Denílson de Oliveira Araújo (born 24 August 1977), known simply as Denílson, is a Brazilian football pundit and former professional player who played as a forward. In a 17-year career, he played mainly for

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 ...

and

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

who made him the world's most expensive player in 1998. He also appeared for teams in five other countries during his career. Denílson gained more than 60

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, making his full debut before his 20th birthday and representing the nation in six international tournaments, including two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(winning the 2002 edition). Denilson was known for his dribbling skills.

Club career

São Paulo and Betis

Born in

Diadema, São Paulo Diadema (, uncommonly , ''Diadem'') is a municipality in São Paulo state, Brazil. Belonging to the ABCD Region of Greater São Paulo, it is distant from São Paulo's central point. Initially part of São Bernardo do Campo, Diadema became a c ...

, Denílson made his senior debuts with local

at the age of only 17, appearing with the team in the

1994 Copa CONMEBOL The 1994 Copa CONMEBOL was the third edition of CONMEBOL's annual club tournament. Teams that failed to qualify for the Copa Libertadores played in this tournament. Sixteen teams from nine South American football confederations qualified for this ...

and winning the tournament. In 1998, he broke the world-record transfer fee when

paid £21.5 million for his services. He made his

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' ...

debut on 29 August in a 0–0 away draw against

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it ...

, and finished his first season with 35 games and two goals as his team ranked in 11th position; the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

ns were relegated to Segunda División in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. Denílson spent some months back in his country with

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

, on loan, but returned in January 2001 to be a productive attacking unit for Betis as it achieved promotion back (21 games, one goal). He continued to be regularly played in the following top flight campaigns, but more often than not as a substitute. In 2004–05 Betis finished in fourth position and qualified to 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 ...

, also adding the season's

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

, but Denílson was only a fringe player now, starting in just three games and playing only 290 minutes.

Bordeaux

In the 2005 off-season, Denílson was sold to French club

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

for an undisclosed amount, four years before his Betis contract was due to expire. In his only season in Ligue 1 he appeared regularly to help to a second-place finish, albeit trailing eventual champions Olympique Lyonnais by 15 points. As the team failed to match Denílson's wage demands, he left and signed for Saudi Arabia's

Al Nassr FC Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yellow ...

, where he played for a couple of months.

FC Dallas

On 24 August 2007, Denílson joined

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

of Major League Soccer, becoming the team's

designated player The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...

. he made his league debut on 1 September, entering in the 55th minute against

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

, and the following week he made his first start, against

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

Pizza Hut Park Toyota Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium located in Frisco, a suburb of Dallas, Texas, United States. Built and owned by the city of Frisco, the 20,500-seat stadium opened in 2005. Its primary tenants are Major League Soccer club FC Dallas ...

, scoring from the

penalty spot The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. Wit ...

in the 36th minute of an eventual 2–0 win. After only one goal and no assists, Denílson was excluded from Dallas' squad for their appearance in the final of the U.S. Open Cup, raising questions of whether he would remain with the club following the season (even though Open Cup regulations allowed no more than five foreign players on the game-day roster). Further fueling speculation, head coach Steve Morrow said the player would need to "earn a spot in the starting lineup like everybody else";

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Darío Sala Darío Sala (born October 17, 1974) is an Argentine association football administrator and former player. A goalkeeper, he played with teams including Belgrano, Los Andes, and River Plate in Argentina; Deportivo Cali in Colombia; and FC Dallas ...

added the team was having problems adjusting to a change in scheme to accommodate Denílson.

Later years

At the end of the season, FC Dallas decided not to pick up its option on Denílson, but stated their desire to resign the winger at a lower salary. In February 2008 he signed a one-year performance-based contract with

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

, hoping the club structure and experienced coach

Vanderlei Luxemburgo Vanderlei Luxemburgo da Silva (born 10 May 1952) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player. He is currently a free agent. A left wingback, Luxemburgo represented Flamengo, Internacional and Botafogo before retiring in 1980. ...

would help him recover his best football. He was unable to make the starting squad, spending most of the season as a bench option; nonetheless, he helped ''Verdão'' to the

São Paulo State Championship The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the FPF, the league is contested between 16 clubs and ty ...

and a berth in the Copa Libertadores after the fourth place in the Série A. On 6 January 2009, Denílson was taken on trial by

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 ...

side Bolton Wanderers with a chance to sign a contract until the end of the campaign. He stated: "I want to play in Europe, but I am not in a rush. I have received proposals from England, Greece, Turkey and Germany. I am studying them", further adding: "I understand that this is the time to return to European football, but if I am not convinced by any offer I hope to continue in Brazil, where there are also clubs interested in me"; eventually, nothing came of it. After terminating his contract with Palmeiras, 31-year-old Denílson signed a three-month contract with

Itumbiara Itumbiara is a municipality in the extreme south of the state of Goiás, Brazil. Its population in 2020 was of 105,809 in a total area of 2,461,3 km2 (2020). Itumbiara is one of the most prosperous cities in Goiás and is a major producer ...

