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Élber goal.
List of international goals scored by Giovane Élber
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
18 February 1998Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States El Salvador3–04–01998 Gold Cup
24–0
314 October 1998Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, United States Ecuador2–05–1Friendly
44–1
55–1
618 November 1998Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza, Brazil Russia1–05–1Friendly
723 May 2000Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales Wales1–03–0Friendly

Honours

Grasshoppers

Stuttgart

Bayern Munich

Lyon

Cruzeiro

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 "Giovane Elber: "World Cup euphoria has intensified"". FIFA.com. 21 May 2002. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "Finale da non perdere" (in Italian). Rai Sport 1. 20 May 2001. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Remembering Giovane Élber, Bayern Munich's rampant Brazilian legend". These Football Times. 10 December 2018.
  4. ↑ "Lyon 2-2 Porto (Porto win 4-2 on aggregate)". BBC Sport. 7 April 2004.
  5. ↑ "Fin de carrière pour Elber" [End of career for Elber] (in French). L'Équipe. 20 November 2006. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  6. ↑ Giovane Élber – FIFA competition record (archived)
  7. ↑ "Bundesliga Historie 1996/97" (in German). kicker.
  8. ↑ "Bundesliga Historie 1998/99" (in German). kicker.
  9. ↑ "Bundesliga Historie 2002/03" (in German). kicker.
  10. ↑ "Februar 1999 - Elber" (in German). Sportschau. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  11. ↑ "Fans name greatest reds of all time". FC Bayern München. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
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