Club career

Adriano is a burly player known for his agility, strength, balance, and ball control. His kicks are strong and accurate, though sometimes lacking technical execution, he is said to have the most powerful left foot in football, possibly second to Roberto Carlos. He began his career in the youth squad of Flamengo, and played in the pro squad between 1999 to 2001.

Adriano entered the national youth teams as a teenager. He won the 1999 edition of the FIFA U-17 World Championship, and helped the Brazil team to the Quarter Finals of the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship; he was the top scorer for Brazil with 6 goals and won the silver boot award for the competition, with 5 goals, just behind the golden boot winner, Argentinian striker Javier Saviola.

Adriano came to international fame in his first appearance for Inter Milan, when he scored against Real Madrid in the 2001 Santiago Bernabeu Trophy with a powerful free kick. With Inter already boasting first-class strikers, they loaned him out to Fiorentina during 2002. In the summer of 2002, a 2 year co-ownership deal with Parma of the player was agreed. In Parma, he formed one of the most impressive striking duos of Serie's A last decade with Adrian Mutu. They each scored more than 15 goals with assists from each other.

He returned to the Nerazzurri in 2004 and signed 4 and a half year contract and has since been an asset to the team. He has scored a total of 15 goals in his 16 appearances during the 2004-05 season. From 11 July 2004 through 25 June 2005, Adriano had scored an impressive total of 40 goals. They have come from an assortment of matches (28) including appearances in: Serie A, Coppa Italia & Champions League games for Inter in 2004-05; Copa America, South American World Cup qualifying, and Confederations Cup games for Brazil.

Adriano's future at Inter Milan has been in doubt due to the onset of a lengthy slump; he has not scored in neither European nor domestic competition since March 29, 2006. After he was benched for Inter's 2-1 CL win over Spartak Moscow on October 18, Inter revealed that Adriano would be placed on indefinite leave, following Inter's October 22 match against Udinese. The following announcement appeared on the official Inter website: “The club, in accordance with the coach and technical staff, has decided to give Adriano a few days of complete rest." During his leave in Rio de Janeiro, local newspapers published photos of him riding on a motorcycle without a helmet. He returned to Italy the 2nd of November - the day after he was able to return to the team.