Anderson Luís De Souza
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Anderson Luís de Souza (born 27 August 1977), known as Deco (), is a retired professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who primarily played as an attacking or
central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. Born and raised in Brazil, he acquired
Portuguese citizenship Portuguese nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a Nationality, national of Portugal. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Nationality Act, which Coming into force, came into force on 3 October 1981. P ...
and played for
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. Deco is one of the few players to have won the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
with two clubs, with
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
in 2004 and
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in 2006. He was named
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year The UEFA Club Footballer of the Year was a football award presented by UEFA to the most outstanding performers of every European club football season. The award, along with "Best Goalkeeper," "Best Defender," "Best Midfielder," and "Best Forward," ...
and
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
Best Midfielder in Porto's Champions League-winning season and was named
Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
in the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final. Deco was the first player to win the UEFA Best Midfielder Award with two clubs, Porto and Barcelona. He was awarded the
2006 FIFA Club World Cup The 2006 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2006 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament held in Japan between 10 December and 17 December 2006. It was the third FIFA Club World Cu ...
Golden Ball and the Man of the Match award in the final despite losing to
Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonat ...
. Born and raised in Brazil, Deco received Portuguese
citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
in 2002 having completed five years of Portuguese residence, and subsequently opted to play internationally for the Portugal national team. He earned 75 caps for them, playing at two
UEFA European Championships The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
and two
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
s, reaching
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
of
Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
, and achieving a fourth-place finish at the
2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
.


Club career


Early career

Born in São Bernardo do Campo, Deco spent time at
Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...
as a youngster, competing in the
Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior The Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior (or ''São Paulo Youth Football Cup'', in English), also known as Copa São Paulo de Juniores (''São Paulo Youth Cup'') and Copinha (''Little Cup''), is a cup competition played by Brazilian under-20 associ ...
for them. In the 1997 edition, Benfica sent
Toni Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwe ...
to scout the tournament, and he soon noticed Deco, recommending his signing. In June 1997, Benfica purchased his rights from
CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...
and immediately sent him on loan (along with fellow Brazilian Caju) to their
farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
, Alverca. After helping them win promotion to the top tier in 1997–98 season by scoring 13 goals in 32 appearances, he returned to Benfica in July 1998. However, he left for Salgueiros in exchange for Nandinho, who went in the opposite direction. When asked by
Nuno Gomes Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro (born 5 July 1976), known as Nuno Gomes, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was given the nickname ''Gomes'' during childhood after Fernando Gomes, and was regarded ...
in an interview for ''
FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is a football magazine published by Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4-4-2. In 2008, it was announced that ''FourFourTwo'' had ...
'' why he did not stay and become a legend at Benfica, Deco said, "Benfica decided, it wasn't my decision. They didn't want me. The coach was
Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...
at the time. I was young and Benfica needed some players." At Salgueiros, Deco was plagued by injuries and only made a few appearances, until
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
purchased him in March 1999, in time to win the league title. His release from Benfica and subsequent success with Porto was considered by
António Simões António Simões da Costa (; born 14 December 1943), known as Simões, is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a left winger. He spent 14 professional seasons with Benfica, playing 449 official games and scoring 72 goals. In the lat ...
as an "historical mistake", while Toni stated he saw in Deco, a successor for
Rui Costa Rui Manuel César Costa (; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club S.L. Benfica. He also succeeded Luís Filipe Vieira as president of the club's SAD board of directors. ...
the club needed since his departure.


Porto

In his first season with Porto, Deco scored a goal after just 30.08 seconds in a 1–0 away win against Molde in the
1999–2000 UEFA Champions League The 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League was the 45th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the eighth season since its rebranding from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The com ...
. Under the guidance of manager José Mourinho in the 2002–03 season, Deco scored 10 goals in 30 matches and received 17 yellow cards and 1 red card. He was one of the key players in Porto's
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
final 3–2 win over Celtic that year. In the 2003–04 season, Deco helped Porto recapture the national title and led the team to the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final, in which Porto won 3–0 over
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, scoring the second goal of the match. He was the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
's top
assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...
provider and also suffered the most fouls in the Champions League that season. That season, Deco also won the
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year The UEFA Club Footballer of the Year was a football award presented by UEFA to the most outstanding performers of every European club football season. The award, along with "Best Goalkeeper," "Best Defender," "Best Midfielder," and "Best Forward," ...
as well as the award for the best midfielder in the competition.


