Celebrity-Kaka (Professional soccer player)

Kaka-Professional soccer player.
Born: April 22, 1982 (1982-04-22) (age 28)
Full Name: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
Place of birth: Brasília, Brazil.



Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite was born on April 22, 1982, in Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil. A top-level player soccer player throughout his youth, Kaká began his move toward the professional ranks at the age of 15, when he signed to the São Paulo youth club. His bright career was brought to a halt only three years later, when a swimming pool accident fractured a vertebrae in his neck. The incident could have paralyzed the athlete, but Kaká fully healed. Crediting God for his miraculous recovery, the budding star began leading an actively Christian life, engaging in daily prayer; tithing a portion of his income to the church; refusing to swear; and remaining chaste until his marriage to childhood sweetheart Caroline Celico in 2005.


Club Career
São Paulo
A year after the injury, Kaká made his professional debut with São Paulo's senior team in dramatic fashion. In the closing minutes of a tight game he scored two times, sealing a win for his club. The performance proved to be the start of a successful rookie year that would see him score 12 times in just 27 games. He also aided his team in taking home the Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo title in 2001—the only time the team has won the championship to date. In 2002, while seeing limited action, his team also took home the World Cup title.



Milan
In 2003, the midfielder left his home country for a new team and a new contract in Milan, Italy. For Milan, the transfer had cost $10 million, a sum that the club's owner labeled as "peanuts" compared to the talent he was getting. It didn't take long for Kaká to live up to his pricetag. Over the next several seasons, Kaká assembled a player résumé like no other. His accolades included The Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year title in 2004 and 2006, as well as recognition as the Champions League Best Midfielder in 2005. But his finest season to date came in 2007, when Kaká became the league's top scorer, and led his team to Champions League and Club World Cup titles. In addition, he was named the European Footballer of the Year, World Soccer Player of the year, FIFA World Cup Best Player, and FIFA World Player of the Year.









Real Madrid
For much of his time in Milan, rumors circulated that he may leave for another team. In January 2009, talks heated up between Milan and Manchester City about a proposed $145 million transfer that would see Kaká move north to England. Negotiations eventually came undone, but not the rumors about the player's departure. Five months later, the Milan team—a club that was deeply in debt—handed Kaká over to the Real Madrid club in Spain for a $78 million, six-year contract. "Now the soap opera is over," Kaká told reporters.




International career
Kaká was called up for the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship, but the Brazilians crashed out to Ghana in the quarter-finals. Several months later, he made his debut for the senior Brazil squad in a friendly match against Bolivia on 31 January 2002. He was part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning squad, but played only 25 minutes, all of which were in the first round match against Costa Rica.


In 2003, Kaká was the captain for the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament, where Brazil, competing with their under-23 team, finished as runner-up to Mexico. He scored three goals during the tournament. He was included in Brazil's squad for 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany. He appeared in all five matches and scored one goal in a 4–1 win over Argentina in the final.

Kaká started in his first FIFA World Cup finals in 2006 and scored his first and only goal of the tournament in Brazil's 1–0 victory over Croatia in Brazil's opener, for which he was named Man of the Match. He was unable to keep up the momentum for the remainder of the tournament, as Brazil was eliminated by France in the quarter-finals. In a friendly against rivals Argentina on 3 September 2006, after entering as a substitute, he received the ball off a deflection from an Argentina corner kick and outran Lionel Messi while taking the ball down three quarters of the field to score.


On 12 May 2007, citing an exhaustive schedule of Serie A, Champions League, and national team play, Kaká bowed out of the 2007 Copa América, which Brazil won. After missing out on the Copa América, he returned to play in Brazil's friendly match against Algeria on 22 August 2007.


Kaká participated in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, marking his first international tournament since the 2006 World Cup. His only two goals came in Brazil's group stage opener against Egypt on 14 June, when he scored a goal in the fifth minute and then added a 90th-minute penalty in Brazil's 4–3 victory. He received the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament at the Confederations Cup and was also named the Man of the Match in the final after helping Brazil to a 3-2 win against the United States.


In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, during the 20 June match against Côte d'Ivoire, Kaká received a red card after receiving two yellow cards. The second card was given for a controversial elbow in the direction of Abdul Kader Keïta. The Telegraph called the incident leading to the second yellow card "an innocuous off the-the-ball incident".


Personal life
In 2008, Kaká celebrated a different milestone when his wife gave birth to a baby boy, Luca Celico Leite. The couple resides in Madrid, Spain.