# 15 Ze Roberto ~ One of the key elements to success

[GloriousReds]

Zé Roberto
Personal information
Full name	José Roberto da Silva Júnior
Date of birth	July 6, 1974 (1974-07-06) (age 33)
Place of birth	Ipiranga, Brazil
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Defensive Midfielder/Left Wing Midfielder
Club information
Current club	FC Bayern Munich
Number	15
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994-1997 1997 1998 1998-2002 2002-2006 2006-2007 2007-	Portuguesa Real Madrid Flamengo Bayer 04 Leverkusen FC Bayern Munich Santos FC FC Bayern Munich	61 (1) 15 (0) 11 (0) 113 (17) 110 (5) 12 (2) 5 (0)
National team2
1995-2007	Brazil	84 (6)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 September 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 25 November 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

[Freddy Adu]

Zé Roberto started from bench for the first time this season.

Bayern beat Karlsruhe away 4-1, and Ze Roberto scored the 4th goal of Bayern.

It's ZéRo's 1st competitive goal for Bayern this season.

[Freddy Adu]

Zé Roberto is playing some of the best football of his life and after his return to Germany is now seen as one of the key elements to the club’s success this season.

On Sunday he laid on one goal and scored another himself to help Bayern to an emphatic 3-0 win in the Bavarian derby against Nürnberg.

Statistics show that he was the most competitive player on the pitch winning 75% of all his tackles.

“I was very pleased with my performance” he commented after the game.

The Brazilian serves as Bayern’s ball winner, distributor, and goal scorer, which is one of the reasons he has become indispensable this season.

“He is one of the reasons we have come out of the starting blocks so quickly this season” announced Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has also espoused the merits of the ‘new Zé Roberto. “He has shown why he was voted Footballer of the Year in Brazil playing in this position” he said.

The former Brazilian international rejoined Bayern in the summer after returning to his homeland to play for Santos the previous year. While there he reverted to a more central midfield position and revelled in his new role.

“Zé possesses absolute quality and is very important for our defence. He can tackle from behind without fouling, he never stops running, technically brilliant and can instigate attacks. He is an absolute bonus for the team” Hitzfeld added.

At 33, Zé Roberto is entering the final stages of his career, but at this rate the coming years could be his most successful yet.

***

[Freddy Adu]

By contrast, Brazil star Zé Roberto was still absent on Saturday. “He’s got a bad dose of the flu and it’s pretty much knocked him flat,“ reported Henke, hoping a weekend off would enable Ze to shake off the illness.