Top 10 Brazilian flops

Last updated : 21 July 2011 By Daily Mail

The 24-year-old was signed by Sven Goran Eriksson for a whopping ?18million from CSKA Moscow in 2008, but after just one league goal he returns to his homeland with Internacional.

As the South American makes his departure with his tail between his legs, Sportsmail looks back on 10 of the Premier League's worst ever boys from Brazil.

Heading home: Jo flopped at Manchester City

World Cup winner: Branco (left) celebrates Brazil's triumph in 1994

Branco (Middlesbrough, 1996)Boro fans were samba dancing around Teeside when the club announced the signing of the Brazil full-back - and they had good reason to.

USA 94 was still fresh in the memory and many supporters remembered Branco's 25-yard free-kick against Holland in the quarter-finals (as well as his mazy run beforehand) and expected similar sights at the Riverside Stadium.

The years (months) had not been kind though. Sold on the idea of northern England by Boro favourite Juninho, the World Cup winner turned up overweight and it only got worse.

Never the fastest in his career, the extra baggage he was carrying rendered him hopeless in the fast paced Premier League and he was gone less than a year later after just nine Premier League games.

Roque Junior (Leeds, 2003-04)By the time the World Cup winning centre-back arrived at Elland Road at the start of the season, Leeds' financial state was already crippling the club.

His loan signing from AC Milan looked a safe bet for some stability, after all he was still just 27-years-old and performed solidly enough for a dominating Brazil at Japan/Korea 2002.

But not even the most pessimistic of fans could have predicted the calamity that followed.

After being sent-off on his debut in a 2-0 defeat against Birmingham (one of his better results) he was part of a side that conceded a further 22 goals in his only other six games for the club.

His only positive contribution was two goals against Manchester United in the League Cup (nearly worthy of legend status in Yorkshire). Typically, Leeds still lost 3-2 and in the thin line between cult hero and flop he fell into the latter.

So near yet so far: Roque Junior stoops to head home against Man United

Kleberson (Manchester United, 2003-05)Normally United fans would have been laughing at the useless World Cup flop at Elland Road. The trouble was they had been lumbered with one at Old Trafford.

Kleberson cost ?6million in the summer of 2003 and looked to be good business for a midfielder described as the 'driving force' behind Brazil's World Cup success by boss Luiz Felipe Scolari. But an injury in just his second game prevented him from hitting the ground running.

Signed to replace Argentine flop Juan Sebastian Veron, he never got going and made such little impact that he was arguably worse than his fellow South American.

After two seasons and 30 games, he was sold to Besiktas for a cut-price ?2.5million.

High praise: 'Big Phil' Scolari attributed much of Brazil's 2002 World Cup success to Kleberson (left)

Mario Jardel (Bolton, 2003-04)A fine example of how a footballer can fall from brilliance into mediocrity in a very short space of time.

Jardel was a scoring machine His career up until 2003 had seen him play in Brazil before featuring for Porto, Galatasaray and Sporting Lisbon, scoring 218 goals in 221 starts - that's an incredible record whatever way you look at it.

Amazingly it could have been better but an alarming slump in form in his last couple of seasons at Lisbon saw Sam Allardyce pay a performance based ?1.5million to try and revive his career at the Reebok Stadium.

Judging by his noticeably bigger frame, the only revival was the profits in pie shops around Bolton and with just seven substitute appearances in the Premier League, he was sent out on loan to Ancona in January before departing the following summer.

What goes up must come down: Jardel failed to live up to his billing at Bolton

Fabio Rochemback (Middlesbrough, 2005-08)Rochemback was hailed as the 'next big thing' when he joined Barcelona in 2001, but only Boro would touch him with a barge pole after four years of being booked and not much else.

Not much would change at the Riverside Stadium. As an attacking midfielder he was ridiculously goal shy and very rarely managed to have a creative influence on the game around him.

It didn't stop him playing 91 times, featuring in the run to the UEFA Cup final in 2006. But in the 4-0 defeat against Sevilla he was inferior to his opponents in every area, with Boro fans only noticing he was on the pitch when he was typically booked.

However he saved the best for last, firing home a thunderous free-kick in an 8-1 win over Manchester City in his final game for the club in May 2008.

