Robert de Pinho de Souza

Early career

Born in Salvador, Robert began his professional career with Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto of Brazil, where he played in 2001. He made a move to São Caetano in 2002. On 14 March 2003, Robert signed for Spartak Moscow on loan until the end of the 2003 season. After less than a season with Spartak, however, he returned to the Americas, signing with Club Atlas. He did 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 them to the semifinals of the liguilla, where they were eliminated by UNAM Pumas.

PSV Eindhoven

Robert moved from Atlas to PSV Eindhoven for £2 million, in January 2005. He made 32 league appearances, scoring 7 goals. During the UEFA Champions League quarter-final match against Olympique Lyonnais, he delivered 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 played an excellent match against the Italian giants in the return leg at Philips Stadion, with PSV winning 3–1 and being ousted on away goals, and he himself came close to scoring when he cracked a long range shot which just missed the Milan left post.

Real Betis

Robert was loaned by PSV to Real Betis for 1+1⁄2 years for €1 million fee, arriving during the 2006 January transfer window. His signing was pivotal in the efforts of Betis to…