A former star with the Brazilian national team and the Premier League’s Arsenal FC, Gilberto Silva, 39, announced his decision to retire from football, after a 20-year career.
Over the past two years Silva has been bothered by a chronic knee injury, preventing him from regular time on the pitch.
Silva won the World Cup, in 2002, and starred in the Copa América, in 2007, with Brazil’s national team. In addition, he won the Confederations Cup twice, in 2005 and again in 2009. In club competition, Silva won the English Premier League trophy while playing for Arsenal in 2004. He also won two Football Association (FA) Cups during his time with Arsenal, in 2003 and 2005, and the FA Community Shield twice, in 2002 and 2004. With Greece’s Panathinaikos FC, Silva was a member of the club that won both the Greek league and cup titles in 2010.
The Brazilian midfielder has played for five clubs during his career. He commenced as a junior for América Mineiro in Brazil. However, he left the club, driven by financial difficulties, to take up work as a carpenter, before continuing on to work for a sweets factory. When afriend convinced him to return to football, he signed with América Mineiro again and began his professional career.
In 2000, he transferred to the Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro, and spent two years there before he made his way to Arsenal, in 2002. He played for Arsenal for six years and then transferred to Greece’s Panathinaikos FC, where he played for three seasons before returning to Brazil, spending his last years playing for Grêmio and América Mineiro.
Silva ends his career having made 430 appearances and scoring 33 goals in club matches. With the Brazilian national team, he appeared in 93 matches and scored three goals.
