José Roberto da Silva Júnior (born 6 July 1974), commonly known as Zé Roberto, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a left wing-back or as a midfielder. He is most well known for his time with Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, as well as Portuguesa, Grêmio and Palmeiras in the Brazilian league. In addition, he is one of the few players to have made over 1,000 career appearances.
He made his debut for Portuguesa where he played for two seasons before joining Real Madrid in January 1997. He left Real Madrid later that year to get more playing time and increase his chances of selection for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He joined Flamengo before returning to Europe in the summer of 1998, signing for Bayer Leverkusen.
At Bayer Leverkusen, Zé Roberto challenged Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga title, as Leverkusen finished runner-ups on three occasions. Leverkusen also made it to the 2002 UEFA Champions League final which they lost to Real Madrid. In 2002, Zé Roberto joined Bayern Munich where he won four Bundesliga titles over six seasons. He also played for Santos, Hamburger SV, Al-Gharafa, Grêmio and Palmeiras. Over the course of his career, he played 961 club games and took the field 84 times for Brazil.
Currently, he is a technical advisor to Palmeiras, acting directly with the players and the coaching staff.
Zé Roberto started in the youth ranks of Palestra de São Bernardo but it was while playing for Portuguesa, as a left-back, that he became known throughout Brazil after finishing as runner-up in 1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.
He then joined Real Madrid in January 1997 for a brief spell, where he helped them win the 1996–97 La Liga. He was also part of the Madrid's 1997–98 UEFA Champions League winning squad, scoring his only goal for the club in the opening group match against Rosenborg BK, before moving back to Brazil to play for Flamengo midway through the season. In an interview in 2012, Zé Roberto spoke of his decision to leave Madrid because of his ambition to play for Brazil at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and had limited opportunities to prove his talents in Spain. In later interviews, he also stated that distractions during his early time in Madrid, such as late-night video gaming and poor sleeping habits, affected his performance and adaptation to European football.
During the first half of 1998, Zé Roberto played for Flamengo under manager Paulo Autuori alongside Romário, Palinha, Juan, and his former Portuguesa teammate Rodrigo Fabri for the Rio de Janeiro State Championship, finishing disappointingly as runners-up. After this he was signed by German Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
He joined Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 1998. It was at Leverkusen that he really made a name for himself, quickly becoming a popular figure at the club. During his four-year stay, Bayer enjoyed their most successful period at the time, finishing as runners-up in the German Bundesliga on three occasions.
On 4 December 2001, he opened the scoring with a curling free kick against Deportivo de La Coruña in the 64th minute, as Bayer comprehensively beat the Spanish side 3–0 in the second group stage of the Champions League. Following Bayer's victory over Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on 9 April 2002, Zé Roberto announced that he would be joining former teammate Michael Ballack at Bayern Munich. Despite the transfer distractions, Zé Roberto helped Bayer reach the final of the Champions League on 15 May 2002, losing 2–1 to former club Real Madrid in Glasgow. In four years at the club, Zé Roberto appeared in 113 league matches scoring 16 goals.
In May 2002, Zé Roberto joined Bayern Munich for a reported fee of €12 million, signing a three-year deal, linking up with emerging German talent Sebastian Deisler and former Leverkusen teammate Michael Ballack. With Bayern, he claimed the domestic league and cup double three times between 2002 and 2006. He found his starting spot threatened under new coach Felix Magath and left the club in 2006. Following the announcement that he would not return to Bayern Munich, he publicly criticized the club's style of play and predicted struggles if changes were not made.
Being a free agent, Zé Roberto signed through his agent Juan Figer a three-year contract with Club Nacional de Football in Montevideo, a club he would never play for. In August 2006, it was announced that Zé Roberto would join Santos FC in Brazil for one year. He helped the team win the 2007 Campeonato Paulista, his first title in a Brazilian competition. He scored seven goals in the 2007 Copa Libertadores, where Santos reached the semi-finals.
During his time with Santos, Zé Roberto appeared in 48 official matches and scored 12 goals, playing for the first time in his career as an attacking midfielder.
In June 2007, it was announced that Zé Roberto would return to Bayern Munich, which paid one million euro to Nacional for a two-year loan. He stated, "It was as if I’d never been away", en route to winning a fourth domestic double with the Bavarians. The revitalised Zé Roberto demonstrated all his newly acquired skills by scoring five goals and forming a rock-solid partnership with Mark van Bommel in his new role in central defensive midfield.
Zé Roberto made a successful start to the 2008–09 season, scoring four goals in his first 11 starts. He would conclude his second spell at the club appearing in 59 league matches and scoring nine goals.
Zé Roberto left the club at the end of the 2009 season after Bayern executives refused to offer him a new two-year deal.
Zé Roberto's contract with Bayern ran until 30 June 2009. The club offered him a contract until 2010, though he declined. Bundesliga side Hamburger SV officially announced his signing to a two-year contract on 2 July 2009. Der Spiegel reported that Hamburg actually paid €4 million sign-on fees to Zé Roberto's agent Juan Figer, which Bayern also paid €1 million in 2007.
In May 2011, Zé Roberto confirmed that he would not renew his contract with the German team as he wanted a longer contract than the new one offered by the club.
On 10 July 2011, Zé Roberto signed a two-year contract with the Qatari club Al-Gharafa.