Robert de Pinho de Souza

Robert de Pinho de Souza, commonly known as Beto or Robert, (born February 27, 1981 in Salvador, Brazil) is a Brazilian footballer. Robert currently plays for Spanish La Liga side Real Betis. Robert plays as a striker.

[edit] Career

Robert began his professional career with Botafogo of Brazil, where he played in 2001. He made a move to São Caetano in 2002, and played with them until mid-2003, when he was transferred to Spartak Moscow. After less than a season with Spartak, however, he returned to the Americas, signing with CF Atlas. He did exceptionally well in his first season with Atlas, scoring 16 goals in 21 games during the 2004 Clausura. He repeated his performance in the 2004 Apertura, leading Atlas to the semifinals of the liguilla, where they were eliminated by UNAM Pumas.

Robert then moved from Atlas to PSV for £2.0 million. He made 7 league appearances, scoring 1 goal.
During the UEFA Champions League quarter-final match against Olympique Lyonnais, he kept his nerves in check to deliver his decisive spot-kick which sent his team into a semi-final showdown with eventual losing finalist AC Milan.
Although he hardly had the time to impress in the Champions League games, he was pivotal in the tactics employed by PSV to wear down AC Milan in the return leg at Philips Stadion where PSV had to win by two clear goals and he himself came close to scoring when he cracked a long range shot which just missed the Milan left post by a matter of inches.

Robert was loaned out from PSV to Real Betis for two years. In his first season, the 2005/2006 season, he arrived during the January transfer window. His signing was pivotal in the efforts of Real Betis to avoid relegation. Robert scored 7 La Liga goals including two against Villarreal in a 2-1 win at El Madrigal and a winning penalty against bitter rivals Sevilla FC in a 2-1 win at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera. Robert also scored one UEFA Cup goal against AZ Alkmaar. Due to the injury of fellow Brazilian and team-mate Ricardo Oliveira, Robert's presence in the Real Betis side was fully appreciated by his manager, fellow players, and especially the fans.

Real Betis - Current Squad
1 Contreras \| 2 Melli \| 3 Romero \| 4 Juanito \| 5 Rivas \| 6 Lembo \| 7 Damià \| 8 Arzu \| 9 Fernando \| 10 Edú \| 11 Dani \| 12 Robert \| 13 Toni D \| 14 Capi \| 15 Nano \| 16 Vogel \| 17 Wágner \| 18 Rivera \| 19 Xisco \| 20 Assunção \| 21 Miguel Angel \| 22 Vega \| 23 Odonkor \| 24 Maldonado \| 25 Sóbis \| 26 Cañamero \| Coach Irureta