Cacau
Cacau in 2016
Personal information
Full name Claudemir Jerônimo Barreto[1]
Date of birth (1981-03-27) 27 March 1981 (age 42)
Place of birth Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1988–1994 União Mogi
1994–1997 Palmeiras[2]
1997 União Mogi[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1999 Nacional
2000–2001 Türkgücü München 31 (7)
2001–2002 1. FC Nürnberg II 18 (9)
2001–2003 1. FC Nürnberg 44 (8)
2003–2014 VfB Stuttgart 263 (80)
2014–2015 Cerezo Osaka 24 (7)
2016 VfB Stuttgart II 9 (3)
Total 389 (121)
International career
2009–2012 Germany 23 (6)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
FIFA World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2010 (({3))}
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Claudemir Jerônimo Barreto (born 27 March 1981),[3] known as Cacau (Portuguese pronunciation: [kaˈkaw], German: [kaˈkaʊ]), is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Brazil, he represented Germany at international level.

Cacau received German citizenship in February 2009 and made his international debut in May that year in a friendly match against China. He was in the Germany national team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[4]

Club career

Early career

Cacau's career in Germany started with fifth-division side Türkgücü München in the 1999–2000 season, after which he went on to join 1. FC Nürnberg's reserve team. Following his good performances with the reserves, he was given his Bundesliga debut against Hansa Rostock on 18 November 2001. In only his second Bundesliga match, against Bayer Leverkusen on 8 December 2001, he scored two goals in Nürnberg's 4–2 defeat. He finished his first Bundesliga season with 6 goals in 17 appearances, but failed to repeat the success the following season, when he only scored 2 goals in 27 appearances and Nürnberg were relegated.

VfB Stuttgart

Cacau with Stuttgart in 2011

Having already signed a contract with VfB Stuttgart in January 2003, Cacau joined the club for the 2003–04 season. In his first season with Stuttgart, he also made four appearances in the UEFA Champions League In the 2004–05 season, he scored 12 Bundesliga goals and was the club's second-best goalscorer. In the first part of the same season, he also had a successful UEFA Cup campaign, netting three consecutive braces in Stuttgart's first three matches of the competition.

After an unsuccessful season in 2005–06, in which he only scored four Bundesliga goals for Stuttgart, he went on to be one of the key players in the club's run to the league title in 2007, once again becoming their second-best goalscorer with 13 goals, crucially netting both goals in their 2–0 win over Bayern Munich as well as the winning goal in a 3–2 away win over VfL Bochum in the final five rounds of the season. During the 2006–07 season, he also helped Stuttgart reach the final of the DFB-Pokal, scoring five goals in six matches, including the opening goal in the final against his former team Nürnberg. However, he was sent off 11 minutes later and Stuttgart went on to lose the final 3–2 after extra time.

In the 2007–08 season, he made further five appearances for Stuttgart in the UEFA Champions League and also scored his first goal in the competition, netting the equaliser in a 3–2 win over Rangers. He also helped the club finish sixth in the Bundesliga, netting 9 goals in 27 appearances during the season.[5] In 2008–09, he scored 7 Bundesliga goals in 25 league matches, helping Stuttgart to finish third in the league.

On 20 February 2010, Cacau scored four goals in a 5–1 victory in an away game against 1. FC Köln.[6] On 30 April, Cacau scored his final goal of the season in a 2–1 win away at 1899 Hoffenheim. This brought his tally to eight Bundesliga goals on the campaign. Following this, on 1 May 2010 Cacau extended his contract with VfB Stuttgart until the summer of 2013.[7]

Cacau started the 2011–12 Bundesliga campaign in good form, scoring on a header against Schalke 04 on 6 August helping his side to a 3–0 win.[8] He was called up to the German squad for their game against his native Brazil the following Wednesday.[9]

On 22 March 2013, Cacau took a contract option which extended his contract with Stuttgart until June 2014.[10]

Cerezo Osaka

On 11 August 2014, Cacau transferred to Cerezo Osaka.[11] On 9 June 2015, he was released from his contract.[12]

VfB Stuttgart II

On 1 February 2016, Cacau returned to Stuttgart and joined VfB Stuttgart II.[13]

Retirement

Cacau announced his retirement from professional football on 11 October 2016.[14]

International career

Cacau with Germany in 2011

Although Cacau was born in Brazil, he was never called up by the Brazil national team.

