Dida (footballer, Born 1973)
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Nélson de Jesus Silva (born 7 October 1973), better known simply as Dida (), is a Brazilian former
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 ...
. After starting his senior club career in Brazil in the early 1990s with Vitória, Dida became a
penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
-saving specialist with Cruzeiro and
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 ...
. He is perhaps best remembered for his ten-year stint with
AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...
from 2000 to 2010, where he established himself as one of the world's best goalkeepers and won multiple trophies and individual awards with the club. Dida won one
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
title (''
Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (Italian language, Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in ...
'') and twice 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 Milan, with the first of those victories coming after he saved three penalties in the 2003
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 Serie A rivals
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
. Dida is one of four Milan keepers with 300 career appearances, and has joined other former club players for off-pitch appearances and exhibition matches. After a two-year absence from playing, he returned to Brazil in 2012, suiting up for three teams— Portuguesa, Grêmio and
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 ...
—in as many seasons. At international level, Dida earned 91
cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
s in eleven years with the Brazil national team, winning the
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 ...
and an
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
medal, while he is the most successful player in the history of the
FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
. He notably broke a color barrier during the 1999 Copa América by being the ''Seleção's'' first
Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see "Black people#Brazil, preto"). Most members of another group of people, Pardo Brazilians, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a ...
starting goalkeeper since
Moacyr Barbosa Moacir Barbosa do Nascimento (27 March 1921 – 7 April 2000) was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His career spanned 22 years. He was regarded as one of the world's best goalkeepers in the 1940s and 1950s, and w ...
half a century earlier,Bellos, Alex. ''Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life'' (p. 56). Bloomsbury USA (2002), . and, 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 ...
, became the first
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
goalkeeper to start for Brazil in a
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 ...
finals tournament since 1950. He retired from international play after Brazil were eliminated in the
quarter-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
. Considered one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, Dida was the inaugural FIFPro Goalkeeper of the Year, the first Brazilian keeper to be nominated for the
FIFA Ballon d'Or The FIFA Ballon d'Or ("Golden Ball") was an annual association football award presented to the world's best men's player from 2010 to 2015. Awarded jointly by FIFA and ''France Football'', the prize was a merger of the FIFA World Player of the Ye ...
, and is a seven-time nominee of the
IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper The IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper is a football award given annually since 1987 to the best goalkeeper of the year as voted by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). The votes are cast by IFFHS's editorial staff ...
award, in addition to being one of ten players to win both the Champions League and the
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 ...
. He was named the best
Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...
keeper, and the sixth-best keeper overall, of the 21st century by IFFHS, and is rated among the all-time greats in the position for Brazil alongside
Marcos Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portug ...
,
Rogério Ceni Rogério Mücke Ceni (; born 22 January 1973) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who is in charge of São Paulo FC. He is considered one of the all-time greatest Brazilian goalkeepers and is recognised by the Inter ...
,
Cláudio Taffarel Cláudio André Mergen Taffarel (; born 8 May 1966) is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is the goalkeeping coach of English Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team. During an 18-year career he p ...
and
Gilmar Gylmar dos Santos Neves (; 22 August 1930 – 25 August 2013), known simply as Gilmar, was a Brazilian footballer who played goalkeeper for Corinthians and Santos and was a member of the Brazil national team in three World Cups. He was elect ...
. He has been credited with helping end the prejudice against black goalkeepers in Brazilian club football due to his success in Europe, and upon joining Internacional in 2014, became the first Afro-Brazilian keeper to play for the club in 43 years.