Barcelona

A deal was achieved between Porto and Barcelona the day after the Euro 2004 final. Barcelona agreed on a €15 million fee in cash, plus the complete rights of
Ricardo Quaresma Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo (; born 26 September 1983) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger. He began his career at Sporting CP and went on to play for Barcelona, Inter Milan, Porto (twice), Chelsea, Beşiktaş ...
to Porto, which tagged Quaresma for €6 million. On 14 May 2005, Deco played in the draw against Levante, which gave Barcelona their 17th
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
title. He also was named Barcelona's player of the season in the 2005–06 season. Deco scored twice in the
2006 Supercopa de España The 2006 Supercopa de España was a two-leg Spanish football match played on 17 and 20 August 2006. It was contested by 2005–06 La Liga champions Barcelona and 2005–06 Copa del Rey winners Espanyol. Barcelona won 4–0 on aggregate. Match d ...
, which Barça won. Deco won the UEFA Best Midfielder Award yet again for his performance in Barça's UEFA Champions League-winning season, enabling him to join the exclusive group of players that have won the same award more than once with different teams, having won the Champions League previously with Porto. He was also awarded the Golden Ball at the FIFA Club World Cup and the
Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
award, despite losing the final to
Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonat ...
.


Chelsea

On 30 June 2008, Chelsea signed Deco from Barcelona on a three-year contract for €10 million (£8 million). He was the first signing of new Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was formerly the head coach of the Portuguese national team. Deco scored on his Chelsea debut and his
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
debut with a 30-yard goal in a 4–0 victory over
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
. Deco followed up his performance by scoring in his second game for Chelsea, a curling free-kick against
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...
. These performances led to him winning the Premier League Player of the Month award for August. Deco made his UEFA Champions League debut for Chelsea on 16 September. Deco injured himself during a training session, but he returned from the thigh injury on 19 October and came on as a substitute against
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
. He was sent off in the 3–1 defeat by Roma on 4 November 2008. He then scored a
bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...
against Bolton Wanderers on 6 December. Deco eventually lost his place in the 2008–09 starting line up, due in part to some poor performances, but also to the sacking of Scolari. In a June interview, Deco said, "I do not want to stay. I have not liked my experience at Chelsea." This was soon followed by
Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
, managed by former Chelsea manager José Mourinho, declaring Inter was attempting to sign Deco along with fellow countryman
Ricardo Carvalho Ricardo Alberto Silveira de Carvalho (; born 18 May 1978) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Carvalho began his career at Porto, where he had loan spells at Leça, Vitória de Setúbal and Alverc ...
, who had also declared his desire to leave and, like Deco, desired to link-up with Mourinho again. Both players previously played under Mourinho at Porto. However, Inter club president
Massimo Moratti Massimo Moratti (born 16 May 1945) is an Italian billionaire petroleum businessman, the former owner of Inter Milan and chairman of the Saras Group, founded in 1962 by his father, industrialist Angelo Moratti. The main production site of the Sar ...
ruled out signing either of the Portuguese internationals on the basis of their age, telling ''
Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...
'', "Deco and Carvalho? They are two champions but at this time I don't feel there's a need to buy them."


Fluminense

On 6 August 2010, Deco signed a two-year contract with Brazilian club
Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...
on a free transfer, joining former Chelsea and Barcelona teammate
Juliano Belletti Juliano Haus Belletti (born 20 June 1976) is a Brazilian football coach and former player who mostly played as a right back. He is the current coach of São Paulo U21s. Belletti began his career in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with Cru ...
. On 26 August 2013, Deco retired, ending a 17-year career. The decision came on the day before his 36th birthday. His final match was four days prior, against
Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goi ...
. Playing for Fluminense, Deco won the Campeonato Brasileiro in 2010 and
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
. Deco also failed a drug test during his stay with Fluminense. In 2014, it was found that the result may have been due to a false positive or the contamination of the container of the urine sample. The Brazilian Football Confederation and Deco agreed to settle the case, and Deco was found not guilty of doping.


