desire to prolong his club career, which coincided with limited playing time for Brazil. He retired from international football after the 2010 FIFA World Cup, having made 93 appearances for Brazil. Gilberto served as technical director at Panathinaikos in 2016. Early life As a child, Gilberto lived in the city of Lagoa da Prata with his father (a blacksmith), his mother (a housewife) and three sisters. His family lived in a small house which his father built, in the district of Usina Luciânia. Despite financial hardship, causing his sisters and him to share a single room, he had a relatively carefree childhood: he describes it as "[a time when] I had no responsibility in my life, I played football on the street with cousins and friends, and we never had any contact with drugs or violence". In 1988 (aged 12), he got the chance to break out of poverty by playing football, joining América Mineiro as a youth player. It was during these years at América Mineiro that Gilberto was taught defensive discipline by playing as a central defender. When not playing football, Gilberto was taught furniture-making skills by his father, which he would come to use in the following years. In 1991, Gilberto's father retired leaving the 16-year-old to provide financially for his whole family, a task made more difficult by his mother's ill-health. Because of the low wage at América Mineiro, he was forced to quit football to take various jobs as a labourer, a carpenter, and a worker in a sweet factory. It looked as if this would be the end of his childhood dream. As a factory-worker Gilberto earned the equivalent of about £50 a month by 2002 rates. Club career Early career In 1997, Gilberto's friends convinced him to give football another try, which led to him re-signing for América Mineiro in 1997, this time as a full-time professional. Aged 22, Gilberto played as a central defender for the first team. During his first season for América Mineiro he was regarded as a key player by the club, despite being criticised by some fans for inconsistency. He helped them win the Série B division, and consequently gain promotion to Série A. During Gilberto's third season at América Mineiro, with the team back to Série B after relegation in Série A in 1999, he scored three goals, helping the club reach the second stage where they