Gilberto Aparecido da Silva (; born 7 October 1976) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, most notably for Brazilian side Atlético Mineiro and for English Premier League club Arsenal, as well as for the Brazil national team. He currently serves as an ambassador for both Arsenal and FIFA.
Born and raised in poverty in the Brazilian municipality of Lagoa da Prata, Gilberto joined the youth academy at local club América Mineiro, where he made his senior debut as a centre-back in 1998. After starring the following season, where he helped gain the club promotion into the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, he joined city rivals Atlético Mineiro. During his time at Atlético, Gilberto transitioned into a defensive midfielder under head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, and flourished in his new role, gaining a call-up to the Brazil national team for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he featured prominently as his country won the tournament.
As a result of his World Cup performances, Gilberto garnered a move to the Premier League to sign for Arsenal that summer for a fee of £4.5 million. During his six years at Arsenal, Gilberto gained a reputation as a world class defensive midfielder, and starred in a midfield duo alongside Patrick Vieira. He would feature as a member of the Invincibles, where he captured his first top-flight league title as his team went undefeated the whole season, as well as winning two FA Cups. Gilberto also holds distinct records at Arsenal, recording their first goal at the Emirates Stadium, as well as their fastest ever goal, scoring in 21 seconds from kickoff against PSV Eindhoven in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. After departing Arsenal, Gilberto relocated to Greece, playing for Panathinaikos, where he won a domestic double. He then returned to Brazil in 2011, signing for Grêmio, where he remained for two years, before returning to Atlético to win the 2013 Copa Libertadores prior to retiring.
Gilberto featured at senior level for much of his international career, representing Brazil over a period of 9 years. He enjoyed a period of sustained success with his country, as he featured prominently in their victorious campaign at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, as well as being a core component as the team also won the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, while also featuring as captain in their Copa América win in 2007. After retaining the Confederations Cup in 2009, Gilberto expressed his desire to prolong his club career, which coincided with limited playing time for Brazil. He retired from international football after the 2010 FIFA World Cup, having made 93 appearances for Brazil.
Early life As a child, Gilberto lived in the city of Lagoa da Prata with his father (a blacksmith), his mother (a housewife) and three sisters. His family lived in a small house which his father built, in the district of Usina Luciânia. Despite financial hardship, causing his sisters and him to share a single room, he had a relatively carefree childhood: he describes it as "[a time when] I had no responsibility in my life, I played football on the street with cousins and friends, and we never had any contact with drugs or violence". In 1988 (aged 12), he got the chance to break out of poverty by playing football, joining América Mineiro as a youth player. It was during these years at América Mineiro that Gilberto was taught defensive discipline by playing as a central defender. When not playing football, Gilberto was taught furniture-making skills by his father, which he would come to use in the following years. In 1991, Gilberto's father retired leaving the 16-year-old to provide financially for his whole family, a task made more difficult by his mother's ill-health.
Because of the low wage at América Mineiro, he was forced to quit football to take various jobs as a labourer, a carpenter, and a worker in a sweet factory. It looked as if this would be the end of his childhood dream. As a factory-worker Gilberto earned the equivalent of about £50 a month by 2002 rates.
Club career
Early career In 1997, Gilberto's friends convinced him to give football another try, which led to him re-signing for América Mineiro in 1997, this time as a full-time professional. Aged 22, Gilberto played as a central defender for the first team. During his first season for América Mineiro he was regarded as a key player by the club, despite being criticised by some fans for inconsistency. He helped them win the Série B division, and consequently gain promotion to Série A.
During Gilberto's third season at América Mineiro, with the team back to Série B after relegation in Série A in 1999, he scored three goals, helping the club reach the second stage where they were eliminated by Vila Nova in the quarterfinals. In 2000, aged 24, he joined rival club Atlético Mineiro. In his first season for the club, he fractured his right tibia and, as a result, missed a number of games. In his second season, he was moved by the manager Carlos Alberto Parreira from central defence to a defensive midfield role where he flourished. He scored three goals in the 2001 season and became a revelation in Brazilian club football.
Arsenal Gilberto's performance in the 2002 FIFA World Cup caught the attention of many coaches. Gilberto expressed a desire to move to England, saying, "It would be fantastic to play against the likes of David Beckham again.""All Things Footie Archive" . All Things Footie. 25 July 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2006. As a result, FA Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Arsenal led the chase to sign him. In August, while still under contract to Atlético Mineiro, Gilberto joined Arsenal on their pre-season tour of Austria; while he had not yet signed for Arsenal the deal looked set to go ahead. However, complications arose when a transfer embargo was placed on Atlético Mineiro due to unpaid wages to some players at the club, including Gilberto."ESPNsoccernet: Gilberto Silva Profile" . ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 25 September 2006. There was also an issue of obtaining a UK work permit for Gilberto. Despite the complications, Gilberto ended a summer of speculation and joined Arsenal on 7 August 2002 for a fee of £4.5 million. Upon signing Gilberto, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger said, "What I like was the fact that he kept things simple. He can play all across the midfield but the holding role just in front of the defence is what he does best."
