Bernardo Ribeiro

Early life

Bernardo grew up in Nova Friburgo, where he first started playing basketball at the age of 5, but being the shortest player on his team he struggled to make an impact. He then turned his attention to football at a young age, which became his passion. Bernardo also had an Italian passport. His mother Dr Jamila Calil Salim Ribeiro, a neurosurgeon, served at times as alderman and health secretary of Nova Friburgo and stood in 2010 for the Partido Popular Socialista as candidate for the federal parliament.

Youth

He was spotted by Flamengo and joined the club in 1999 at the age of 9, where he played for the youth levels, where he was even captain. During his teens with Flamengo he featured in many youth tournaments such as the FIFA Youth Cup, where he was acknowledged as "gaining a reputation for his pin-point passes and ability to read play".

Skënderbeu Korçë

In February 2011 he moved to the Albanian champions Skënderbeu Korçë. Ownership issues prevented the transfer from becoming official before the end of June 2011. In the season 2011-12 the club defended the league title, but Ribeiro did not get beyond five short second half stints in the team where he scored one goal. At the begin of the season he also played in two matches of the European Champions League Qualification, where the opponent Apoel Nicosia prevailed with an aggregate result of 6-0.

Newcastle Jets

On 6 August 2012 he signed for the Australian A-League club…

Skënderbeu Korçë Championship of Albania: 2012