Raí
Encyclopedia
Raí, full name Raí Souza Vieira de Oliveira (born May 15, 1965 in Ribeirão Preto
) is a former Brazil
ian football midfielder
. He was part of the Brazil
team which won 1994 FIFA World Cup
. He also played for São Paulo FC
when he had the most glorious time of his career, and Paris Saint-Germain, two clubs for which he has achieved legendary status and recognition among fans. Raí was a classic playmaker
with a precise passing, fine ball possession and incredible capability of reading the game. Raí is also the younger brother of another legendary player, Sócrates
.
In the first round match against Russia in the 1994 FIFA World Cup
, he scored a penalty kick when Romário was knocked down in the goal area. Afterwards however, having struggled to impose himself on the tournament, he had to relinquish his captain role to the more influential Dunga and did not feature in the tournament from the quarter finals onwards.
He is arguably São Paulo FC
's best player of all time, having won every kind of championship for the team during his tenure. Similarly, he is considered to be one of Paris Saint-Germain's best ever players, having won six major honours during his spell with the French club in the 1990's. A 2008 poll carried out by French newspaper Le Parisien even ranked him as the club's best ever player ahead of Pauleta
, and such is the impression he left on fans that every new playmaker (Jay-Jay Okocha
, Ronaldinho
, Javier Pastore
) who has been signed after his departure is invariably compared with Rai.
His position as a player in the team was as a withdrawn striker/offensive midfielder. He was the captain and the leader of
the team. Raí (and coach Telê Santana
) are considered to have played a leading role
in São Paulo being the Brazilian team with the most international awards, surpassing even Santos
.
However Raí never managed to make his mark at an international level as he did at club level. He was always slow in adapting himself to the team, except when he returned to São Paulo.
After playing for Paris Saint-Germain he came back to São Paulo in 1998 announcing that it was the place where he would end his career. The team was completely renewed, with new stars such as Denílson
and França
. The only remaining player from the 1992–1993 winning team was goalkeeper Rogério Ceni
(who would still later help São Paulo to the 2005 Club World Championship). Once again, he led São Paulo to another regional championship although he
played only in the finals, as he came back through the season..
The feat was repeated for the last time in 2000, with his last award, the same regional championship.
|1984||rowspan="3"|Botafogo-SP
||||13||1
|-
|1985||||25||1
|-
|1986||||0||0
|-
|1986||Ponte Preta||Série A
||10||1
|-
|1987||rowspan="7"|São Paulo||rowspan="7"|Série A
||8||1
|-
|1988||19||4
|-
|1989||15||3
|-
|1990||23||5
|-
|1991||22||7
|-
|1992||23||5
|-
|1993||0||0
|-
|1993/94||rowspan="5"|Paris Saint-Germain
||rowspan="5"|Division 1
||28||6
|-
|1994/95||26||12
|-
|1995/96||27||14
|-
|1996/97||35||9
|-
|1997/98||29||10
|-
|1998||rowspan="2"|São Paulo||rowspan="2"|Série A
||4||0
|-
|1999||15||1
177||29
145||51
322||80
|}
|-
|1987||11||2
|-
|1988||0||0
|-
|1989||0||0
|-
|1990||0||0
|-
|1991||5||2
|-
|1992||7||6
|-
|1993||16||2
|-
|1994||9||3
|-
|1995||0||0
|-
|1996||0||0
|-
|1997||0||0
|-
|1998||1||0
|-
!Total||49||15
|}
Ribeirão Preto
Ribeirão Preto is a municipality and city in the Northeastern region of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is nicknamed Brazilian California, because of a combination of an economy based on agrobusiness plus high technology, wealth and sunny weather all year long. With 605,114 inhabitants,...
) is a former Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian football midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
. He was part of the Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
team which won 1994 FIFA World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
. He also played for São Paulo FC
São Paulo Futebol Clube
São Paulo Futebol Clube , commonly known as São Paulo, is a professional football club based in São Paulo, Brazil. They play in the Campeonato Paulista, São Paulo's state league, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A or Brasileirão, Brazil's national league, and are one of the only five clubs to...
when he had the most glorious time of his career, and Paris Saint-Germain, two clubs for which he has achieved legendary status and recognition among fans. Raí was a classic playmaker
Playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's offensive play, and is often involved in passing moves which lead to goals....
with a precise passing, fine ball possession and incredible capability of reading the game. Raí is also the younger brother of another legendary player, Sócrates
Sócrates
Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, MD, , more commonly known simply as Sócrates, is a Brazilian former association footballer....
.
