Anselmo Ribeiro

Anselmo "Jair" Ribeiro (born December 17, 1974) is a retired Cape Verdean soccer player.

Jair
Personal information
Full name Anselmo Ribeiro
Date of birth (1974-12-17) December 17, 1974
Place of birth Cape Verde
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Midfielder/Forward
Youth career
Connecticut Huskies
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1996 Sporting CP 0 (0)
1993–1994 → Alverca (loan)
1994–1996 → Olhanense (loan)
1996–1997 CSKA Sofia 6 (3)
1998–1999 New England Revolution 29 (4)
1999 San Jose Clash 3 (1)
2000 Hampton Roads Mariners 13 (3)
2001 Olhanense 5 (0)
2001 Tampa Bay Mutiny 25 (1)
2002 Connecticut Wolves 8 (2)
2003 Western Mass Pioneers
National team
2000 Cape Verde 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 April 2009

Career

Youth

Jair emigrated from his native Cape Verde to the United States as a child, settling with his family in suburban Boston. He attended Madison Park High School in Roxbury, Massachusetts

Professional

Jair began his professional career in Portugal, with the reserves of Sporting CP, although he never played a first team game with the team, and spent a great deal of time on loan at Portuguese second division clubs Alverca and Olhanense.

After two years with CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria, Jair signed with New England Revolution in March 1998, and became a starter in the team's midfield. He transferred to San Jose Clash in the middle of the 1999 season in exchange for Jeff Baicher, having played 29 games and scored 4 goals for Revolution, a move which sparked concerns about possible conflicts of interest within the league.[1][2]

After a year with the Hampton Roads Mariners in the A-League, and a short three-month stay at one of his old clubs in Portugal, Olhanense, Jair moved to Florida to play for Tampa Bay Mutiny in 2001, ultimately playing 25 games for the team prior to its demise at the end of the season.

Jair spent two more years playing competitively, with Connecticut Wolves in the A-League in 2002, and with Western Mass Pioneers in the USL Pro Soccer League in 2003, before retiring from the sport in 2004.

International

Jair has played with the Cape Verde national football team, appearing in World Cup qualifiers in 2000 against Algeria.[3][4]

Personal

Jair's nickname was inspired by the legendary Brazilian player Jair da Rosa Pinto, who is best remembered for his performance in Brazil's 1950 FIFA World Cup campaign.

Post-Soccer Career

Jair currently resides in Florida, where he is the part-owner of a football school for children, and works for as a coach for Benfica's football academy in Orlando, Florida.[5]

References
  1. "MLS bristles at media conflict-of-interest stories following Baicher trade". Archived from the original on 2009-12-16. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  2. Chapin, Dwight. "Clash defend Jair trade". San Francisco Examiner, August 21, 1999. Retrieved on June 27, 2013.
  3. FIFA. "Match Report - Cape Verde Islands - Algeria 0:0" Archived October 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. April 9, 2000. Retrieved on June 27, 2013.
  4. FIFA. "Match Report - Algeria - Cape Verde Islands 2:0 (2:0)" Archived October 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. April 21, 2000. Retrieved on June 27, 2013.
  5. http://criolosports.blogspot.com/2008/10/anselmo-jair-ribeiro.html
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