Ricardo José Dognella Lima de Oliveira (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation:[ʁiˈkaʁduoliˈvejɾɐ]; born 6 May 1980) is a Brazilian retired professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
Born inSão Paulo, Oliveira joinedCorinthians' youth setup in 1997. After being released by the club in 1999, he moved toPortuguesa, being promoted to the first team in the following year.[1]
Oliveira made his professional debut on 24 September 2000, coming on as a second-halfsubstitute and scoring the game's only in aCopa João Havelange home win againstSport Club do Recife.[2] He scored 23 goals over the course of three seasons in theSérie A and, in March 2001, equalled a club record by netting in seven consecutive matches.[3]
In early 2003, Oliveira moved toSantos, although this was disputed in a sports court.[4][5] He scored in the group and knockout stages of the2003 Copa Libertadores, and he appeared in both legs of the final, although his team lost toBoca Juniors.[6]
On 31 July 2003, Oliveira moved to Spain and joinedValencia CF, signing a five-year contract with Santos retaining part-ownership.[7] Under the guidance ofRafael Benítez he scored eightLa Liga goals in 21 games, including a fantastic long-range effort atFC Barcelona in a 1–0 win in October,[8] netting ahat-trick the following month atRCD Mallorca (5–0 victory).[9]
Oliveira scored his first official Champions League goal on 28 September 2005 atR.S.C. Anderlecht,[13] following a brace – including a solo effort – againstAS Monaco in the third qualifying round.[14][15] Due toknee ligament damage sustained againstChelsea on 1 November 2005,[16] he only played nine times inthe league, although he netted four times.
Oliveira moved on loan toSão Paulo in early 2006, in a bid to gain a place inBrazil's2006 World Cup squad – prolonged recovery time meant he never made it but he did continue to compete for the club in all the fronts until 10 August 2006. Previously, in August 2005, he had threatened with leaving theVerdiblancos over economic issues.[17]
Oliveira returned to Betis on 21 August following his loan spell, nine days later than he was requested, which caused controversy among the club's board of directors. The delay was caused by an unplanned schedule change made byCONMEBOL, which postponed the Libertadores final match in one week, and his contract was due on the day after the previous final match date; he wanted to play on the decisive match and tried to reach an agreement with theAndalusians, even with a special allowance fromFIFA, but the Spanish team would not cooperate and he was not able to take part in the game.[18]
TheSerie A giants had just lostAndriy Shevchenko after the2006 Italian football scandal, and signed Oliveira as his replacement on 31 August 2006, to a five-year deal.Johann Vogel moved in the opposite position as part of the deal after the two clubs negotiated nearly a week over the transfer fee, which reportedly reached €17.5 million.[19]
Oliveira made his debut in the second half of the2006–07 opening-day match againstS.S. Lazio, heading pastAngelo Peruzzi from the goalline in a 2–1 home win.[20] He scored twice more after that for theRossoneri in the league, adding two more intheir run in theCoppa Italia;[21] he spent most of the season under the stress of the October 2006 kidnapping of his sister, Maria Lourdes, who was released unharmed on 12 March 2007.[22][23]
On 14 July 2007, Oliveira moved back to Spain and joinedReal Zaragoza on loan, forming an impressive striker partnership with ArgentineDiego Milito[24] as the two scored 33 of the side's 50 goals duringthe campaign, which nonetheless ended in relegation.[25] TheAragonese would have an option to purchase him for an agreed price when the loan period finished.[26]
On 25 May 2008, Zaragoza bought Oliveira from Milan for a reported €10 million.[27]
In late January 2009 Oliveira re-joined Betis on a fee of €8.9 million with commission, signing until June 2013.[28] He scored in the 83rd minute of his very first appearance, netting the second goal in thederby againstSevilla FC on 7 February, a 2–1 win at theRamón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium.[29]
Betis would beeventually relegated, as both Oliveira (who struck in the last match, a 1–1 home draw withReal Valladolid) and former Zaragoza teammateSergio García met the same fate for the second consecutive year.[30]
In mid-July 2009 Oliveira, already immersed in pre-season with Betis, left forAl Jazira Club in a lucrative deal of about €14 million.[31] In January of the following year, he returned to his country and São Paulo on loan.