In the first round match against Russia in the 1994 FIFA World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
, he scored a penalty kick when Romário was knocked down in the goal area. Afterwards however, having struggled to impose himself on the tournament, he had to relinquish his captain role to the more influential Dunga and did not feature in the tournament from the quarter finals onwards.
He is arguably São Paulo FC
São Paulo Futebol Clube
São Paulo Futebol Clube , commonly known as São Paulo, is a professional football club based in São Paulo, Brazil. They play in the Campeonato Paulista, São Paulo's state league, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A or Brasileirão, Brazil's national league, and are one of the only five clubs to...
's best player of all time, having won every kind of championship for the team during his tenure. Similarly, he is considered to be one of Paris Saint-Germain's best ever players, having won six major honours during his spell with the French club in the 1990's. A 2008 poll carried out by French newspaper Le Parisien even ranked him as the club's best ever player ahead of Pauleta
Pauleta
Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes, OIH , commonly known as Pauleta , is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a striker....
, and such is the impression he left on fans that every new playmaker (Jay-Jay Okocha
Jay-Jay Okocha
Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is known for his stepovers, skill, technique, and being 'so good that they named him twice'...
, Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira , commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year...
, Javier Pastore
Javier Pastore
Javier Matías Pastore is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Argentina national football team as an attacking midfielder....
) who has been signed after his departure is invariably compared with Rai.
His position as a player in the team was as a withdrawn striker/offensive midfielder. He was the captain and the leader of
the team. Raí (and coach Telê Santana
Telê Santana
Telê Santana da Silva, also known as Telê Santana , was a Brazilian football manager and former player...
) are considered to have played a leading role
in São Paulo being the Brazilian team with the most international awards, surpassing even Santos
Santos Futebol Clube
Santos Futebol Clube is a Brazilian professional football club based in Santos, São Paulo They play in the Campeonato Paulista and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the highest professional leagues in São Paulo state and Brazil, respectively....
.
However Raí never managed to make his mark at an international level as he did at club level. He was always slow in adapting himself to the team, except when he returned to São Paulo.
After playing for Paris Saint-Germain he came back to São Paulo in 1998 announcing that it was the place where he would end his career. The team was completely renewed, with new stars such as Denílson
Denílson de Oliveira Araújo
Denílson de Oliveira Araújo , commonly known as Denílson, is a Brazilian former footballer, who played mostly as a left winger...
and França
França
Françoaldo Sena de Souza , aka França, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Yokohama F.C. in Japan, as a striker.-Club career:...
. The only remaining player from the 1992–1993 winning team was goalkeeper Rogério Ceni
Rogério Ceni
Rogério Ceni is a Brazilian goalkeeper. He has been a member of the Brazilian Série A club São Paulo since September 7, 1990, playing more than 1,000 matches and winning 2 Copa Libertadores trophies and one Club World Championship with them...
(who would still later help São Paulo to the 2005 Club World Championship). Once again, he led São Paulo to another regional championship although he
played only in the finals, as he came back through the season..
The feat was repeated for the last time in 2000, with his last award, the same regional championship.
Statistics
|-|1984||rowspan="3"|Botafogo-SP
Botafogo Futebol Clube (SP)
Botafogo Futebol Clube is a Brazilian association football club based in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo state, founded on November 12, 1918. The club currently competes in the Campeonato Paulista Série A1, alongside the great clubs of the state, and in the Copa Paulista de Futebol.- History :In the...
||||13||1
|-
|1985||||25||1
|-
|1986||||0||0
|-
|1986||Ponte Preta||Série A
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
||10||1
|-
|1987||rowspan="7"|São Paulo||rowspan="7"|Série A
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
||8||1
|-
|1988||19||4
|-
|1989||15||3
|-
|1990||23||5
|-
|1991||22||7
|-
|1992||23||5
|-
|1993||0||0
|-
|1993/94||rowspan="5"|Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain FC
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club , also known simply as Paris Saint-Germain and familiarly as Paris SG or PSG , is a professional association football club based in Paris, France. The club was founded on 12 August 1970, thanks to the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain...
||rowspan="5"|Division 1
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
||28||6
|-
|1994/95||26||12
|-
|1995/96||27||14
|-
|1996/97||35||9
|-
|1997/98||29||10
|-
|1998||rowspan="2"|São Paulo||rowspan="2"|Série A
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
||4||0
|-
|1999||15||1
177||29
145||51
322||80
|}
|-
|1987||11||2
|-
|1988||0||0
|-
|1989||0||0
|-
|1990||0||0
|-
|1991||5||2
|-
|1992||7||6
|-
|1993||16||2
|-
|1994||9||3
|-
|1995||0||0
|-
|1996||0||0
|-
|1997||0||0
|-
|1998||1||0
|-
!Total||49||15
|}