International career

Deco was never called up to the Brazil national team, as the Brazil squad for the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...
included other attacking midfielders such as Ronaldinho,
Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo (), is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as a ...
and Juninho. After completing six years of residence in Portugal, he was able to gain Portuguese citizenship and play for their national team. As none of his great-grandparents, grandparents or parents were Portuguese, under FIFA's player eligibility rules his citizenship was the only factor to allow him to play for Portugal. He was subsequently mentioned several times in the media as an option for the Portugal national team. After many months of public discussion which split Portuguese public opinion, and despite the opposition of a large number of Porto rivals' supporters, he was called up for his first international, coincidentally against Brazil. He came on as a substitute for
Sérgio Conceição Sérgio Paulo Marceneiro da Conceição (; born 15 November 1974) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who mostly played as a right winger. He is the current manager of Porto. Throughout his career, he played for ...
and scored the free-kick which won the match 2–1. This was Portugal's first win over Brazil since the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Since that match, he became a regular in the national team. Before
UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
,
Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Barcelona, Real Madrid CF, Real ...
criticised Deco's inclusion and said, "Se você nasceu chinês, bem, você tem que jogar pela China." (English: "If you're born Chinese, well, you have to play for China.") Deco responded, "Eu nasci no Brasil e seria uma mentira dizer que sou português agora e não brasileiro. Mas amo Portugal e adoro jogar pela seleção." (English:"I was born in Brazil and it would be a lie to say that I'm Portuguese now and not Brazilian. But I love Portugal and I love playing for the national team.") Despite the early criticism, Deco was one of the highlights of the Portugal national team. He scored 5 goals in 75 caps for Portugal by June 2010, when his international career ended after the second-round defeat to Spain at the
2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
.


2006 World Cup

In the
2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
, Deco scored the first goal in Portugal's second Group D match against
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
in the 63rd minute prior to
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
's 80th-minute penalty. During the first knockout stage of the competition, Deco received two yellow cards in the match against the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
with the first given for a rash tackle on
John Heitinga John Gijsbert Alan "Johnny" Heitinga (born 15 November 1983) is a Dutch football coach and a former player who played as a centre back. He manages Jong Ajax, the reserves team of AFC Ajax. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, he played for their ...
, suspending him from the quarter-final win against
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, as he had already picked up a caution in the match with Iran. The win against
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in the quarter-final stage led to Portugal's defeat in the semi-final, which Deco was able to participate in.


Euro 2008

On 11 June, Deco scored the opening goal in Portugal's second match of
Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...
, a
Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles ...
clash with the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. The match ended 3–1 to Portugal, with Deco aiding his team in their passage to the quarter-finals where Portugal's campaign came to an end against
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, the eventual runners-up of the tournament. In February 2010, Deco announced he would be retiring from international football after the
2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
.


2010 World Cup

Deco played for Portugal in their opening game against the Ivory Coast. During the match, he was injured and was ruled out of the remaining two group matches, against
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
and Brazil. He was fit again for the round of 16 match against
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, but Portugal head coach
Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football coach who currently is the head coach of the Iran national team. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirat ...
chose Tiago over him. Deco retired from international football with 75 caps and 5 goals.


Style of play

As a player, Deco was a versatile, tactically intelligent and creative midfielder with excellent vision and technical ability. A generous and hard-working team-player capable of playing in several midfield positions. He was initially deployed as a
central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
under manager José Mourinho during his time with Porto, although he was also capable of playing as an
attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, as a
deep-lying playmaker A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
or as a winger on either flank. What he lacked in pace as well as physical, defensive and athletic attributes, he made up for in stamina, as well as excellent ball control,
dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...
skills, passing range and crossing ability, which allowed him to beat players, find space and create chances for teammates. Deco was an excellent visionary of the ball, who opened up spaces for his teammates through finding passing lanes that no one else saw, and also had a notable ability to switch the tempo of play in rapid style. A diminutive midfielder, in later years, as he lost his acceleration, agility and mobility, he also went through a physical development, which, along with his balance, allowed him to protect the ball against larger opponents. He also contributed offensively with occasional goals due to his accurate mid-range shooting ability, and his adeptness at free-kicks. Despite his talent, Deco was also known to be injury-prone and inconsistent at times, and was also accused of drifting in and out of matches. Furthermore, his work-rate and fitness were often brought into question in his later career. Deco was also well known for his tendency to commit tactical fouls, and he was accused of
diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...
throughout his career.


