.jpg) Élber in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Élber de Souza | ||
| Date of birth | (1972-07-23)23 July 1972 (age 53) | ||
| Place of birth | Londrina, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1990 | Londrina | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1994 | AC Milan | 0 | (0) |
| 1990–1994 | →Grasshoppers (loan) | 78 | (55) |
| 1994–1997 | VfB Stuttgart | 87 | (41) |
| 1997–2003 | Bayern Munich | 169 | (92) |
| 2003–2005 | Lyon | 30 | (11) |
| 2005–2006 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 4 | (0) |
| 2006 | Cruzeiro | 21 | (6) |
| Total | 389 | (205) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998–2001 | Brazil | 15 | (7) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Élber de Souza (born 23 July 1972), commonly known asGiovane Élber, is a Brazilian former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
A prolific goalscorer in various clubs, Élber's career was mostly spent in Germany, where he represented most notablyBayern Munich (six full seasons), scoring a total of 133league goals in 260 matches for three clubs.[1]
Born inLondrina, Paraná, Élber is a youth product ofLondrina.
At the age of 18, he signed forAC Milan in 1990,[2] Élber went almost unnoticed during his one-year spell with theSerie A side.
Subsequently, he moved to SwitzerlandGrasshoppers, initially onloan. He immediately started showing displays of offensive talent at his new club, namely in a1992–93 UEFA Cup tie againstSporting CP where, after a 1–2 home loss, he was influential in the club's 4–3 aggregate win, scoring twice.
After more than 50 official goals for Grasshoppers, Élber signed withVfB Stuttgart of Germany in the 1994 summer. He scored in hisBundesliga debut, a 2–1 home win againstHamburger SV, and finishedhis debut season with eight goals, which would be the only campaign he netted in single digits for the following seven years.
In the1996–97 season, Élber netted 20 official goals for Stuttgart, 17 in the league, and three inthe cup, including both againstEnergie Cottbus inthe final (2–0 win). At Stuttgart, he formed the so-calledmagic triangle (German:Magisches Dreieck) withKrassimir Balakov andFredi Bobic.
The following summer, he moved to fellow league teamBayern Munich where, save for one year, he was always crowned the club's top scorer[citation needed] (Carsten Jancker prevented that honour[citation needed]); additionally, he was instrumental in the conquest of four leagues, the2000–01 UEFA Champions League, scoring in both legs in the semi-finals againstReal Madrid,[3] and the2001 Intercontinental Cup, whilst winning theTorjägerkanone award for2002–03 with 21 goals; theBavarians wonthe double.
At the Intercontinental Cup inTokyo, Bayern Munich and Boca Juniors went toextra time, whenSamuel Kuffour scored the only goal for Bayern. Immediately before, Élber brought downClemente Rodríguez in an act that went unseen by refereeKim Milton Nielsen. Élber said in 2025 that his action was a foul and that the goal would have been disallowed by thevideo assistant referee if it had happened that year.[4]
31-year-old Élber then spent the vast majority of the2003–04 campaign (played four matches with Bayern) in France withLyon, replacing compatriotSonny Anderson who had left for Spain. In the2003–04 UEFA Champions League, he scored against his former club Bayern Munich to win 2–1 in Germany.[3] Later on, he scored in a 2–2 draw againstPorto in the quarter-finals; however, Lyon were eliminated from the competition after losing 4–2 on aggregate.[5]
Eventually, he helped the club to the third of its seven consecutiveLigue 1 accolades, but then suffered a severefibula andtibia injury which put him out of action for more than one year.
He made his comeback to professional football in Germany withBorussia Mönchengladbach, whom he joined in January 2005.[1]
In January 2006, after nearly 15 years of absence, Élber returned to his country, finishing his career atCruzeiro. After an emotional announcement, he retired from the club three months before the end ofthe season on 9 September, after injuries and the loss of his father.[6]
At the1991 FIFA World Youth Championship, Élber scored four in six matches as theunder-20s lost to hostsPortugal, onpenalties.[7]
Due to stiff competition, Élber could not translate his club form to theBrazil national team. In his first year of international play, 1998, he scored six goals in as many games, but would only collect nine morecaps in the following three years.
After announcing his retirement, he then returned toBayern, where he began working for the club as a scout, searching in his country for young talents. As of 2025, he was an ambassador for the club.[4]
Élber works as apundit for German television stationDas Erste. He provided expert analysis during the2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and reappeared in this capacity during the2014 FIFA World Cup.
He is mostly referred to asGiovane Élber, which is a German variation of his Italian nicknameil giovane Élber ("the young Élber").
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| AC Milan | 1990–91 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Grasshoppers (loan) | 1991–92 | Nationalliga A | 21 | 9 | — | — | — | 21 | 9 | |||||
| 1992–93 | Nationalliga A | 30 | 25 | — | 4[c] | 2 | — | 34 | 27 | |||||
| 1993–94 | Nationalliga A | 27 | 21 | — | — | — | 27 | 21 | ||||||
| Total | 78 | 55 | — | 4 | 2 | — | 82 | 57 | ||||||
| VfB Stuttgart | 1994–95 | Bundesliga | 23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 8 | |||
| 1995–96 | Bundesliga | 33 | 16 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 16 | ||||
| 1996–97 | Bundesliga | 31 | 17 | 6 | 3 | — | 1[d] | 0 | — | 38 | 20 | |||
| Total | 87 | 41 | 8 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 96 | 44 | ||||
| Bayern Munich | 1997–98 | Bundesliga | 28 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 8[e] | 3 | — | 44 | 21 | |
| 1998–99 | Bundesliga | 21 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9[e] | 3 | — | 37 | 21 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Bundesliga | 26 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12[e] | 3 | — | 41 | 19 | ||
| 2000–01 | Bundesliga | 27 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16[e] | 6 | — | 44 | 21 | ||
| 2001–02 | Bundesliga | 30 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11[e] | 6 | 2[f] | 0 | 47 | 24 | |
| 2002–03 | Bundesliga | 33 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 8[e] | 2 | — | 48 | 31 | ||
| 2003–04 | Bundesliga | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 2 | ||
| Total | 169 | 92 | 24 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 64 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 266 | 139 | ||
| Lyon | 2003–04 | Ligue 1 | 27 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9[e] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 15 |
| 2004–05 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[g] | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
| Total | 30 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 17 | ||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2004–05 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2005–06 | Bundesliga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Cruzeiro | 2006 | Série A | 21 | 6 | 5 | 6 | — | 1[h] | 0 | 13[i] | 6 | 40 | 18 | |
| Career total | 389 | 205 | 40 | 27 | 8 | 8 | 79 | 28 | 16 | 7 | 532 | 275 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 1998 | 6 | 6 |
| 1999 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 7 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 February 1998 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum,Los Angeles, United States |  El Salvador | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1998 Gold Cup |
| 2 | 4–0 | |||||
| 3 | 14 October 1998 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium,Washington, United States |  Ecuador | 2–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 4–1 | |||||
| 5 | 5–1 | |||||
| 6 | 18 November 1998 | Estádio Castelão,Fortaleza, Brazil |  Russia | 1–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 7 | 23 May 2000 | Millennium Stadium,Cardiff, Wales |  Wales | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
Grasshoppers
Stuttgart
Bayern Munich
Lyon
Cruzeiro
Individual
|  | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
