Giovane Élber: player profile - FC Bayern München Legends
Ambassador
Personal
- Date of birth
- 23/07/1972
- Nationality
- Brazilian
- My neighbour in the Bayern changing room
- Bixente Lizarazu
- My ritual
- Before a match, I always put the right sock on first
- Favourite coach
- Ottmar Hitzfeld
- Toughest opponent
- Jürgen Koller
- Greatest sporting success
- Champions League 2001
- Funniest moment
- The press conference with Giovanni Trapattoni - when I hear "Flasche leer" and "ich habe fertig" I still have to laugh
- If I hadn't turned pro, I would now be
- Firefighter
- FCB in 3 words
- Family, Home, Fun
- The FCB Legends mean to me
- My friends
From Sugarloaf to Munich
Giovane Elber, born on 23 July 1972 in Londrina, Brazil, left his homeland at the age of 18 to make the move to Europe with AC Milan. After a spell with Grasshopper Club Zürich, the technically gifted striker arrived in the Bundesliga in 1994 with VfB Stuttgart, where he formed the legendary “Magic Triangle” together with Fredi Bobic and Krassimir Balakov and won the DFB Cup in 1997. With 44 goals in 96 competitive matches for the Swabians, Elber had attracted the attention of Europe’s top clubs. In the summer of 1997, the time had come: FC Bayern signed the Brazilian as the successor to Jürgen Klinsmann.
The Bayern-Years
For six seasons, from 1997 to 2003, Giovane Elber was the samba heart of FC Bayern. In 169 competitive matches he scored 92 Bundesliga goals and 140 goals in total for the record champions. With his outstanding technique, pace and unerring eye for goal, he became a fans’ favourite and won everything there was to win in Munich: four German championships (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003), four DFB Cups, four League Cups, the Intercontinental Cup and the ultimate highlight – the 2001 Champions League, in which Elber scored in both legs of the semi-final against Real Madrid. In his final season, 2002/03, he crowned himself Bundesliga top scorer with 21 goals – the perfect farewell.
Part of the team of the Century
Giovane Elber is one of the most popular foreign players in FC Bayern’s history. In 2005, he was voted into the club’s Team of the Century by the fans and is still a member of the Hall of Fame today. After spells with Olympique Lyon, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte, he ended his playing career in 2006/07 and returned to FC Bayern – first as a scout and now as a brand ambassador. Ottmar Hitzfeld once described Elber as one of the best players he had ever coached. With 133 Bundesliga goals in 260 matches, the Brazilian remains among the most prolific foreign goalscorers in the league’s history.
Champions League winner: 2001
Champions League finalist: 1999
UEFA Super Cup winner: 1990
German champion: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
DFB Cup winner: 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003
League Cup winner: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
French champion: 2004, 2005
French Supercup: 2004
Swiss Cup Winner: 1994
State champion Minais Gerais: 2006
- Date of birth
- 23/07/1972
- Nationality
- Brazilian
- My neighbour in the Bayern changing room
- Bixente Lizarazu
- My ritual
- Before a match, I always put the right sock on first
- Favourite coach
- Ottmar Hitzfeld
- Toughest opponent
- Jürgen Koller
- Greatest sporting success
- Champions League 2001
- Funniest moment
- The press conference with Giovanni Trapattoni - when I hear "Flasche leer" and "ich habe fertig" I still have to laugh
- If I hadn't turned pro, I would now be
- Firefighter
- FCB in 3 words
- Family, Home, Fun
- The FCB Legends mean to me
- My friends
From Sugarloaf to Munich
Giovane Elber, born on 23 July 1972 in Londrina, Brazil, left his homeland at the age of 18 to make the move to Europe with AC Milan. After a spell with Grasshopper Club Zürich, the technically gifted striker arrived in the Bundesliga in 1994 with VfB Stuttgart, where he formed the legendary “Magic Triangle” together with Fredi Bobic and Krassimir Balakov and won the DFB Cup in 1997. With 44 goals in 96 competitive matches for the Swabians, Elber had attracted the attention of Europe’s top clubs. In the summer of 1997, the time had come: FC Bayern signed the Brazilian as the successor to Jürgen Klinsmann.
The Bayern-Years
For six seasons, from 1997 to 2003, Giovane Elber was the samba heart of FC Bayern. In 169 competitive matches he scored 92 Bundesliga goals and 140 goals in total for the record champions. With his outstanding technique, pace and unerring eye for goal, he became a fans’ favourite and won everything there was to win in Munich: four German championships (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003), four DFB Cups, four League Cups, the Intercontinental Cup and the ultimate highlight – the 2001 Champions League, in which Elber scored in both legs of the semi-final against Real Madrid. In his final season, 2002/03, he crowned himself Bundesliga top scorer with 21 goals – the perfect farewell.
Part of the team of the Century
Giovane Elber is one of the most popular foreign players in FC Bayern’s history. In 2005, he was voted into the club’s Team of the Century by the fans and is still a member of the Hall of Fame today. After spells with Olympique Lyon, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte, he ended his playing career in 2006/07 and returned to FC Bayern – first as a scout and now as a brand ambassador. Ottmar Hitzfeld once described Elber as one of the best players he had ever coached. With 133 Bundesliga goals in 260 matches, the Brazilian remains among the most prolific foreign goalscorers in the league’s history.
Champions League winner: 2001
Champions League finalist: 1999
UEFA Super Cup winner: 1990
German champion: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
DFB Cup winner: 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003
League Cup winner: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
French champion: 2004, 2005
French Supercup: 2004
Swiss Cup Winner: 1994
State champion Minais Gerais: 2006