Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite ; born April 22, 1982 in Brasília), better known as Kaká, is a Brazilian football midfielder who plays for A.C. Milan of the Italian Serie A.Early life
Kaká was born to Simone Cristina dos Santos Leite and Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite. He has a younger brother, Rodrigo (known as Digão), who has followed in Kaká's footsteps by playing football for Milan.
He suffered a career-threatening and possibly paralysis-inducing spine fracture at the age of 18 as a result of a swimming pool accident, but remarkably made a full recovery. The next year, Kaká made his comeback on the pitch, when he came in as a reserve-substitute in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo final match and scored two goals, among them the match-winner, in less than five minutes. He attributes his recovery to God and since tithed his income to his church
Personal life and religion
A devout evangelical Christian, Kaká became engrossed in religion at the age of 12: "I learnt that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not." He removed his jersey to reveal an "I Belong to Jesus" T-shirt and openly engaged in prayer moments after the final whistle of Milan's 2007 Champions League triumph. Kaká previously sported the same shirt during Milan's 2004 Scudetto celebration and after Brazil's defeat of Germany in the 2002 World Cup final, and had the same phrase, along with "God Is Faithful," stitched onto the tongues of his boots. During the postmatch celebration following Brazil's 4-1 win over Argentina in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup final, he and several of his teammates, among them backup keeper Gomes and defender Lúcio, wore T-shirts with "Jesus Loves You" printed on them in various languages.
Two days before Christmas in 2005, Kaká married 18-year-old Caroline Celico at the Reborn in Christ Church in São Paulo. She was born on July 26, 1987 to Rosangela Lyra, the director of Dior in Brazil, and entrepreneur Celso Celico. She and Kaká met in 2001 while she was a student and he was playing for São Paulo FC. The wedding drew 600 guests, including fellow Brazilian footballers Cafu, Ronaldo, Adriano, Dida, Júlio Baptista, and then-Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.
Kaká is a member of the organization Atletas de Cristo ("Athletes of Christ"). His goal celebration consists of him pointing to the sky as a sign of thanks to God after every score, and is proud that he was a virgin when he married. His favorite music is gospel music, and his favorite book is the Bible. Since November 2004, he has served as an Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations' World Food Programme, the youngest to do so at the time of his appointment.
Kaká was sworn in as an Italian citizen on February 12, 2007. He features prominently in Adidas advertising and also has a modeling contract with Armani, but the latter prevented him from appearing in a photo collection alongside his Milan teammates that was published by Dolce & Gabbana in early 2007.
Nickname
His nickname is pronounced as it is spelled, with stress on the second syllable. It is a common term of endearment of "Ricardo" in Brazil. In Kaká's case, however, it was born from younger brother Rodrigo calling him "Caca" due to his inability to pronounce "Ricardo"; it eventually evolved into Kaká. He is often called "Ricky Kaka" by the European media.
-Club careerA devout evangelical Christian, Kaká became engrossed in religion at the age of 12: "I learnt that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not." He removed his jersey to reveal an "I Belong to Jesus" T-shirt and openly engaged in prayer moments after the final whistle of Milan's 2007 Champions League triumph. Kaká previously sported the same shirt during Milan's 2004 Scudetto celebration and after Brazil's defeat of Germany in the 2002 World Cup final, and had the same phrase, along with "God Is Faithful," stitched onto the tongues of his boots. During the postmatch celebration following Brazil's 4-1 win over Argentina in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup final, he and several of his teammates, among them backup keeper Gomes and defender Lúcio, wore T-shirts with "Jesus Loves You" printed on them in various languages.
Two days before Christmas in 2005, Kaká married 18-year-old Caroline Celico at the Reborn in Christ Church in São Paulo. She was born on July 26, 1987 to Rosangela Lyra, the director of Dior in Brazil, and entrepreneur Celso Celico. She and Kaká met in 2001 while she was a student and he was playing for São Paulo FC. The wedding drew 600 guests, including fellow Brazilian footballers Cafu, Ronaldo, Adriano, Dida, Júlio Baptista, and then-Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.
Kaká is a member of the organization Atletas de Cristo ("Athletes of Christ"). His goal celebration consists of him pointing to the sky as a sign of thanks to God after every score, and is proud that he was a virgin when he married. His favorite music is gospel music, and his favorite book is the Bible. Since November 2004, he has served as an Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations' World Food Programme, the youngest to do so at the time of his appointment.
Kaká was sworn in as an Italian citizen on February 12, 2007. He features prominently in Adidas advertising and also has a modeling contract with Armani, but the latter prevented him from appearing in a photo collection alongside his Milan teammates that was published by Dolce & Gabbana in early 2007.
Nickname
His nickname is pronounced as it is spelled, with stress on the second syllable. It is a common term of endearment of "Ricardo" in Brazil. In Kaká's case, however, it was born from younger brother Rodrigo calling him "Caca" due to his inability to pronounce "Ricardo"; it eventually evolved into Kaká. He is often called "Ricky Kaka" by the European media.
-National team
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