They advanced to the second round of the Champions League, but spent much of the domestic season in the relegation zone, and Topmoller was fired in January. Back then, the championship was decided via a playoff format and a two-legged final that saw São Paulo’s fourth-biggest club host Grêmio in the Morumbi – just a stone’s throw from where the 22-year-old, already called up for the Beating Grêmio 2-0 at ‘home’ so to speak, Portuguesa would be defeated by the same deficit in Porto Alegre therefore unfairly handing the title to Grêmio as they, in sixth, had finished higher than eighth place Portuguesa in the first phase of the season marking the second occasion in which the Gaúcho club had snatched the Brasilierão title through such means.For his exploits in the campaign, Zé Roberto would be handed the best left-back accolade at the Golden Ball Awards and in 1997 was acquired by Real Madrid. However, until as recent as December last year, the two lined up with one another as on-field teammates for Palmeiras with Zé Roberto continuing to defy the laws of physics as a key component of the Brazilian champions’ quest to defend their title, but more importantly, conquer the Copa Libertadores in the supposed final term of what has been an illustrious and barrier-breaking career.Whereas most Brazilian players often bring down the curtain on their playing time at the club they originally started out at, Zé Roberto, despite being a a tough neighbourhood in the city’s unforgiving Zona Leste (Eastern Suburbs), referred to as Zona Lost, José Roberto da Silva was cruelly handed the ‘Junior’ title by an absent father who would leave only his name before walking out on his wife Maria and their four other sons. Zé Roberto, der gerne seinen Vertrag um zwei Jahre verlängert hätte, nahm einen vom HSV angebotenen Einjahresvertrag nicht an. Leverkusen have a long history of developing Brazilian talent, with the likes of Emerson, Lucio, Ze Roberto and Renato Augusto having all played for the club in the past. Ze Roberto actually played for Real Madrid for a brief spell in 1997, but his main success on the continent came in Germany. Again, he was heartbroken and financially out of pocket for having given up a day’s work for nothing. Understandably, given the volume of young hopefuls trying out, there were just a few minutes to show what he had and Zé was rejected. In der Wie bald darauf zu Tage kommen sollte, hatte Zé Roberto bereits in der Vorweihnachtszeit 1996 einen Vorvertrag mit Das war die offizielle Geschichte. Ich muss Danke sagen. José Roberto da Silva Júnior, commonly known as Zé Roberto, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a left wing-back or as a midfielder. Immediately becoming a fan favourite, he played a pivotal role in three second-place Bundesliga finishes before following Michael Ballack to Bayern Munich in the quest for silverware. Echoing a trend likewise repeated at international level – with Juventus’ Alex Sandro to automatically surrender starting action were he, as rumoured, to head to the Bernabéu and sign up for a double dose of playing second fiddle to The strategy paid dividends as not only did Zé Roberto feature at France 98, but what playing time he did have in the competition was obviously enough to impress Bayer Leverkusen and earn him a move back to Europe. Er stand in seiner aktiven Karriere unter anderem in der Noch 1994 gab er sein Debüt bei den Professionals der Portuguesa de Desportos. Though Portuguesa’s current travails as a Série D club on the brink of extinction would suggest otherwise, Roberto led the team to the cusp of Série A glory two years later. That year, he had helped Bayer nearly win the Bundesliga and reach the Champions League and DFB-Pokal finals in what was one of his best ever seasons. José Roberto da Silva Júnior (ur.