In Al Jazira's opening match of the2012 AFC Champions League, Oliveira scored his side's last goal in a 4–2 defeat ofFC Nasaf on 7 March 2012,[32] netting three against the same opponent on 2 May (4–1 victory).[33] Two weeks later, he scored all of his team's goals againstAl-Rayyan SC in a 4–3 win at theAhmed Bin Ali Stadium inDoha.[34]
In the competition'sround of 16 clash againstAl-Ahli, Oliveira netted twice in a 3–3 draw, but missed hisshootout attempt to see his team be eliminated 2–4.[35] In late January 2014, following the arrivals ofFelipe Caicedo andJucilei, he was released.[36]
On 12 January 2015, Oliveira returned to Santos after agreeing to a five-month deal.[37] He played his first match after his return on 1 February, coming on as a second-half substitute forGeuvânio in a 3–0 home win overItuano.[38]
On 1 May 2015, after being the club's top goalscorer inthat year'sCampeonato Paulista – also being elected the best player of the competition – Oliveira extended his contract until December 2017.[39] Inthe subsequentBrasileirão, he also scored braces against his former club São Paulo (2–3 away defeat)[40] andChapecoense (3–1 home win),[41] again leading the charts with 20 goals.[42]
After a2017 campaign marked by injuries, Oliveira still managed to score nine times in the league as his side finished third. On 20 December, after failing to agree new terms, he left the club.[47]
A day after announcing his departure from Santos, 37-year-old Oliveira agreed to a two-year deal with fellow league teamAtlético Mineiro.[48] In September 2020, he officially left the club after alleging unpaid wages and leaving back in June.[49]
On 29 September 2020, aged 40, Oliveira was announced atCoritiba still in the top tier.[50] On 28 May 2021, after spending three months without playing, he left the club.[51]
On 24 January 2022, Oliveira was announced atSão Caetano,[52] but left the club ten days later after having disagreements with the club's board when signing his contract.[53] On 5 February, he signed forAthletic-MG.[54]
Oliveira left Athletic on 5 April 2022, after helping the club to win theCampeonato Mineiro do Interior title.[55] He stayed without a club for the remainder of the year, before being announced atBrasília on 2 January 2023.[56]
Oliveira departed Brasília on 15 March 2023, after just seven matches.[57] He announced his retirement from professional football on 28 July, during an interview to portalge.[58]
He was subsequently included in the squad for the2004 Copa América, winning his firstcap on 8 July 2004 againstParaguay. During the event he also scored his first international goal, in the quarter-final match againstMexico on the 18th, as Brazil went on to win the cup.[60]
After a one-year absence from the national team, new national coachDunga recalled Oliveira for a friendly match withSwitzerland on 15 November 2006. On 24 September 2015, exactly 15 years after his professional debut and eight after his lastcap, he was called up as a replacement to injuredRoberto Firmino for the first two matches of the2018 World Cup qualification campaign againstChile andVenezuela,[62] starting in the latter and scoring his side's last in a 3–1 win inFortaleza.[63]
^Ciordia, Fernando (15 March 2009)."Oliveira, la sonrisa del gol" [Oliveira, the goal's smile].Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). Retrieved4 December 2019.
^"Ricardo Oliveira reforça o Coritiba" [Ricardo Oliveira bolsters Coritiba] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Coritiba FBC. 29 September 2020. Retrieved30 September 2020.
^"Artilharia – Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol – Série A 2015" [Top scorers – Brazilian Football Championship – Série A 2015].Confereção Brasileira de Futebol (in Portuguese). Brazilian Football Confederation. 22 January 2016. Retrieved3 February 2018.
Mexico
Hong Kong
Venezuela
Paraguay