In February 2009, he became eligible to play for Germany after he acquired a German passport[15] having lived and played in Germany for over eight years.[16]

On 19 May 2009, Cacau was called up to the Germany national team's coach Joachim Löw for their friendly matches against China and the United Arab Emirates.[17] He made his international debut on 29 May 2009 in Germany's 1–1 draw against China, playing 27 minutes as a substitute for Mario Gómez.[18] He also appeared in Germany's 7–2 win against the UAE four days later, playing the entire second half as a substitute for Lukas Podolski and providing an assist for Mario Gómez's third and Germany's fifth goal of the match just over a minute into the second half.[19] He opened his account with the Germany national team, scoring a brace in a 3–0 win over Malta on 13 May 2010.[20] He scored his first International goal for Germany in the group stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on 13 June 2010, coming on as a substitute against Australia, and scoring in 1:52 to make it 4–0.[21] He later received a yellow card for diving in the match.[22][23][24] After Miroslav Klose had been sent off against Serbia, Cacau played against Ghana but could not score in the 1–0 win. In the third-place World Cup game, Germany faced Uruguay on 10 July. He started for his German side but was eventually substituted out as Germany defeated Uruguay 3–2, taking third place at the World Cup.

Cacau remained regular for Germany in the qualifications for UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. After making the 30-man preliminary squad, Cacau did not make Germany's 23-man Euro 2012 squad.

Personal life

Cacau's brother Vlademir Jeronimo Barreto, more commonly known as simply Vlademir, is also a footballer and lives in Mogi das Cruzes; he plays professionally for Paraná Clube.[25]

Cacau is a committed Christian and says his faith is a big part of his life.[26]

Since his naturalization as a German citizen in early 2009, Cacau's nickname at VfB Stuttgart (and later also at the Germany national team) is Helmut. This nickname was given to him by his Swiss Stuttgart teammate at the time, Ludovic Magnin, who stated that, as a German, Cacau should also have a proper German name.[27]

In 2021, he featured in Schwarze Adler [de], a documentary detailing the experiences of Black players in German professional football.[28]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Türk Gücü München 2000–01 Landesliga 31 7 — — — 31 7
1. FC Nürnberg 2001–02[29] Bundesliga 17 6 0 0 — — 17 6
2002–03[30] 27 2 2 0 — — 29 2
Total 44 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 46 8
VfB Stuttgart 2003–04[31] Bundesliga 16 4 3 1 1 0 4 0 24 5
2004–05[31] 32 12 3 2 2 2 8 7 45 23
2005–06[31] 20 4 1 1 3 0 5 0 29 5
2006–07[32] 32 13 6 5 — — 38 18
2007–08[31] 27 9 1 0 1 0 5 1 34 10
2008–09[31] 25 7 1 1 — 6 0 32 8
2009–10[33] 25 13 2 2 — 6 1 33 16
2010–11[34] 27 8 2 2 — 7 1 36 11
2011–12[35] 33 8 4 3 — — 37 11
2012–13[36] 5 1 2 0 — 4 0 11 1
2013–14[37] 21 1 2 0 — 4 0 27 1
Total 263 80 27 17 7 2 49 10 346 109
Cerezo Osaka 2014[31] J1 League 12 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 14 5
VfB Stuttgart II 2015–16[38] 3. Liga 8 3 — — — 8 3
Career total 358 103 31 17 7 2 49 10 445 132

