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 competit ...
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
The 2004 UEFA Champions League Final was an association football match played on 26 May 2004 to decide the winner of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League. AS Monaco, a Monaco-based club representing the French Football Federation, faced Portugue ...
. 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 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.
Club career
Early career
Born in
São Bernardo do Campo
São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo.
It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 844,483 (2020 est.) in an area of .
History
The city was founded b ...
, 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
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
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.
Under the guidance of manager
José Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...
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 Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
final
3–2 win over
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
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
The 2004 UEFA Champions League Final was an association football match played on 26 May 2004 to decide the winner of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League. AS Monaco, a Monaco-based club representing the French Football Federation, faced Portugue ...
, 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 competit ...
'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
![Ronaldinho deco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Ronaldinho_deco.jpg)
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's ...
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, 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
![Deco (Chelsea, 2008)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Deco_%28Chelsea%2C_2008%29.jpg)
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 Foo ...
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
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
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 Alverca, ...
, 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 Goiânia. ...
. Playing for Fluminense, Deco won the
Campeonato Brasileiro in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
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 gather ...
.
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
The Brazilian Football Confederation ( pt, Confederação Brasileira de Futebol; CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country ...
and Deco agreed to settle the case, and Deco was found not guilty of doping.
International career
![Portugal 2-3 Denmark, Deco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Portugal_2-3_Denmark%2C_Deco.jpg)
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 Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
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
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
'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
The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...
. 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 association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
,
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-ti ...
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, 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 w ...
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
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
. 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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
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 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 ...
, 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 GaWC a ...
, 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 Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ireland. The agency, whose clients include Brazil international
Fabinho Fabinho is a Portuguese given name, a diminutive form of the Portuguese name "little Fábio". Portuguese also has an augmentative form of the name, Fabão, "big Fábio".
Brazilian football
* Fabinho Santos (born 1973), born ''Fábio José dos San ...
and Burkina Faso international
Edmond Tapsoba
Edmond Fayçal Tapsoba (born 2 February 1999) is a Burkinabé professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Burkina Faso national team.
Early and personal life
Tapsoba grew up in the Karpal ...
, recorded €300,000 profit in 2017.
Media
Deco features in
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
'
''FIFA'' football video game series. He was included in the Ultimate Team Legends in ''
FIFA 16
''FIFA 16'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android and iOS.
The ga ...
''.
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 Divisão/Liga:
1998–99,
2002–03,
2003–04
*
Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...
:
1999–2000,
2000–01,
2002–03
*
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...
:
2001,
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 competit ...
:
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 Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
:
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's ...
:
2004–05,
2005–06
*
Supercopa de España
The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...
:
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
,
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
*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 Foo ...
:
2009–10
*
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
:
2008–09,
2009–10
*
FA Community Shield:
2009
Fluminense
*
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...
:
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
,
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 gather ...
*
Campeonato Carioca
The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, B ...
:
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 gather ...
Individual
*
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 Club Midfielder of the Year: 2003–04,
2005–06
*
2004 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2004 UEFA Champions League Final was an association football match played on 26 May 2004 to decide the winner of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League. AS Monaco, a Monaco-based club representing the French Football Federation, faced Portugue ...
: Man of the Match
*
ESM Team of the Year
The European Sports Media (ESM), formerly European Sports Magazines, is an association of football-related publications in Europe.
Members
European Sports Media was established in 1989 as an international body for football journalism. Its nine fo ...
: 2004–05
*
FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball
The FIFA Club World Cup is an international association football competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship was first contested as the FIFA Club W ...
:
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
*
Portuguese League Footballer of the Year: 2003–04
*
CNID Best Portuguese Athlete Abroad: 2006
*
Premier League Player of the Month
The Premier League Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 10 ...
:
August 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...
[
*Campeonato Carioca Best Player: 2012]
*Campeonato Carioca Best Midfielder: 2012
* Globe Soccer Awards Player Career Award: 2013
*Golden Foot
The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 yea ...
: 2016, as football legend
Orders
*
Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa
The Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (also known as The Order of Our Lady of Conception of Vila Vicosa; pt, Ordem de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Viçosa) is a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Braganza, the f ...
(House of Braganza
The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Ame ...
)
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)