Diego Tardelli Martins (born 10 May 1985), known as Diego Tardelli, is a Brazilian 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 le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He is considered a dynamic player due to his speed on attack and individual skills. ''Tardelli'' is not his last name, but his second name: it was chosen by his father after his footballing idol, Italian World Cup winner Marco Tardelli.

Club career

Early career

Born in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, São Paulo, Tardelli began his career at a company club in Curitiba called Partner Football. He was loaned to Santos in 2000, but was released after trying to steal chocolate milk from the club's cafeteria. He subsequently joined hometown side União Barbarense, where he impressed enough to move to São Paulo in 2003. At the latter club, Tardelli was initially known as '' Dinei'', a former forward of Corinthians, as he also painted his hair of a blond color.

São Paulo

Tardelli made his first team debut for São Paulo on 9 July 2003, coming on as a second-half substitute for Rico in a 2–0 Série A away win over Coritiba. He scored his first goal four days later, netting his team's second in a 3–1 win at Fluminense. Tardelli subsequently established himself as a regular starter, but was separated from the squad in 2004 for 45 days after arriving late on a training session. He returned to the squad after manager Cuca was replaced by

Émerson Leão Émerson Leão (; born 11 July 1949) is a Brazilian former footballer and manager. He is regarded by pundits as one of best Brazilian Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeepers of all time. A documentary video produced by FIFA, ''FIFA Feve ...

, and started the 2005 season with ten goals in the first ten matches of the club. After Leão left for the Japanese football, Tardelli's form dropped and he was again separated from the squad in October 2005, after arriving drunk on a training session.

Loans to Betis, São Caetano and PSV

On 12 December 2005, Tardelli agreed to a loan move to La Liga side Real Betis for the remainder of the 2005–06 campaign. He made his debut abroad the following 11 January, starting in a 0–0 home draw against

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...

, for the season's Copa del Rey. After 15 goalless appearances, Tardelli returned to Brazil and joined São Caetano on loan on 12 July 2006. On 30 August, however, he moved to Eredivisie club PSV in a season-long loan deal. Tardelli also struggled to feature regularly at PSV, and returned to ''Tricolor'' in July 2007, where he appeared sparingly for the club and lifted the 2007 Série A.

Flamengo

On 15 January 2008, São Paulo announced the transfer of Tardelli to

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 t ...

, after the club paid

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1 million for his federative rights. After initial controversies with teammate Souza, he was often used as a substitute, but still scored the winning goals in the Taça Guanabara and

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 ...

finals, both against Botafogo. Tardelli was unable to establish himself as a first-choice, and was mainly a backup option to Souza and

Obina Manuel de Brito Filho, better known as Obina (born January 31, 1983), is a former Brazilian football striker. Career Vitória Obina caught attention in 2004 when he made a solid season, despite the relegation of his club, Vitória. He scor ...

. He also saw his playing time limited due to an arm injury in August which left him sidelined for three months.

Atlético Mineiro

Tardelli left Flamengo on 12 January 2009, and subsequently signed for fellow league team Atlético Mineiro. At ''Galo'', he scored a career-best 39 goals in his first campaign, being the nation's top goalscorer overall; highlights included a hat-trick in a 6–0

Campeonato Mineiro Campeonato Mineiro is the state football league of the state of Minas Gerais and is controlled by the Minas Gerais Football Federation FMF (Federação Mineira de Futebol). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: befor ...

home routing of Uberaba on 8 April. Tardelli continued to score in a prolific manner the following seasons, and scored another hat-trick in a 6–0 thrashing of Ituiutaba on 28 March 2010. He played his 100th match for the club on 30 October 2010, in a match against Botafogo. On 12 February 2011, Tardelli scored a hat-trick in a 4–3 away win against fierce rivals Cruzeiro, but was sent off late in the match.

Anzhi Makhachkala

On 8 March 2011, Tardelli completed a move to Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala following an in-depth medical examination at the Dagi's pre-season training base. The club reportedly paid

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

7.5 million for his services on a four-year deal. He started in only seven games during the whole campaign, and failed to find the net in his 13 appearances. He was also strongly linked with a move back to his homeland after struggling to adapt to life in Russia.

Al-Gharafa

On 10 January 2012, Tardelli announced that he had put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal with Qatari side Al-Gharafa. His transfer fee was reported at €7 million. Tardelli made his debut on 20 January 2012, missing a penalty kick 30 minutes after coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 loss against Al Khor. On his second-ever

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

match, he scored a brace in order to salvage a draw against Al-Hilal FC on 21 March.

Return to Atlético Mineiro

On 18 January 2013, Tardelli rejoined Atlético Mineiro on loan until the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. The value of the negotiation was undisclosed. On 27 January, Tardelli confirmed the negotiations were nearly over, only waiting for a new player to arrive at his current club and by 31 January, the negotiation is complete and he joined Atlético Mineiro. Finally, on 2 February 2013, Alexandre Kalil, president of Atlético, announced the return of Tardelli. The deal is around €5.25 million with a four-year contract. Tardelli was a regular starter for ''Galo'' during his first season, helping the club to a first-ever

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

title and being the second-best goalscorer in the campaign with 18 goals, only one behind Jô. He also lifted the

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club association football, football compe ...

and the Copa do Brasil with the side in the following year, scoring goals in both tournaments' finals.