International goals

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cacau goal.
List of international goals scored by Cacau
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 13 May 2010 New Tivoli, Aachen, Germany  Malta 1–0 3–0 Friendly
2 2–0
3 29 May 2010 Stadium Puskás Ferenc, Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 3–0 3–0 Friendly
4 13 June 2010 Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa  Australia 4–0 4–0 FIFA World Cup 2010
5 6 September 2011 PGE Arena, Gdańsk, Poland  Poland 2–2 2–2 Friendly
6 29 February 2012 Weserstadion, Bremen, Germany  France 1–2 1–2 Friendly

Honours

VfB Stuttgart[39]

Germany

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010: List of Players: Germany" (PDF). FIFA. 12 June 2010. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Geschichte – Wie alles begann". Cacau's official website (in German). Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  3. ^ "Ich will einfach nur spielen" [I just want to play]. Der Spiegel (in German). 12 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
  4. ^ "19 Cacau". FIFA. Archived from the original on 10 June 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  5. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (1 December 2016). "CACAU Claudemir Jerônimo Barreto - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  6. ^ "FC Cologne 1–5 VfB Stuttgart". ESPN. 20 February 2010. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  7. ^ "Cacau staying at VfB". VfB Stuttgart. 1 May 2010. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  8. ^ "VfB Stuttgart 3–0 Schalke 04". ESPN Soccernet. 6 August 2011. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  9. ^ "Real Madrid's Mesut Ozil & Sami Khedira left out as Ilkay Gundogan included in Germany squad to face Brazil". goal.com. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  10. ^ "Cacau signs on for a further year". VfB Stuttgart. 22 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  11. ^ カカウ選手と契約合意のお知らせ. cerezo.co.jp (in Japanese). Cerezo Osaka. 11 August 2014. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  12. ^ カカウ選手との契約について. cerezo.co.jp (in Japanese). Cerezo Osaka. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Cacau spielt für den VfB II". VfB Stuttgart. 1 February 2016. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  14. ^ "Cacau: "Ein neuer Lebensabschnitt beginnt"". dfb.de. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  15. ^ "Dual-Nationality for Cacau". VfB Stuttgart. 3 February 2009. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  16. ^ "FIFA Status (2009 Edition): REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE APPLICATION OF THE STATUTES Article 17" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  17. ^ "Four newcomers for Asia-trip". DFB. 19 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  18. ^ "China trotzt dem DFB-Team". kicker (in German). 29 May 2009. Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  19. ^ "Gomez ist wieder da – Neuer überzeugt voll und ganz". kicker (in German). 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
  20. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (1 December 2016). "CACAU Claudemir Jerônimo Barreto - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  21. ^ Lyon, Sam (13 June 2010). "Germany 4–0 Australia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  22. ^ "Rage at the referees". The Globe and Mail. Canada. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  23. ^ "Germany vs Aust: As it happened". TVNZ. Reuters. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  24. ^ Fensom, Michael (13 June 2010). "World Cup Matchday: Germany beats Australia, 4–0". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  25. ^ "Wolfgang Frank testet Bundesligatauglichkeit von Cacaus Bruder". SpVgg Unterhaching (in German). 27 May 2003. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  26. ^ "Cacau: Football can set things in motion". FIFA. 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  27. ^ "Stuttgarts Stürmer Cacau wird bei der Nationalmannschaft Helmut genannt". bild.de (in German). 21 June 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  28. ^ Bülau, Maximilian (19 April 2021). "Von Mbom bis Kostedde: Das sind die Protagonisten der Amazon-Dokumentation "Schwarze Adler"". HNA (in German). Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  29. ^ "Cacau". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  30. ^ "Cacau". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  31. ^ a b c d e f "Cacau » Club matches". World Football. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  32. ^ "Cacau". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  33. ^ "Cacau". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  34. ^ "Cacau". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  35. ^ "Cacau". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  36. ^ "Cacau". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  37. ^ "Cacau". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  38. ^ "Cacau". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  39. ^ "Cacau". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  40. ^ "Germany pip Uruguay to third place". FIFA.com. 10 July 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cacau (footballer).
DFB-Pokal top scorers
Germany squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup third place
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