Leonardo Araújo

Leonardo Nascimento de Araújo, known simply as Leonardo (born 5 September 1969 in Niterói, Brazil), is a football manager and a former midfielder, serving as head coach of Internazionale. He played for Brazil, and formerly served as manager of Italian side Milan. He played in the 1994 World Cup winning side, as well as the runners up team in 1998.

Club career

Leonardo began his career with the Brazilian club Flamengo in 1987; at just 17, he was given the opportunity to play with his hero Zico plus Leandro, Bebeto and Renato Gaúcho, and to take part in winning his first Brazilian championship. In 1990, Leonardo signed with São Paulo FC, and in 1991, Leonardo, Raí, and other young talents were assembled as part of the so-called ‘esquadrão tricolor’ (“three-coloured squad”) under the command of Brazilian legend Telê Santana, giving Leonardo his second Brazilian championship.

Later that year, he made the switch to European football, signing with the Spanish club Valencia CF. After two seasons with Valencia, he returned to Brazil for a brief stint with São Paulo in 1993, during which time the team won several titles, including the prestigious Copa Libertadores and International Cup.

In 1994, after the World Cup, Leonardo signed with the Kashima Antlers of the newly-formed J. League. Leonardo continued his success in Kashima, again playing with his idol and friend Zico. In 1996, he returned to Europe, this time signing with French club Paris St Germain, where he again proved to be successful, one of his goals helping them to oust Liverpool out of the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.

At this point in his career, Leonardo had mostly stopped playing as a leftback and moved into the midfield, sometimes on the left, sometimes as a playmaker. Already in Japan, this had resulted in some spectacular goals for Leonardo, a trend which continued in Europe.

In the summer of 1997 he signed with Italian team A.C. Milan, for 8.5 million euros from PSG. With Milan he became a prominent part of a star-studded lineup. He played four full seasons, scoring 22 goals and playing 177 games for Milan, before returning to Brazil with São Paulo FC and Flamengo. He later returned to Milan and finished his career with them in 2003.

International career

Leonardo made his international debut in 1990. He was selected as a leftback for the 1994 World Cup, keeping the young Roberto Carlos out of the team, much to his chagrin. Leonardo played well in the first games but was then given a four-match suspension for elbowing the American midfielder Tab Ramos, resulting in a broken malar bone. The stricken Ramos had to stay in hospital for three and a half months afterwards. Leonardo’s suspension prevented him from participating in the remainder of the competition. It was the second longest ban imposed in World Cup history, after Mauro Tassotti’s eight-game suspension for breaking the nose of Luis Enrique at the same tournament.

In 1997, Leonardo was given the Number 10 shirt for the national team. He was an important member of the team that won the Copa America in 1997.

Leonardo played all seven games in his second World Cup, helping Brazil to a second-place finish. In the second opening round match against Morocco, he netted one shot and began celebrating, but was later called off-side. He was last selected to play for Brazil in the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign and ended his career with 60 caps and 8 goals for Brazil.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Statistics correct as of 25 December 2010.

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Milan		2009	2010	48	23	13	12	&47.92
Internazionale		29 December 2010		0	0	0	0	—
Total				48	23	13	12	47.92

Honours

Club honours

• Brazilian National Championship 1987, 1991
• Brazil Cup 1990
• São Paulo State Championship 1991
• South American Recup 1993, 1994
• South American Supercup 1993
• Intercontinental Cup 1993
• Japanese League 1996
• Italian League 1999
• Italian Cup 2003

International honours

• 1994 FIFA World Cup – Winner
• 1997 Copa America – Winner
• 1997 Confederations Cup – Winner
• 1998 FIFA World Cup – Runner-up