Rivaldo started his career as an apprentice at Paulista Recife. He was first signed professionally by FC Santa Cruz in 1991, before moving to Mogi-Mirim, and later on moved to the legendary Sao Paulo club Corinthians in 1993. With the Corinthians he hit the headlines by scoring 11 times in just 19 starts. Less than a year after joining Corinthians he was on the move again, this time to Sao Paulo rivals Palmeiras, where he won his first Brazilian championship in 1994. Rivaldo got associated with Europe by joining Deportivo La Coruna, where he became quite famous. One year later and he once again made a change this time for FC Barcelona, as a replacement for Ronaldo, Rivaldo has since flourished into one of the best players in the world. Things have not gone quite so smoothly for Rivaldo at international level, however. He made his debut way back in December 1993, but was desperately disappointed to miss out on selection to the Brazilian squad for the FIFA World Cup USA 1994, and for the Copa America a year later. Rivaldo had a bitter experience in the Atlanta Olympic tournament in 1996, as Brazil lost in the semi-final to Nigeria. Rivaldo and a few other players were considered as the main reason for Brazil's defeat. He again made a come back in 1997. He performed extremely well in the FIFA World Cup France 1998. Even though Brazil lost to France in the finals, Rivaldo had a wonderful season in that World Cup and was named in the FIFA All-Star Team of the tournament. 1999 was a memorable year for Rivaldo. He was named the FIFA World Player of the Year. He led Brazil to win the Copa America in Paraguay and Barcelona clinch the Spanish League. In the 2000-2001 season Rivaldo scored 23 goals from 35 games for Barcelona. Rivaldo is currently associated with AC Millan's A division