Alexandre Pato Bio

Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva (born 2 September 1989 in Pato Branco, Paraná), commonly known as Alexandre Pato, is a Brazilian striker, currently playing for Italian Serie A club Milan and the Brazilian national team. The nickname "Pato" is in honour of his place of birth, but has led to commentators calling him "The Duck", which is the literal translation of "Pato" from Portuguese.

Alexandre started playing indoor football (futsal) in his hometown at the age of three. Soon, his ability became known all around the south Brazilian state of Paraná for being skillful and talented goal scorer and, after being praised by many of his managers, the teenager went to Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, to try out for Grêmio. He was turned away by Grêmio, the club whom he had supported since a boy – but local rivals Internacional convinced him to play for them. Despite the two clubs being bitter enemies, Pato’s parents convinced their youngster to switch his allegiance.

In 2000, when he was aged 11, his doctors determined he had a potentially malignant tumor in his left arm, which occurred after he had broken it twice in the same place. If it was not removed, he faced the possibility of it becoming cancerous in two months. His family couldn't afford the surgery but one of their family friends, who is a doctor, operated as a volunteer for free.

On his first team debut, at the age of 17, asip helped Internacional to a 4-1 win over Palmeiras on November 26, 2006. In this game, Pato had three assists and also scored a goal. His appearance put the spotlight on the young player and created expectations and comparisons with another southern Brazilian superstar, the then Barcelona player, and now current team-mate Ronaldinho.

Following this stunning debut, encem was included in the Internacional squad that travelled to Japan in December 2006 to compete at the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup. Internacional had qualified for this tournament by winning the 2006 Copa Libertadores in August. On December 13, 2006, Pato scored Internacional’s first goal of the tournament in the 23rd minute of the semi-final against African club champions Al-Ahly, played at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. He was later substituted in the 65th minute due to cramp in his right leg. His replacement, Luiz Adriano, scored in the 72nd minute to give Internacional a 2-1 win and a place in the final against UEFA Champions League champions Barcelona.

The 2006 FIFA Club World Cup Final was played at the International Stadium in Yokohama on December 17, 2006, in front of 67,128 spectators. Alexandre Pato started the game, but was substituted for Luiz Adriano in the 61st minute with the score still 0-0. Therefore Pato was not on the field when Adriano Gabiru scored in the 82nd minute to give Internacional a shock 1-0 win and, ultimately, the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup.

Incumbent European champions Milan officially confirmed the signing of Pato on 2 August 2007.^[8] Due to FIFA football regulations regarding non-EU minors, Pato was unable to play official matches for Milan until 3 January 2008, when the Italian transfer window and registration reopened.^[9] However, Milan was allowed to include the player in friendlies and training beginning 3 September 2007, one day after his 18th birthday. Pato made his non-competitive debut in a 2–2 draw against Dynamo Kiev on 7 September 2007 and scored a header. On 4 January 2008, Pato's transfer to Milan became official.

Pato scored his first Milan goal on his Serie A debut against Napoli in a 5–2 home victory on 13 January 2008. He scored his first brace for Milan, in a 2–0 victory over Genoa at the San Siro on 27 January 2008. He finished the 2007–08 season with 9 goals in 20 appearances (18 in the league).

In late 2008, Pato scored two goals in Milan's 5–1 win over Udinese just before the Christmas break, and managed to shine again with a brace against Roma the following matchday at the Stadio Olimpico on 11 January 2009, proving that he is a vital part of Milan's attack. He continued his impressive form for Milan, hitting six goals in four games, including a game winning strike against Fiorentina on 18 January. On 15 February, he scored his 11th goal of the season in a 2–1 defeat against home rivals Internazionale. On 26 February, Pato scored his 12th goal of the season against Werder Bremen in the UEFA Cup, a game Milan drew 2–2; but with this, were knocked out the competition on the away goals rule. Pato continued his good form with two goals against Siena on 15 March. Pato finished the 2008-09 season with 18 goals. This meant that Pato finished the 2008-09 season as Milan's top goalscorer.

On 22 August 2009, in the first Serie A match of the 2009/2010 season, Pato scored a goal in each half during the 2-1 win against Siena.

After gaining prominence at club level, Pato was called up for the youth teams of Brazil. He helped Brazil win the 2007 South American Youth Championship, which qualified the country for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and has been selected by Dunga for the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[12] He scored his first goal for the senior Brazilian team on his debut against Sweden at the Emirates Stadium in England on 26 March 2008, beating Pelé's record of scoring a goal within seconds of his full international debut.[