Player Profile

A flop at Tottenham Hotspur and not even playing regularly in the left-back position since signing for Cruzeiro, Gilberto can count himself slightly luckily that he has made the squad for his second World Cup finals.

Seeing off the challenge of the much vaunted Marcelo at Real Madrid and Barcelona’s impressive Maxwell, is a real feather in the cap for a player who looked washed up following a disastrous 18 months at Spurs.

He arrived at White Hart Lane in January 2008 after a three-and-a-half year spell in Germany with Hertha Berlin. He was substituted at half-time on his debut against PSV in the Uefa Cup and, despite scoring a goal against West Ham, never looked happy in a Lillywhite shirt.

He made just three appearances for Tottenham in the 2008/09 season and was substituted twice at half-time in two of those matches. Manager Harry Redknapp said after the game with Spartak Moscow: “Gilberto was quite happy to come off. There’s not really a way back for him here. The boy doesn’t want to play here.”

He returned to Brazil for a second spell at Cruzeiro and a consistent run in the team, playing mainly in midfield, has been rewarded by national coach Dunga. He has also represented Flamengo, Vasco de Gama and Gremio, and had one season with Inter Milan.

Born in Rio de Janiero, he was part of the 2004 and 2007 Copa America winning sides. He was also named in the 2006 World Cup squad, but only played once in that tournament, scoring against Japan.