Rafinha (footballer, born 1985)
Rafinha with Bayern Munich in 2016
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Márcio Rafael Ferreira de Souza | ||
| Date of birth | 7 September 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Londrina, Paraná, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Right back | ||
| Club information | |||
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Current team
|
Bayern Munich | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1997 | Gremio Londrina | ||
| 1997–2001 | P.S.T.C. | ||
| 2001–2002 | Londrina | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2005 | Coritiba | 37 | (3) |
| 2005–2010 | Schalke 04 | 153 | (7) |
| 2010–2011 | Genoa | 34 | (2) |
| 2011– | Bayern Munich | 136 | (3) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002–2005 | Brazil U20 | 8 | (2) |
| 2008 | Brazil U23 | 8 | (0) |
| 2008– | Brazil | 4 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:33, 20 May 2017 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 June 2017 |
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Márcio Rafael Ferreira de Souza, commonly known as Rafinha [ʁɐˈfiɲa], (born 7 September 1985) is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a right back for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. His name translated from Portuguese literally means "Little Rafa". He is known as a skilled defender with good passing skills, quick pace, agility and a strong shot.
Rafinha began his football career at the age of seven, playing for Gremio Londrinense, a futsal team from his home town of Londrina, Paraná. By age 12, he had begun training with PSTC, a local football club, before signing for Londrina Esporte Clube in 2001 at the age of 16. At the end of his first year with Londrina, Rafinha was signed by Coritiba. This meant moving hundreds of kilometres from his home town, but allowed Rafinha to display his talents on the national stage.
At Coritiba, Rafinha eventually found his way into the Brazil under-20 national team, and played in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. During the tournament, he scored two goals and played an integral part in Brazil's progress to the bronze medal. Rafinha's performance at the tournament alerted numerous European teams to his ability, with German club Schalke 04 ultimately signing the right-back from Coritiba for an estimated €5 million on a four-year contract.
On 4 August 2010, it was confirmed that Rafinha moved from Schalke to Italian side Genoa. The transfer had cost Genoa €8 million. He scored two goals in 34 appearances in his only Serie A season. After Genoa had failed to pay the transfer fee in time, however, Rafinha's former club Schalke sued Genoa through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
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