Giovane Élber

"Elber" redirects here. For the German wine grape that is also known as Elber, see Elbling.
Giováne Élber

Élber in 2010
Personal information
Full name Élber de Souza
Date of birth (1972-07-23) 23 July 1972
Place of birth Londrina, Brazil
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
1989–1990 Londrina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1994 Milan 0 (0)
1991–1994 → Grasshopper (loan) 69 (41)
1994–1997 VfB Stuttgart 87 (41)
1997–2003 Bayern Munich 169 (92)
2003–2005 Lyon 30 (11)
2005 Borussia Mönchengladbach 4 (0)
2006 Cruzeiro 21 (6)
Total 380 (191)
National team
1998–2001 Brazil 15 (7)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Élber de Souza (born 23 July 1972 in Londrina, Paraná) commonly known as Giovane Élber, is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a striker.

A prolific goalscorer in various clubs, Élber's career was mostly spent in Germany, where he represented most notably Bayern Munich (six full seasons), scoring a total of 133 league goals in 260 matches for three clubs.[1]

Club career

Signed from hometown's Londrina Esporte Clube at the age of 18 by A.C. Milan in 1990,[2] Élber went almost unnoticed during his one-year spell with the Serie A side. Subsequently, he moved to Switzerland with Grasshopper Club Zürich, initially on loan. He immediately started showing displays of offensive talent at his new club, namely in a 1992–93 UEFA Cup tie against Sporting Clube de Portugal 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 with VfB Stuttgart of Germany in the 1994 summer. He scored in his Bundesliga debut, a 2–1 home win against Hamburger SV, and finished his debut season with eight goals, which would be the only campaign he netted in single digits for the following seven years.

In the 1996–97 season, Élber netted 20 official goals for Stuttgart, 17 in the league, and three in the cup, including both against FC Energie Cottbus in the final (2–0 win). At Stuttgart he formed the so-called magic triangle (German: Magisches Dreieck) with Krassimir Balakov and Fredi Bobic. The following summer, he moved to fellow league team FC Bayern Munich where, save for one year, he was always crowned the club's top scorer (Carsten Jancker prevented that honour); additionally, he was instrumental in the conquest of four leagues, the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League and the 2001 Intercontinental Cup, whilst winning the Torjägerkanone award for 2002–03 with 21 goals; the Bavarians won the double.

Thirty-one-year-old Élber then spent the vast majority of the 2003–04 campaign (played four matches with Bayern) in France with Olympique Lyonnais, replacing compatriot Sonny Anderson who had left for Spain. He helped the club to the third of its seven consecutive Ligue 1 accolades, but then suffered a severe fibula and tibia injury which put him out of action for more than one year. He made his comeback to professional football in Germany with Borussia 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 at Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. After an emotional announcement, he retired from the club three rounds before the end of the season on 9 September, after injuries and the loss of his father.[3]

International career

Due to stiff competition, Élber could not translate his club form to the Brazilian national team. In his first year of international play, 1998, he scored six goals in as many games, but would only collect nine more caps in the following three years.

In the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship, Élber scored four in six matches as the under-20s lost to hosts Portugal, on penalties.[4]

International goals

Scores and results lists Brazil's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 8 February 1998 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles  El Salvador 3–0 4–0 1998 Gold Cup
2. 4–0
3. 14 October 1998 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington  Ecuador 2–0 5–1 Friendly
4. 4–1
5. 5–1
6. 18 November 1998 Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza  Russia 1–0 5–1 Friendly
7. 23 May 2000 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff  Wales 1–0 3–0 Friendly

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Club League Season Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFL-Ligapokal Europe Other Total
VfB Stuttgart Bundesliga 1994–95 23 8 1 0 — — — 24 8
1995–96 33 16 1 0 — 34 16
1996–97 31 17 6 3 — — 37 20
Club totals 87 41 8 3 0 0 0 0 — 95 44
Bayern Munich Bundesliga 1997–98 28 11 6 5 2 2 8 3 — 44 21
1998–99 21 13 5 2 2 3 9 3 37 21
1999–2000 26 14 3 2 0 0 12 3 41 19
2000–01 27 15 1 0 0 0 16 6 44 21
2001–02 30 17 3 1 1 0 11 6 1 0 46 24
2002–03 33 21 6 6 1 2 8 2 — 48 31
2003–04 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 1
Club total 169 92 24 16 7 7 64 23 1 0 265 138
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Other Total
Olympique Lyonnais Ligue 1 2003–04 27 10 9 3 —
2004–05 3 1 0 0
Club totals 30 11 9 3 —
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFL-Ligapokal Europe Other Total
Borussia Mönchengladbach Bundesliga 2004–05 0 0 0 0 — — — 0 0
2005–06 4 0 1 0 — — 5 0
Club total 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 5 0
Club total Italy
Switzerland
Germany 260 133 33 19 7 7 64 23 1 0 365 182
France 30 11 9 3
Brazil
Club total

International

National teamSeasonAppsGoals
Brazil 199866
199940
200031
200120
Total157

Honours

Club

Grasshoppers
Stuttgart
Bayern Munich
Lyon
Cruzeiro

Individual

After retirement from active play

After announcing his retirement he then returned to Bayern, where he began working for the club as a scout, searching in his country for young talents.

Élber works as a pundit for German television station Das Erste. He provided expert analysis during the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and reappeared in this capacity during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Personal

He is mostly referred to as Giováne Élber (sometimes also mistakenly as Giovanni Élber), which is a German variation of his Italian nickname il giòvane Élber ("the young Élber").

References

  1. 1 2 "Giovane Elber: "World Cup euphoria has intensified"". FIFA.com. 21 May 2002. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "Finale da non perdere" (in Italian). Rai Sport 1. 20 May 2001. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  3. ↑ "Fin de carrière pour Elber" [End of career for Elber] (in French). L'Équipe. 20 November 2006. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  4. ↑ Giovane Élber – FIFA competition record
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