After bouncing around to a number of Brazilian clubs, Gilberto settled at Hertha BSC where he became one of the Bundesliga's best left backs, and was in fact rewarded as the best of them all in his debut season with the German side. Blessed with solid defensive capabilities, pace and an eye for goal, Gilberto had developed into a prominent figure in the Brazilian national squad, featuring and scoring in the 2006 World Cup. So in 2008 when he moved to Tottenham, despite being the wrong side of 30, many believed he'd still bring something to the table for Juande Ramos' men. But it was not to be, Gilberto spent his first few months at Spurs on the sidelines due to injury, and his return was cut short as he was substituted at half time following a mistake that led to the goal in a 1-0 defeat to PSV. By the end of his second season in London, Gilberto had only put together seven appearances in a spell riddled with injuries and few but poor performances, and he was ultimately released from his contract. Cruzeiro picked him up but the damage was already done at Spurs as he never rediscovered a touch of form.
Connor is a Sports Journalism student at Staffordshire University. He is an accredited MMA journalist, covering events such as BAMMA. He also writes for KingdomMMA.co.uk and he presents a radio show for One Media Group called Sports Talk Live.
