Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira, commonly known as Rivaldo, is a Brazilian former professional footballer born on April 19, 1972. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder, but also excelled as a second striker. Regarded by many as one of the greatest players of his generation and all time, Rivaldo's unique playing style earned him the nickname "bandy-legged genius" due to his bowlegged appearance.
Rivaldo's impressive career spanned five years at Spanish club Barcelona, where he formed a successful partnership with Patrick Kluivert, winning the 1998 and 1999 Spanish La Liga championship, the 1998 Copa del Rey, and scoring 130 goals, ranking him among the club's top scorers. His remarkable hat-trick against Valencia in June 2001, featuring a last-minute 20-yard bicycle kick winner, is often regarded as the greatest hat-trick ever.
Between 1993 and 2003, Rivaldo played 74 matches and scored 35 goals for Brazil, helping the team reach the 1998 FIFA World Cup final and winning the 1999 Copa América, where he was named player of the tournament. He also starred in an attacking trio with Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning team, scoring in five of Brazil's seven games and being named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 2002 and 1998.
Rivaldo's exceptional skills included bending free kicks, bicycle kicks, feints, powerful ball striking from distance, and the ability to both score and create goals. In 1999, he won the Ballon d'Or and was named FIFA World Player of the Year, and in 2004, he was included in Pelé's FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
After announcing his retirement from professional football in March 2014, Rivaldo made a brief comeback for Mogi Mirim in June 2015, but ultimately retired again on August 14, 2015. In 2015, he acted in the Iranian-Brazilian film I Am Not Salvador, and in 2018, he was added as an icon to the FIFA video game FIFA 19.
Rivaldo is an inductee to the Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame and is widely regarded as one of the most skillful and creative players of his generation.
