BayernForum.com

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Two-time Brazilian champion Santos said Thursday it signed Brazil midfielder Ze Roberto until July 2007.

Ze Roberto, a member of Brazil's World Cup squad this year in Germany and in 1998 in France, was without a club since failing to extend his contract with German club Bayern Munich in May.

The 32-year-old player will be officially introduced at Santos' Vila Belmiro stadium on Friday, the club said.

Official details were not immediately available. Local media said Ze Roberto's monthly salary could reach nearly $235,000.

Several Brazilian clubs were after Ze Roberto, including powerhouses Corinthians and Sao Paulo.

Ze Roberto was the only Brazil player included by FIFA in the 2006 World Cup's all-star squad. He scored a goal in Brazil's 3-0 win over Ghana in the second round. Brazil was eliminated by eventual runner-up France in the quarterfinals.

The midfielder, who successfully underwent arthroscopic knee surgery after the World Cup, won three German league titles in his four years with Bayern Munich. He helped Bayern Leverkusen to a runner-up finish in the Champions League in 2002.

Ze Roberto hasn't played in Brazilian soccer since signing with Bayern Leverkusen in 1998. He also had a brief stint with Spanish club Real Madrid in 1997.

Ze Roberto, whose first club in Brazil was Portuguesa, helped Brazil win the Copa America in 1997 and 1999, and the Confederations Cup in 1997 and 2005.

Santos, led by former Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, is second in the 20-team Brazilian league with 35 points from 21 matches. It lost 2-1 to Atletico Paranaense in Curitiba on Wednesday. Leader Sao Paulo had 38 points from 19 matches.

Santos, made famous by Pele in the early 1960s, won the Brazilian league in 2002 and 2004.

I am glad he left...I never liked him....
he never performed well for bayern..
number of games in which he was at his best must be in single digits..

fanOfBayern wrote:I am glad he left...I never liked him....
he never performed well for bayern..
number of games in which he was at his best must be in single digits..

I completely disagree. I feel he was one of our key players. He used to give loads of assists. And he used to open up play for us with his mazy dribbles.

I'm in complete agreement with Mark here, he was fantastic, had he stayed, a combination of lahm, sagnol, schweini, deisler and ze would have been amazing (and quick)

kevh26 wrote:I'm in complete agreement with Mark here, he was fantastic, had he stayed, a combination of lahm, sagnol, schweini, deisler and ze would have been amazing (and quick)

You know what?..
Diesler and Schweinstieger never played a full game together (unless ze roberto was injured)...he is highly rated but never performs...
compare his performances for bayern and his national team..
believe it or not...he just sucked for Bayern..
even magath admitted that..

It's true that Deisler and Schweinsteiger didn't play much together, but there are reasons. First, they are similar players whereas Ze Roberto is different. Secondly, Deisler doesn't play so many games due to injury and mental illness.

I've always felt that Ze Roberto was a key player in our squad. The only thing he had lacking was his composure in front of goal. He could give pinpoint crosses, do all fancy footwork, but give him a gaping goal and chances are he'd miss it.

Magath used to like him as well; if he didn't, he wouldn't have been the winger who played most games for Bayern Personally I loved him. He was our best dribbler. It's happened several times that the game would be locked, in the sense that no team could do anything and he'd get a ball out of nowhere, dribble past 3 opponents and the 4th one fouls him, and he'd win you the foul from a dangerous position. He was a work horse too. He didn't wait for the ball, he ran around to get it.

I was sad when I heard that Zé will left us. In my opinion he was a good player with lots of assists and his technical abilities were amazing.

I hope for him that he gets well soon and that he has a great time with Santos.

For the Bundesliga it is not good to loose such a player.

Press conference of Ze Roberto in Portuguese.

Great Vid, Can somone translate pls????

SNAKE

kevh26 wrote:I'm in complete agreement with Mark here, he was fantastic, had he stayed, a combination of lahm, sagnol, schweini, deisler and ze would have been amazing (and quick)

He was terribly ridiculous if you compare his National team form with respect to bayern.Partly his fault and partly manager's.He does not play very wide for brazil but played alongside emerson in a box midfield.But i am glad he's gone and he cost schweini place in the starting-lineup.Again the only thing i'm not glad about is that he left on a free transfer