Full name: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite.
Date of birth: May 15th 1982.
Height: 1.82 m (6 ft).
At age 12, Kaká was considerably shorter than his father and brother; medical tests showed that his bones suffered growth delay; for two years, Kaká was submitted to growth treatment, to reach normal height. Kaká was born in Brasília. From age 4 to 7, his family lived in
Cuiabá, following his father, a civil engineer.At age 7, the family moved to the city of
São Paulo, in the neighbourhood of Morumbi, near the Stadium of
São Paulo FC. As
FIFA says, "Kaka fails to fit the Brazilian stereotype of the kid from the favela who first played the game in the street with a ball made from rags. Coming from a comfortable and cultured family, Kaka kept up his studies for as long as they were compatible with his profession.".His talent was soon recognized. A professor called the family and suggested enrolling him in a football school. At age 8, Kaká was playing with São Paulo FC, where he succeeded in all categories. At age 14, Kaká used to wake up two hours early, to keep up with his studies; Kaká managed to conclude the intermediary cycle (eleven years) in Brazil, before dedicating exclusively to football.Kaká is religious. Since early adolescence, he's been attending the evangelical Church
Renascer.
His religiosity grew stronger after an accident in 2000. During holidays, Kaká dove into a shallow pool and beat the head against the floor; immediate exams didn't show anything. A few days later, while training in São Paulo, Kaká felt a strong pain and found out that he had broken a cervical vertebra; Kaká had to wear a treatment jacket for two months. Returning to football was uncertain; "the doctors said I was lucky; I am certain that it was God's will", says Kaká.In 2000, Kaká was champion of the Junior championship, in São Paulo. In 2001, he became professional; his first match was on February 2nd, and his first goal on February 5th. In the decision of the high profile Rio-São Paulo tournament, Kaká (then Cacá) scored the two goals that gave the title to São Paulo over Botafogo. .On 31st January 2002, Kaká debuted with the National Team, playing against Bolivia; on March 7th, against Iceland, he scored his first goal.In 2002, Kaká went to the
2002 World Cup. He played only a few minutes in the match against Costa Rica. In the final match, against Germany, when the Brazilian victory was defined, coach Scolari attempted to put Kaká to play; the last images of the game show Kaká waving desperately to the referee, asking for a break, but there was no time. Kaká was, anyway, world champion.São Paulo FC and Kaká had a non-official agreement with
Milan AC: he would stay in Brazil until 2004 and then would move to Italy; São Paulo could collect a few championships, and Milan would have a more mature player. However, feeling that other teams were talking to Kaká, the Milan directors (particularly Leonardo, who played with the Brazilian team in the cups of
1994 and
1998) decided, in 2003, to antecipate the transfer. Kaká was an instant hit in Italy. In 2004, Milan won the Italian league. In 2005, Kaká was elected the best
midfielder in Europe by UEFA.
Religious, Kaká commemorates God