. On 2 June 2009 he penned a six-month deal with Vietnamese club Hải Phòng F.C. on a pay-as-you-play contract. He made his debut on the 21st against Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, scoring through a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

just two minutes into the game, but left after only three weeks with the team with only that single appearance to his credit due to injury. Denílson was paid $12,000 for the match and a $5,000 bonus for the goal. In January 2010, Denílson signed a two-year contract with

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia and the capital of Kavala (regional unit), Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across ...

in Greece. He was released on 16 April, without having played any games.

International career

Denílson made his debut for

in November 1996 at the age of 19, against

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. He was called for the squad that competed at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, appearing in all the games for the eventual runners-up; the previous year, he was also selected for the

1997 Copa América Bolivia hosted the Copa América for the second time in its 38th edition. It was held from 11 to 29 June. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. There is no qualifying for the final tournament. All South Ameri ...

and the

1997 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first Confederations Cup to be organised by FIFA. The tournament had previously been played in 1992 and 1995 as the King Fahd Cup. This edition of the tournament was hosted by Saudi Arabia, as with the pre ...

, winning both tournaments and totalling ten appearances (two goals). Denílson was picked by manager

Luiz Felipe Scolari Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Athletico Paranaense. Scolari was a defender during his playing days, and no ...

for his

2002 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 ...

squad in Japan and South Korea. Always as a substitute, he played in five matches as the ''Seleção'' won its fifth

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, appearing one minute in

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 ...

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 ...

. After

Carlos Alberto Parreira Carlos Alberto Gomes Parreira (born 27 February 1943) is a Brazilian former football manager who holds the record for attending the most FIFA World Cup final tournaments as manager with six appearances. He also managed five different national te ...

returned for his third spell as national team boss, Denílson was not called again. He gained a total of 61 caps.

Style of play

A creative and technically gifted left-footed player, Denilson was mainly known for his

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, in particular for his use of several

feints Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or e ...

to beat opponents such as the '' step over'', which he frequently employed, though infamous for his inability in front of goal. Despite his talent, he was considered by most to not have fulfilled the potential he showed at the start of his career.

Media

Denílson was sponsored by sportswear company

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

, and appeared in commercials for the brand. In a global advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a " Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scorpion KO") directed by

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...

, appearing alongside football players such as Fabio Cannavaro,

Hernán Crespo Hernán Jorge Crespo (; born 5 July 1975) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player. He is the current manager of Qatari club Al-Duhail. A prolific striker, Crespo scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 19 years. At in ...

, Edgar Davids,

Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and w ...

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 ...

Paul Scholes Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 ...

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...

Gaizka Mendieta Gaizka Mendieta Zabala (, ; born 27 March 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A versatile player, with good technique, offensive capabilities and tackling skills, who was capable of creating goals both ...

Hidetoshi Nakata is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest Asian players of all time. Nakata began his professional career in 1995 and won the Asian Football Confederation Player ...

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional association football, footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deplo ...

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...

and

Francesco Totti Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional footballer who played solely for Roma and the Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bimbo de Oro'' (The Golden Boy), ''L'Ottavo Re di Roma'' (The Eig ...

among others, with former player

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...

the tournament "referee". In March 2017 Denilson signed with

888poker 888poker, formerly Pacific Poker, is an international online poker cardroom and network owned by 888 Holdings. 888poker was established in 2002, and is based in Gibraltar. History The poker provider was originally launched in 2002 as ''Pacifi ...

as a brand ambassador.

Post-retirement

After retiring, Denílson worked as a sports commentator for

Rede Bandeirantes Rede Bandeirantes (, ''Bandeirantes Network''), or simply known as Band (), is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It began broadcasting on May 13, 1967 on VHF channel 13 in São Paulo. Its founder was businessman João Saad with t ...

Honours

São Paulo *

Copa CONMEBOL The Copa CONMEBOL ( en, CONMEBOL Cup) was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was a very prestigious South American club football contes ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

* Campeonato Paulista:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

Betis *

: 2004–05 Palmeiras * Campeonato Paulista:

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; ...

Brazil *

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 ...

: 2002,"Brazil crowned world champions"
BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 February 2014. runner-up:

* FIFA Confederations Cup:

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

Copa America Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

third place:

Individual * FIFA Confederations Cup: Golden Ball 1997 *South American Team of the Year: 1997

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Denilson 1977 births Living people Footballers from São Paulo (state) Naturalised citizens of Spain Brazilian footballers Association football wingers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players São Paulo FC players CR Flamengo footballers Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players Itumbiara Esporte Clube players La Liga players Segunda División players Real Betis players Ligue 1 players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Al Nassr FC players Major League Soccer players FC Dallas players Designated Players (MLS) V.League 1 players Haiphong FC players Kavala F.C. players Saudi Professional League players Brazil under-20 international footballers Brazil international footballers 1997 Copa América players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2001 Copa América players 2002 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Copa América-winning players Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Vietnam Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Vietnam Expatriate footballers in Greece