Rafael Sobis

Rafael Augusto Sobis do Nascimento is a professional football player who plays as a striker. Rafael began his playing career at the Internacional youth academy. He was one of the most promising players in the academy and was considered a real find for the senior squad. In 2004, when Rafael broke into the Internacional first team, he was also a member of the Brazilian Under-20 squad.

During his three seasons at Internacional, Rafael had played around 80 games for the club, scoring almost 30 goals to earn a transfer to Real Betis in Spain.

However, the move didn’t go down well as Rafael failed to live up to the expectations that were of him. He only managed to score 8 goals in over 55 appearances for Real Betis, also over three seasons of football. After the completion of his contract with Betis, Rafael moved to the middle-east and signed up with Al-Jazira Sports and Culture Club in the UAE.

Struggling to find regular playing time, Rafael only managed to play 21 games and score 7 goals in the UAE league season, and in 2010, moved to Brazil to sign with Internacional on loan. After 16 games and 4 goals on a loan move that went into 2011, Rafael moved to Fluminense on another loan move, this time finding a more regular spot than ever before. With 10 goals in 26 games, Rafael may warrant a permanent move to Fluminense at the end of his loan tenure.

At the International level , Rafael has played for the Brazilian Under-23 squad at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, winning the Bronze Medal. He also made his senior-team debut in 2006 but has only earned 8 caps and scored one goal for the national team.