Emerson Ferreira da Rosa (born 4 April 1976), simply known as Emerson, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. At international level, he played 73 games for the Brazil national team between 1997 and 2006, scoring 6 goals. With Brazil, he has taken part in two FIFA World Cups (1998, 2006, missing out on the 2002 FIFA World Cup due to injury), two editions of the Copa América (1999, 2001), and three Confederations Cups (1999, 2003, 2005), winning the 1999 Copa América and the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, while also reaching the 1998 World Cup Final. An experienced footballer who was nicknamed the Puma due to his powerful but elegant, ball-winning style of play, Emerson has played for two Brazilian clubs, Grêmio and Santos, as well as several European clubs in Germany, Italy, and Spain, including Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, Juventus, Real Madrid and Milan, winning several titles. In addition to his Brazilian passport, Emerson also holds Italian, German and Qatari passports. Club career Grêmio Emerson made a name for himself in his native Brazil playing for Grêmio, where he won two state championships, two Brazilian Cups, one Brazilian Championship and one Copa Libertadores. He then went to Europe to play for German club Bayer Leverkusen. Bayer Leverkusen In 1997, Emerson was transferred to Bayer Leverkusen. He made his debut on 1 August 1997 against Schalke 04. Leverkusen finished in third place in the 1997–98 Bundesliga season. This was followed by two consecutive second-place finishes in the Bundesliga, behind champions Bayern Munich on both occasions. Emerson spent three years at Leverkusen, scoring 11 goals in 82 league appearances. On 13 August 1997, he made his debut in UEFA competitions in the qualifying round for the 1997–98 UEFA Champions League, in Bayer Leverkusen's 6–1 aggregate win over Dinamo Tbilisi. Leverkusen would eventually reach the Champions League quarter-finals, losing out to eventual champions Real Madrid. Emerson also reached the UEFA Cup round of 16 on two occasions with Leverkusen. Roma Emerson signed for Italian Serie A club Roma in the summer of 2000 for 35 billion Italian lire (€18.1 million by fixed exchange rate). He signed a five-year contract with an average salary of 7.2 billion Italian lire per year before tax. However, due to the quota imposed on non-EU players, Emerson was unable to play until Emerson acquired Italian nationality in October 2000, as his wife is