At a loss: Fabio Rochemback slumps to the turf after Middlesbrough's UEFA Cup loss to Sevilla

Julio Baptista (Arsenal, 2006-07)'The Beast' joined Arsenal on transfer deadline day in the summer of 2006 on a season-long loan from Real Madrid with Jose Antonio Reyes going the other direction.

But like many Brazilians, the forward could not adapt to the Premier League and scored just three times in 24 games - however the League Cup proved a different tale.

He scored four times in 44 crazy minutes at Liverpool in a 6-3 win before going on to perform more heroics in the semi-final at Tottenham.

After scoring an own-goal to hand Spurs a 2-0 lead, Baptista hit two second-half strikes to hand Arsenal the advantage, with the Gunners going on to win the tie.

But that was as good as it got. Arsenal lost the final and Baptista failed to convince Wenger he was worthy of earning a permanent move to the Emirates Stadium.?

Tame beast: Julio Baptista flopped at Arsenal

Anderson de Silva (Everton, 2007-08)The Toffees are not renowned for delving into the South American market and the hassle of trying to secure the signing of Anderson has probably put them off for good.

David Moyes thought he had a deal in place to sign the midfielder as early as 2005. But passport issues prevented him from joining the club for another 18 months, during which time he spent on loan at Malaga.

Once he finally touched down at Goodison Park it was hardly worth the wait. He made just on substitute appearance before being shipped out on loan to Barnsley.

He spent three different spells on loan at the Tykes before joining the Championship club full-time in 2008. A waste of time if ever there was one.

Double vision: Barnsley's Anderson comes up against his namesake at Man United (right)

Afonso Alves (Middlesbrough, 2008-09)A symbol of Gareth Southgate's failure as manager at the Riverside Stadium.

The Boro boss paid Dutch side Heerenveen a cool ?12million in the 2008 January transfer window for a striker who admittedly had a fine strike rate of 45 goals in just 39 league games.

But he never looked like repeating that form at Boro despite ending the season with a hat-trick against Manchester City (mind you even Rochemback scored in that game.)

The following campaign was a disaster. In 31 games he led the attack the forward scored just four times as Boro were relegated. Aware of the damaged goods, no one in Britain would touch him and he was sold to Qatar side Al-Sadd at the start of the 2008/09 season.

Waste of money: Afonso Alves celebrates a rare goal for Middlesbrough

Gilberto (Tottenham, 2008-09)Neither Damien Comolli or Juande Ramos ever admitted to playing a major role in signing the full-back on a free from Hertha Berlin, and you could hardly blame them.

His Spurs career got off to a disastrous start after giving away the opening goal to PSV in a UEFA Cup match which saw him substituted at half-time.

Whether he played under Ramos or Harry Redknapp he looked petrified to be on the pitch and his lack of confidence showed throughout his time at the Lane.

Fittingly an error to give away a goal in a UEFA Cup match against Spartak Moscow saw him substituted at half-time and he never played for the North London club again.

Redknapp summed it up post-match: 'I don't really think he has a future here. The boy doesn't want to play here, he doesn't feel confident playing here. I think he was happy to come off at half-time.'

Lacking confidence: Gilberto (right) failed to live up to his billing at Spurs

Robinho (Manchester City, 2008-10)A dramatic deadline day summer signing. Robinho was brought for a British record ?32.5million on the same day City were purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group - the owners that currently drown the club in cash.

And in fairness he started well, adding a winning mentality to the team and putting in polished performances as he finished the club's top scorer with 15 goals in his first season.

But then the toys were thrown out the pram. He struggled to nail down a starting role the following term and scored just once in an FA Cup match against Scunthorpe.

New boss Roberto Mancini had already had enough and sent him to Santos for the remainder of the season.

The South American made it clear during the summer he did not want to play at Eastlands anymore (sound familiar?) and was eventually sold to AC Milan, ending a highly promising but ultimately frustrating spell in the Premier League.

Unhappy ending: Robinho walks off after being substituted by Roberto Mancini

?CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE FANTASY FOOTBALL GAMEJo heads home to Internacional after disappointing spell at Manchester City

Source: Daily Mail

Source: Daily Mail