Élber de Souza (born 23 July 1972), commonly known as Giovane Élber, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Élber in 2022
| |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Élber de Souza | ||
| Date of birth | (1972-07-23) 23 July 1972 (age 51) | ||
| Place of birth | Londrina, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1990 | Londrina | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1994 | AC Milan | 0 | (0) |
| 1990–1994 | → Grasshoppers (loan) | 78 | (55) |
| 1994–1997 | VfB Stuttgart | 87 | (41) |
| 1997–2003 | Bayern Munich | 169 | (92) |
| 2003–2005 | Lyon | 30 | (11) |
| 2005–2006 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 4 | (0) |
| 2006 | Cruzeiro | 21 | (6) |
| Total | 389 | (205) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998–2001 | Brazil | 15 | (7) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
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]
Born in Londrina, Paraná, Élber is a youth product of Londrina.
At the age of 18, he signed for AC Milan in 1990,[2] Élber went almost unnoticed during his one-year spell with the Serie A side.
Subsequently, he moved to Switzerland Grasshoppers, 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 CP 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 Energie Cottbusinthe 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 Bayern Munich where, save for one year, he was always crowned the club's top scorer[citation needed] (Carsten Jancker prevented that honour[citation needed]); additionally, he was instrumental in the conquest of four leagues, the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, scoring in both legs in the semi-finals against Real Madrid,[3] and the 2001 Intercontinental Cup, whilst winning the Torjägerkanone award for 2002–03 with 21 goals; the Bavarians won the double.
31-year-old Élber then spent the vast majority of the 2003–04 campaign (played four matches with Bayern) in France with Lyon, replacing compatriot Sonny Anderson who had left for Spain. In the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, he scored against his former club Bayern Munich to win 2–1 in Germany.[3] Later on, he scored in a 2–2 draw against Porto in the quarter-finals; however, Lyon were eliminated from the competition after losing 4–2 on aggregate.[4]
Eventually, 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. After an emotional announcement, he retired from the club three months before the end of the season on 9 September, after injuries and the loss of his father.[5]
Due to stiff competition, Élber could not translate his club form to the Brazil 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.[6]
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.
He is mostly referred to as Giovane Élber (sometimes also mistakenly as Giovanni Élber), which is a German variation of his Italian nickname il giovane Élber ("the young Élber").
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| AC Milan | 1990–91 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Grasshoppers (loan) | 1991–92 | Nationalliga A | 21 | 9 | — | — | — | 21 | 9 | |||||
| 1992–93 | Nationalliga A | 30 | 25 | — | 4[c] | 2 | — | 34 | 27 | |||||
| 1993–94 | Nationalliga A | 27 | 21 | — | — | — | 27 | 21 | ||||||
| Total | 78 | 55 | — | 4 | 2 | — | 82 | 57 | ||||||
| VfB Stuttgart | 1994–95 | Bundesliga | 23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 8 | |||
| 1995–96 | Bundesliga | 33 | 16 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 16 | ||||
| 1996–97 | Bundesliga | 31 | 17 | 6 | 3 | — | 1[d] | 0 | — | 38 | 20 | |||
| Total | 87 | 41 | 8 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 96 | 44 | ||||
| Bayern Munich | 1997–98 | Bundesliga | 28 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 8[e] | 3 | — | 44 | 21 | |
| 1998–99 | Bundesliga | 21 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9[e] | 3 | — | 37 | 21 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Bundesliga | 26 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12[e] | 3 | — | 41 | 19 | ||
| 2000–01 | Bundesliga | 27 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16[e] | 6 | — | 44 | 21 | ||
| 2001–02 | Bundesliga | 30 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11[e] | 6 | 2[f] | 0 | 47 | 24 | |
| 2002–03 | Bundesliga | 33 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 8[e] | 2 | — | 48 | 31 | ||
| 2003–04 | Bundesliga | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 2 | ||
| Total | 169 | 92 | 24 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 64 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 266 | 139 | ||
| Lyon | 2003–04 | Ligue 1 | 27 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9[e] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 15 |
| 2004–05 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[g] | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
| Total | 30 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 17 | ||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2004–05 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2005–06 | Bundesliga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Cruzeiro | 2006 | Série A | 21 | 6 | 5 | 6 | — | 1[h] | 0 | 13[i] | 6 | 40 | 18 | |
| Career total | 389 | 205 | 40 | 27 | 8 | 8 | 79 | 28 | 16 | 7 | 532 | 275 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 1998 | 6 | 6 |
| 1999 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 7 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 February 1998 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States |  El Salvador |
3–0 | 4–0 | 1998 Gold Cup |
| 2 | 4–0 | |||||
| 3 | 14 October 1998 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, United States |  Ecuador |
2–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 4–1 | |||||
| 5 | 5–1 | |||||
| 6 | 18 November 1998 | Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza, Brazil |  Russia |
1–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 7 | 23 May 2000 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales |  Wales |
1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
Grasshoppers
Stuttgart
Bayern Munich
Lyon
Cruzeiro
Individual