When Gilberto moved to England and began training with Arsenal, he bought a house in St Albans, South Hertfordshire."Ofutebol: Gilberto Interview". Futebol: The Brazilian Way Of Life. 2005. Retrieved 25 September 2006. Having been used to life in small Brazilian towns, he initially struggled to adapt to the new way of life in London."Gilberto's a city slicker". BBC Sport, 9 October 2002. Retrieved 19 March 2012. However, on the pitch, he settled in very quickly. On 11 August 2002 he made his Arsenal debut as a substitute against Liverpool in the second half of the FA Community Shield game in which he scored the winning goal. As the 2002–03 FA Premier League season began, Gilberto faced stiff competition for a place in midfield from compatriot Edu. After two substitute appearances, Gilberto finally broke into the starting eleven on 27 August, helping Arsenal to a 5–2 win against West Bromwich Albion. Gilberto's good form continued as he set a new record for the fastest goal scored in the UEFA Champions League, scoring after 20.07 seconds against PSV on 25 September 2002."uefa.com – Gilberto quick off the mark. UEFA. 26 September 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
2003–04 was an even better season for Gilberto, as he was instrumental in helping Arsenal win the Premier League title whilst going the entire season unbeaten. He played in 32 of Arsenal's 38 unbeaten Premier League games during the season. His next season started equally impressively, as he scored the first goal in Arsenal's 3–1 Community Shield win over Manchester United at the Millennium Stadium. During the opening games of the season, he started to experience severe pain in his back, and after a match at Bolton Wanderers on 27 September 2004, a scan revealed he had fractured his back. At first it was reported that he would be out of action for a month."Gilberto sidelined for at least a month" . ESPN Soccernet. 28 September 2004. Retrieved 25 September 2006. Later reports suggested the injury could be season-threatening."Gilberto injury gives Arsenal soft centre". The Guardian (London). 20 November 2004. Retrieved 25 September 2006.
Gilberto's doctor ordered him to wear a back brace for three months to aid the healing of the fractured bone."Gilberto on 2004 back injury". Invisiblewall.net. Retrieved 25 September 2006. Gilberto returned to his native Brazil for the duration of his rehabilitation."Arsenal hit by Gilberto injury setback" . ESPN Soccernet. 19 November 2004. Retrieved 13 May 2007. During his time there, he doubted whether he would ever be able to play football again, due to speculation that his injury could threaten his career. Despite his concerns, his long rehabilitation time paid off as he made a full recovery. He made his footballing comeback in Arsenal's 4–1 victory over Norwich City on 22 April 2005. During the whole 2004–05 season, Gilberto was injured for 7 months and played only 17 games. His absence, combined with Arsenal's slump in form at the time, led to much discussion regarding the importance of Gilberto to the Arsenal team;"Wenger hails Gunner Gilberto's contribution". BreakingNews.ie. 1 April 2005. Retrieved 16 February 2014. some suggesting that Arsenal struggled without him.
In June 2005, football agent Jacques Lichtenstein took Atlético Mineiro to court over Gilberto's transfer in 2002. Lichtenstein's lawyer argued that he and his informal partner, Ronny Rosenthal, never received an allegedly agreed 10% commission from Gilberto's £4.5 million transfer to Arsenal from Atlético Mineiro in July 2002.Jacques Lichtenstein vs. Clube Atletico Mineiro, Neutral Citation Number: 2005 EWHC 1300 (QB). Case No: HQ02X03806. ElDial.com. June 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2006. Arsène Wenger and Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein both gave evidence in court, saying that Arsenal dealt directly with Atlético Mineiro and that no agent was involved in the deal. The case was conducted before The Hon. Mr Justice Jack, who on 29 June ruled against Lichtenstein, and ordered the claimants pay Atletico Minéiro £94,000 in legal costs."Arsenal evidence sinks agent case". BBC Sport. 29 June 2005. Retrieved 19 March 2012. A year later, the case could have caused problems for Arsenal, when former player Ashley Cole criticised the club for "hypocrisy and double standards" in the way they approached Gilberto."Cole puts Chelsea in dock over tapping-up inquiry". The Times (London). 12 September 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2006.