Shandong Luneng

On 17 January 2015, Tardelli joined Chinese club Shandong Luneng. On 14 February 2015, he made his official debut in the

2015 Chinese FA Super Cup Chang'an Ford 2015 Chinese FA Super Cup (Chinese: 长安福特2015中国足球协会超级杯) was the 13th Chinese FA Super Cup. The match was sponsored by Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. and played at Yellow Dragon Sports Center on 14 Fe ...

against Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao. On 13 July 2015, Tardelli scored two goals in a match against

Shijiazhuang Ever Bright Cangzhou Mighty Lions Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Cangzhou, Hebei and their home stadium i ...

. A regular starter, he impressed during the

2018 Chinese Super League The 2018 Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League () was the 15th season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League. The league title sponsor was Ping An Insurance. Shanghai SIPG won their first top-tier league titles on 7 Novemb ...

after scoring 17 goals.

Grêmio

On 12 February 2019, Tardelli joined Brazilian club Grêmio on a three-year contract. On 16 January 2020, after being severely criticized by the club's supporters and president, he terminated his contract.

Second return to Atlético Mineiro

On 12 February 2020, Tardelli joined Atlético Mineiro for the third time on a free transfer. In July, he suffered an ankle injury which sidelined him for the remainder of the year; he returned to action in February 2021. Tardelli left the club in May of the following year, as his contract was due to expire.

Santos

On 23 August 2021, Tardelli signed a contract with Santos until the end of the year, with an option to extend it for a further five months. On 10 December, after one goal in 13 appearances, he departed the club.

International career

Tardelli was called up by Brazilian coach Dunga on 28 July 2009 for a friendly match against Estonia in Tallinn on 12 August. This was his first ever call up to the Brazil national team. On 11 May 2010, he was called up to the

2010 FIFA 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 ...

squad as one of the seven backup players. In October 2013, in a great shape playing for Atlético Mineiro, Tardelli said on being left out from manager Luiz Felipe Scolari international squad, "Now, again, football professionals have asked my calling up. I did not give up yet, I keep working, who knows about Brazilian team is Felipão colarior who is inside there can watch my phase." On 11 October 2014, in the

2014 Superclásico de las Américas The 2014 Superclásico de las Américas – Copa Doctor Nicolás Leoz was the 3rd edition of the Superclásico de las Américas. The match was played at Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, China. This was the first time the competition had taken ...

in Beijing, he scored both goals of a 2–0 victory against Argentina. On 28 May 2015, Tardelli was included in Brazil's 23-man squad for the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

by coach Dunga. On 15 October 2017, he was called by manager Tite to games against

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and Chile.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

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Beijing National Stadium The National Stadium (), also known as the Bird's Nest (), is an 80,000-capacity stadium in Beijing. The stadium was jointly designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron from Basel-based architecture team Herzog & de Meuron, p ...

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Allianz Parque Allianz Parque (), also known as Palestra Itália Arena, is a multipurpose stadium in São Paulo, Brazil, built to receive shows, concerts, corporate events, and especially football matches of Palmeiras, the site owner. The stadium has a capac ...

, São Paulo, Brazil , , , , , , , ,

Friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

, ,

Honours

Club

São Paulo *

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional association football, football league in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. Run b ...

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 ...

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 ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

PSV * Eredivisie: 2006–07 Flamengo * Taça Guanabara: 2008 *

: 2008 Atlético Mineiro *

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 ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* Copa do Brasil:

Al-Gharafa * Emir of Qatar Cup: 2012 Shandong Luneng * Chinese FA Super Cup:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Grêmio * Campeonato Gaúcho:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

International

Brazil *

Superclásico de las Américas The Superclassic of the Americas ( pt, Superclássico das Américas, es, Superclásico de las Américas), is an annual friendly football match between the national teams of Argentina and Brazil. Established in 2011 and organized by CONMEBOL, ...

Individual

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

top goalscorer:

Arthur Friedenreich Arthur Friedenreich (18 July 1892 – 6 September 1969) was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. He was nicknamed ''The Tiger'' or ''The Original "Black" Pearl'', and was arguably the sport's first outstanding mixed-race ...

Award: 2009

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tardelli, Diego 1985 births Living people People from Santa Bárbara d'Oeste Association football forwards Association football midfielders Brazilian footballers Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazil youth international footballers Brazil under-20 international footballers Brazil international footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers São Paulo FC players Real Betis players Associação Desportiva São Caetano players PSV Eindhoven players CR Flamengo footballers Clube Atlético Mineiro players FC Anzhi Makhachkala players Al-Gharafa SC players Shandong Taishan F.C. players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Santos FC players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Eredivisie players La Liga players Russian Premier League players Qatar Stars League players Chinese Super League players Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Russia Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate footballers in China Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China 2015 Copa América players Footballers from São Paulo (state)