Diego Costa Silva (born 11 May 1979), known simply as Diego, is a Brazilian former 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 played as a

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 ...

Club career

Born in

Itaqui Itaqui is a municipality in Brazil, located in the southwestern part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, close to the Argentinian border, between Uruguaiana and São Borja. It sits at a mean altitude of 57 meters (187 ft), by the Uruguay Ri ...

, Rio Grande do Sul, Diego represented in his country Esporte Clube Juventude, Clube Atlético Paranaense, Fluminense FC and

Esporte Clube Santo André Esporte Clube Santo André, commonly referred to as simply Santo André, is a Brazilian association football club in Santo André, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série D, the fourth tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the Camp ...

. He competed in the Série A with all the clubs, for example being an undisputed starter for the second as it finished second in the 2004 season (45 games). In 2009, Diego moved to

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 ...

, where he played for Leixões S.C. and Vitória FC, both in the Primeira Liga. At the end of his second campaign with the

Setúbal Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area. In the ti ...

-based team, he was chosen as best player in the squad. In June 2012, 33-year-old Diego signed for Azerbaijan Premier League side

Gabala FC Gabala Football Club ( az, Qəbələ Futbol Klubu ), also spelled Qabala, is an Azerbaijani association football club representing Qabala in the Azerbaijan Premier League since 2006. Gabala has been the runner up in the Premier League three time ...

, on a two-year contract. In his first season at his new club he split starting duties with

Anar Nazirov Anar Nazirov ( az, Anar Nəzirov; born 8 September 1985) is an Azerbaijani professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Gabala FK. Career On 6 June 2013 he was released from his contract with Gabala. Nazirov then signed with fellow A ...

, appearing in a total of 18 official matches – two in the domestic cup – and making his debut on 4 August against

Simurq PFC Simurq PIK ( az, Simurq Peşəkar Idman Klubu) was an Azerbaijani football (soccer), football club based in Zaqatala (city), Zaqatala, that competed in the Azerbaijan Premier League. History Early years (2005–2009) The club was founded in 2005 ...

Club statistics

Honours

Club

Juventude *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho Série A1 (Gaúcho Championship A1 Series or Série A1), officially named as Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF - Divisão Especial - Série A1 and commonly known as Campeonato Gaúcho or Gauchã ...

: 1998 *

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de P ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

Atlético Paranaense * Campeonato Paranaense: 2005 Fluminense *

: 2007 * Copa Libertadores: Runner-up

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; ...

Individual

* Bola de Prata: 2002

References

External links

*
CBF data

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diego 1979 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série C players Esporte Clube Juventude players Club Athletico Paranaense players Fluminense FC players Esporte Clube Santo André players Primeira Liga players Leixões S.C. players Vitória F.C. players Azerbaijan Premier League players Gabala SC players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Azerbaijan Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan People from Itaqui Footballers from Rio Grande do Sul