Personal life

Deco is the brother-in-law of fellow footballer Alecsandro, who plays for
Coritiba Foot Ball Club Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as "Coxa-Branca" or "Coxa", is a Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest ...
, and
Richarlyson Richarlyson Barbosa Felisbino, simply Richarlyson (born 27 December 1982), is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also play as a left back or central defender. He currently wo ...
. Deco is an ambassador for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. He also has a charitable organisation, the Deco Institute, based in the Brazilian city of
Indaiatuba Indaiatuba is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Campinas. The population is 256,223 (2020 est.) in an area of . The elevation is . The city's name derives from the Tupi language Ol ...
, near
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
, where he grew up. After retiring, Deco set up D20 Sports Management, a sports agency registered in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, Ireland. The agency, whose clients include Brazil international Fabinho (footballer, born 1993), Fabinho and Burkina Faso international Edmond Tapsoba, recorded €300,000 profit in 2017.


Media

Deco features in EA Sports' FIFA (video game series), ''FIFA'' football video game series. He was included in the Ultimate Team Legends in ''FIFA 16''.


Career statistics


Club

''Appearances and goals by club, season and competition.''


International

Appearances and goals by national team and year International goals ''Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first.''


Honours

Porto *Primeira Liga, Primeira Divisão/Liga: 1998–99 Primeira Divisão, 1998–99, 2002–03 Primeira Liga, 2002–03, 2003–04 Primeira Liga, 2003–04 *Taça de Portugal: 1999–2000 Taça de Portugal, 1999–2000, 2000–01 Taça de Portugal, 2000–01, 2002–03 Taça de Portugal, 2002–03 *Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2001 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, 2001, 2003 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, 2003 *
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
: 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, 2003–04 *
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
: 2002–03 UEFA Cup, 2002–03 Barcelona *
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
: 2004–05 La Liga, 2004–05, 2005–06 La Liga, 2005–06 *Supercopa de España: 2005 Supercopa de España, 2005, 2006 Supercopa de España, 2006 *UEFA Champions League: 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, 2005–06 Chelsea *
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
: 2009–10 Premier League, 2009–10 *FA Cup: 2008–09 FA Cup, 2008–09, 2009–10 FA Cup, 2009–10 *FA Community Shield: 2009 FA Community Shield, 2009 Fluminense * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2010,
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
* Campeonato Carioca: 2012 Campeonato Carioca, 2012 Individual *Ballon D'or, Ballon D'or Silver Ball: 2004 *
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year The UEFA Club Footballer of the Year was a football award presented by UEFA to the most outstanding performers of every European club football season. The award, along with "Best Goalkeeper," "Best Defender," "Best Midfielder," and "Best Forward," ...
: 2003–04 *UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder, UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year: 2003–04, 2005–06 * 2004 UEFA Champions League Final: Man of the Match *European Sports Magazines#ESM Team of the Year, ESM Team of the Year: 2004–05 *FIFA Club World Cup, FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2006 FIFA Club World Cup#Awards, 2006 *CNID Footballer of the Year#Portuguese League Footballer of the Year (2001–present), Portuguese League Footballer of the Year: 2003–04 *CNID Footballer of the Year#CNID Best Portuguese Athlete Abroad (2006–), CNID Best Portuguese Athlete Abroad: 2006 *Premier League Player of the Month: 2008–09 Premier League#Monthly awards, August 2008 *Campeonato Carioca Best Player: 2012 *Campeonato Carioca Best Midfielder: 2012 *Globe Soccer Awards, Globe Soccer Awards Player Career Award: 2013 *Golden Foot: 2016, as Golden Foot#Award legends, football legend Orders * Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (Duke of Braganza, House of Braganza)


References


External links

* * * * * * *
goal.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deco 1977 births Living people People from São Bernardo do Campo Brazilian footballers Portuguese footballers Association football midfielders Nacional Atlético Clube (SP) players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Centro Sportivo Alagoano players S.L. Benfica footballers F.C. Alverca players S.C. Salgueiros players FC Porto players FC Barcelona players Chelsea F.C. players Fluminense FC players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Liga Portugal 2 players Primeira Liga players La Liga players Premier League players UEFA Champions League winning players UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award winners UEFA Cup winning players Portugal international footballers UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate footballers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in England Brazilian emigrants to Portugal Naturalised citizens of Portugal Footballers from São Paulo (state)