Rafael (footballer, born March 1982)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Bittencourtand the second or paternal family name is Pinheiro.

Rafael

Personal information
Full name	Rafael de Andrade Bittencourt Pinheiro
Date of birth	(1982-03-03) 3 March 1982 (age 41) [1]
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1995	Nacional-SP
1996	Corinthians
1997–2000	Juventus-SP [2]
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2005	Santos	6	(0)
2005–2007	São Bento	23	(0)
2007–2016	Verona	282	(0)
2016–2020	Cagliari	38	(0)
2020–2021	Spezia	3	(0)
Total		352	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rafael de Andrade Bittencourt Pinheiro (born 3 March 1982) ^[3] simply known as Rafael, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. ^[4] He also holds an Italian passport. ^[5]

Biography

Early career

He left Brazil for Italy after playing 17 (out of 19) matches in 2007 Campeonato Paulista for Esporte Clube São Bento, ahead of Maurício Assoline. He was an understudy of Júlio Sérgio and Fábio Costa at Santos FC.

Verona

In Verona, after missing only three games (of a possible 136) in four seasons of Lega Pro, the third highest football league in Italy, Rafael played a crucial role in helping his team reach the 2010–11 Lega Pro Division One playoffs and win them, to return to Serie B after a four-year absence. ^[6] Two seasons later, the Brazilian goalkeeper and his teammates of Verona reach the second place and were promoted to Serie A, with Rafael that impose itself as the best goalkeeper in the junior category (only 29 goals conceded in 40 games). ^[7]

Rafael was successively confirmed as first choice keeper for the club's Serie A comeback season in 2013, despite the signing of Bulgarian international Nikolay Mihaylov, playing 37 games out of 38 during the full championship. ^[1]

Cagliari

In 2016 he was sold to Cagliari, with Marco Fossati moved to opposite direction. ^[8] Cagliari also loaned out its backup goalkeeper Simone Colombi in the same week.

Spezia

On 17 September 2020, Rafael joined Spezia on a free transfer. ^[9]

Career statistics

As of 3 September 2021

Team	Season	Domestic League		Domestic Cup		European Competition1		Other Tournaments2		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Santos	2001	0	−0	0	−0	–		–		0	−0
	2002	0	−0	0	−0	–		–		0	−0
	2003	8	−8	0	−0	–		–		8	−8
	2004	0	−0	0	−0	–		–		0	−0
	2005	0	−0	0	−0	–		–		0	−0
	Total	8	-8	0	0	0	0	0	-0	8	-8
São Bento	2006	0	−0	0	−0	–		–		0	−0
	2007	0	−0	0	−0	–		–		0	−0
	Total	0	-0	0	0	0	0	0	-0	0	-0
Hellas Verona	2007–08	34	−41	1	−1	–		2	−1	37	−43
	2008–09	34	−32	2	−3	–		–		36	−35
	2009–10	31	−18	4	−5	–		4	−3	39	−26
	2010–11	34	−30	2	−2	–		4	−2	40	−34
	2011–12	40	−39	3	−7	–		2	−3	45	−49
	2012–13	40	−29	4	−6	–		–		44	−35
	2013–14	37	−63	1	−0	–		–		38	−63
	2014–15	20	−35	2	−6	–		–		22	−41
	2015–16	12	−18	1	−1	–		–		13	−19
	Total	282	-305	20	-31	0	0	12	-9	314	-345
Cagliari	2015–16	1	−1	0	0	–		–		1	−1
	2016–17	21	−32	1	−3	–		–		22	−35
	2017–18	10	−11	0	0	–		–		10	−11
	2018–19	0	0	1	−1	–		–		1	−1
	2019–20	6	−11	1	−0	–		–		7	−11
	Total	38	-55	3	-4	0	0	0	0	41	-59
Spezia	2020–21	3	−5	0	0	–		–		3	−5
Career total		331	-273	23	-35	0	0	12	-9	366	-417

¹European competitions include the UEFA Champions League.
²Other tournaments include the Supercoppa Italiana and Serie B relegation play–offs.

References

1. "Scheda anagrafica di De Andrade Bittencou Rafael Pinheiro" (in Italian). AIC Football. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
2. "Muralha brasileira na Itália: Sem sofrer gols fora de casa há quase um ano, Rafael, do Verona, é o goleiro menos vazado do calcio na temporada". Esporte Site (in Portuguese). 3 March 2010. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
3. In this name, Andrade Bittencourt Pinheiro is the surname. According to Portuguese customs, the last one, Pinheiro usually his paternal surname but sometimes "Bittencourt–Pinheiro" is also possible. Moreover, the first surname Andrade may be his paternal surname, in although it is rare in Portuguese culture. However the first surname Andrade, is his paternal surname is common in Spanish name. When lack of information, he may refer as "Mr. Pinheiro" or "Rafael" in although other possibility existed.
4. "Carriera di Rafael De Andrade Bittencourt Pinheiro". Tutto Calciatori. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
5. "L'entusiasmo dei nuovi, Rafael e Iovine". Hellas Verona FC (in Italian). 21 July 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
6. "Rafael De Andrade Bittencourt Pinheiro". Hellas Verona F.C. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
7. [Serie B 2012–2013 http://www.gazzetta.it/speciali/risultati_classifiche/2013/calcio/serieb/classifiche.shtml#]
8. "Ufficiale: Fossati al Verona, Rafael al Cagliari / VIDEO" (in Italian). Hellas Verona F.C. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
9. "L'esperienza di Rafael per la porta delle Aquile" (in Italian). Spezia Calcio. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

External links

• http://futpedia.globo.com/jogadores/rafael16%5B%5D