Da Silva Melo Gilberto, nicknamed “Gilberto”, born on April 25, 1976 in Rio de Janeiro, is a Brazilian professional football player. His brothers, Nélio and Nildeson de Mello, are also football players.
On June 11, 2003, Da Silva Melo Gilberto won his first international cap for the Brazil national side in a game against Nigeria. A couple of years later, he was a member of the squad that won the 2005 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Confederations Cup. In the following year, Da Silva Melo Gilberto scored his first goal for the national side in a game against Japan in a group stage match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany. He was also a member of the side that won the 2007 Copa América, and as of 2007, he has won a total of 24 caps for the Brazil national team.
In 1993, Da Silva Melo Gilberto began his professional football career with the Brazilian side América football club. During his tenure of two years with the club, he played 44 games, scoring 4 goals. In 1996, he moved to Flamengo and was member of the team that won the Rio State Championship and the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) Copa Oro. During his stint of two seasons with the club, he appeared in 67 games and scored twice. In 1998, Da Silva Melo Gilberto moved to the Cruzeiro football team and made a total of 25 appearances, making three goals in his year-long stay with the club. In 1999, he moved to Internazionale, an Italian Serie A club, and in the following year, he signed with Vasco da Gama, a Brazilian club, and played 40 games for the side, scoring 6 goals. In 2000, he was a member of the squad that won the Brazilian National Championship and the Mercosur Cup. This mid-fielder joined the Grêmio football club and featured in 54 games and contributed 9 goals. However in 2003, Da Silva Melo Gilberto moved to São Caetano and helped his side win the 2004 São Paulo State Championship. During the 2004 to 2008 period, he was with Hertha Berlin, a German football club, and appeared in 101 games and scored 14 goals.
On January 31, 2008, Da Silva Melo Gilberto signed with the English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and debuted for the club on March 6th in a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup match against PSV Eindhoven. With this appearance, he became the first Brazilian to play for Tottenham Hotspur. Da Silva Melo Gilberto struck his first goal for the club in a 4-0 victory over West Ham United in the Premier League game. On April 26, 2008, he made his first full appearance for this club in a game against Bolton Wanderers at White Hart Lane. As of May 2008, Da Silva Melo Gilberto has made a total of 6 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur.
