Birthday boy of the month: Emerson
Emerson Ferreira da Rosa, called ‘Emma’ by his teammates, joined Bayer 04 from Gremio Porto Alegre in 1997.
He had an up-and-down first year and the coach Christoph Daum asked him in a team meeting, whether he, Christoph Daum, had seen Emma’s twin brother in Brazil when he was on a scouting mission and when he would get his brother to come to Europe as he needed him for his team. The South American was sidelined for several weeks in December 1997 but then he was able to get going.
From the second half of the 1997/98 season, Emma shone for the next two and a half years with his long sprints through midfield, his ball-winning ability and his long balls up front. He scored eleven goals for us in 82 Bundesliga appearances. You can see all his goals on the above video. In 2000 he signed for top Serie A club AS Roma. Emma will be 45 on 4 April. Stay fit and well!
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