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Rochemback (R) never reached his full potential at Barcelona
The sight of Brazilian footballers gracing the Nou Camp in the blue and red jersey of Barcelona is one that has become as familiar as the sky on a clear Monday morning.
Such is the connection between this great club and this great nation of players that Philippe Coutinho’s £142m move this month makes him the 33rd Brazilian (or 30th if you are looking at Brazilian signings who have never played for the club even though they are signed to its books) to play for the club.
Along the way, the Cules have been enchanted by the mesmerizing skills, contributions and goals of players like Romario, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Neymar. These players have wowed the Catalan crowd (and the footballing world) making waves as well as winning trophies & individual awards.
There have also been the hardworking silent Brazilian types who have also contributed, though their positions on the pitch or style of play have not earned them the adulation of the aforementioned ones. In this category, you have players like Edmilson, Maxwell, Thiago Motta and others.
Then there are the ones who have either been mediocre or complete failures. These are the players who have stood out for their non-performance and have blotted the copybook of Brazilians in Catalonia.
That being said, here is a list of the top 5 Brazilians who have failed to deliver in Barcelona colours:
#5 Sonny Anderson (1997-1999)
It was a right place, wrong time scenario for Sonny at Barca
Rightly revered in France for his exploits with Olympique Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais and AS Monaco, Sonny, as he was popularly called, was a mediocre player at Barcelona.
He arrived at the Nou Camp on the back of 4 very good seasons where he had scored 67 goals in 111 games for Marseille and AS Monaco (he won Ligue 1 or the French Championnat as it called then with Monaco in 1997).
From the get-go, Sonny struggled to get into the Barcelona team as Luis Enrique and Patrick Kluivert were ahead of him in the pecking order and the manager at that point, Louis Van Gaal was unwilling to tweak his line up to fit in the explosive Brazilian.
Sonny had a reasonably good first season at Barcelona scoring 10 goals in a season where the Blaugrana did the double (La Liga and Copa Del Rey).
The next season was chaotic for the Brazilian as his frustration at being constantly on the bench spilt into arguments with a very stubborn Louis van Gaal, which led to Sonny’s eventual sale to Lyon.
#4 Douglas (2014 – present)
After possibly the worst debut in Barca history, little has been seen of the Brazilian at the Nou Camp
The best thing that can be said about this particular Brazilian is that he has not been given too many chances to embarrass himself in front of Cules.
A €4 million signing from Sao Paulo, the right-back was brought in as a back up (and long-term replacement) for star fullback Dani Alves and Martin Montoya (who was equally mediocre).
Douglas had a mare in his first (and only) La Liga appearance in FC Barcelona colours as he was repeatedly rinsed and did all the wrong things perfectly in a 0-0 draw with Malaga.
He was heavily criticized after the game and has only made 2 appearances for Barcelona since then, both in Copa Del Rey matches.
He has become a perpetual loanee since then with spells at Sporting Gijon and currently at Benfica, and it is expected that his contract will be cancelled at some point in the near future.
#3 Fábio Rochemback (2001-2003)
Rochemback never came close to emulating Pep Guardiola's standards - the player he was meant to replace
A combative, forward-thinking midfielder, Rochemback was signed in the summer of 2001 as a long-term replacement for departed captain Pep Guardiola.
Signed as a 20-year-old from Brazilian club, Club Sport Internacional, the Brazilian was expected to become the one who dictates play in the middle of the park, controlling the tempo and initiating attacks with his pinpoint passing.
It did not pan out as expected as the youngster was overwhelmed by the burden of expectations on him to replace the iconic Pep Guardiola.
His game was based more on being athletic, combative and driving forward to support the attack and being asked to replace a player who was technically brilliant didn’t work out.
In total, he spent four years at Barcelona (two of which were spent on loan at Sporting Clube) and he played just 45 games and scored 3 goals.
#2 Henrique (2008-2012)
Henrique never stepped on the Nou Camp pitch in a competitive match for his 4 years at Barca
It is quite ironic to note that Henrique was at Barcelona for the four years which were the most successful in the club’s history and yet failed to play a single minute for the club during that period.
A €8 million signing from Palmeiras, the centre-back was supposedly supposed to provide cover for the first choice centre-back pairing then of Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique but then manager Pep Guardiola was less than impressed with what he saw in training.
Henrique was subsequently sent on loan to German giants Bayer Leverkusen where he had a good spell.
Upon his return to the Nou Camp, expectations were that he would step in and become a mainstay as his experiences in Germany would have helped him. However, the powers-that-be at Barcelona still deemed him not good enough and he was again sent out on loan to Racing Santander.
Henrique’s contract was eventually cancelled in June 2012 and the sad story of his time at Barcelona came to an end.
#1 Geovanni (2001-2002)
King of Brazilian flops at Barca, Geovanni was unprepared to put in the work needed to achieve greatness
The most expensive and biggest disappointment to the illustrious image of Brazilians at FC Barcelona has to be the former Cruzeiro man who promised so much and delivered less than nothing.
Purchased for €18 million from the Brazilian club, Geovanni was an attacking midfielder who was billed to continue the established tradition of great Brazilian attackers thriving at the Nou Camp; Rivaldo was still strutting his stuff at Barca then while Ronaldo and Romario were still remembered with fondness.
He had burst unto the scene in 1997 as a right winger and pundits in his homeland were said to have been enchanted by his close control, fantastic dribbling which coupled with his low centre of gravity made him a difficult proposition for defenders.
Barcelona fans never saw any of these skills at the Nou Camp as it became very clear almost right away that the step up to La Liga and European football came too soon for the then 21-year-old.
He only featured in 15 games in his debut season, most of which were from the bench scoring one goal as most Cules were bemused by the sight of a diminutive, sullen kid who seemed not to know what he was doing.
Run-ins with Barca’s manager at that time Carles Rexach in his second season didn’t help Geovanni’s cause and he spent the majority of that season languishing on the bench or in the stands.
No tear was shed when he moved to Benfica on a free transfer as Barcelona seemed only too eager to wash their hands off of what was an embarrassing signing for them.