Early life

Nélson de Jesus Silva was born on 7 October 1973 in the city of
Irará Irará is a city in Bahia, Brazil. The municipality is the hometown of former professional footballer Dida, of A.C. Milan and Brazil national football team fame and musician Tom Zé. Until the 17th century, the region was inhabited by the Irar ...
in the northeastern Brazilian state of
Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...
, and is one of ten children along with five sisters and four brothers. He was raised in Lagoa da Canoa in the smaller neighboring state of
Alagoas Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. It ...
, to where his family had moved when he was three months old. His first sport of choice was
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
, which he played with his brothers, until he discovered football by way of
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...
and pickup games. His preferred position was that of
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 ...
,Rizek, Andre (October 2001). "Ele nem pisca" (He never blinks). ''
Placar ''Placar'' ( en, Score) is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued by Editora Abril. on March 20, 1970, and since then it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses fully on foot ...
'', p. 21.
despite its longtime unpopularity in Brazilian football and the country's history of discrimination against
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
players in the position. A supporter of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
-based club
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 ...
, Dida helped form an amateur squad called ''Flamenguinho'' ("little Flamengo") at age thirteen, which marked his first experience in organized team play. He took his future playing name from Flamengo striker
Dida In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Diploma in Digital Applications (DiDA) is an optional information and communication technology (ICT) course, usually studied by Key Stage 4 or equivalent school students (aged 14-16). DiDA was introduc ...
, while his footballing idols were goalkeepers
Rinat Dasayev Rinat Fayzrakhmanovich Dasayev (russian: Ринат Файзрахманович Дасаев, tt-Cyrl, Ринат Фәйзерахман улы Дасаев, translit=Rinat Fäyzerakhman uly Dasaev; born 13 June 1957) is a Russian football coa ...
and future ''Seleção'' teammate
Cláudio Taffarel Cláudio André Mergen Taffarel (; born 8 May 1966) is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is the goalkeeping coach of English Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team. During an 18-year career he p ...
, who had enjoyed successful runs in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and whom Dida later considered a pioneer in the growing acceptance of Brazilian keepers into European clubs.


Club career


Vitória, Cruzeiro, and Corinthians

In 1990, at age 17, Dida made his club football debut with now-defunct Alagoan team Cruzeiro de Arapiraca. Two years later, he joined the youth academy of hometown team and 1992
Campeonato Baiano The Campeonato Baiano is the football league of the state of Bahia, Brazil. The championship has been played since 1905 without interruption. 2020 format First stage: 10 teams are included in one group, playing once only against all teams i ...
winners Vitória.''Placar'' #1090 (January 1994), p. 5. In 1993, after starting in Brazil's
FIFA World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...
victory, Dida made 24 starts in goal for Vitória's senior squad as they finished runner-up to
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 ...
in the
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 ...
, and he became the youngest recipient, at 20, of Brazilian football magazine ''
Placar ''Placar'' ( en, Score) is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued by Editora Abril. on March 20, 1970, and since then it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses fully on foot ...
's'' annual ''Bola de Prata'' award as the Série A's best goalkeeper. Dida was then acquired by
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
-based club Cruzeiro in 1994, and in a span of five seasons, he won four state titles, the 1996 Copa do Brasil and the
1997 Copa Libertadores The 1997 edition of Copa Libertadores was won by Cruzeiro of Brazil, after defeating Sporting Cristal of Peru in the final. This was Cruzeiro's second title, their first being the 1976 edition. Cruzeiro's 1997 championship is the only time any ...
, and two more ''Bola de Prata'' goalkeeping awards. However, in January 1999, he publicly stated his desire to test his skills in Europe and catch the attention of the Brazilian national team coaching staff in the process, and therefore took the club to court in order to cancel the remainder of his contract so he could sign with
AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...
, the only European team that had extended him an offer.''"Nação Defendida"'' Nation Defended" ''Placar'' #1154 (August 1999), p. 50-52. The ensuing legal battle between the player and Cruzeiro lasted for five months, and a
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 ...
ruling allowed Dida to be loaned to Swiss club
FC Lugano FC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lu ...
in the meantime so he could keep in shape, though he never played a game. His move to Milan was finalized in May 1999 with a transfer fee of 2.7 billion
Italian lire The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...
( R$5.2 million) paid to Cruzeiro, which brought the dispute to a close. Dida was the third goalkeeper on Milan coach
Alberto Zaccheroni Alberto Zaccheroni (; born 1 April 1953) is an Italian football manager, formerly in charge of the United Arab Emirates and Japan national football teams. He has managed a number of top clubs in Serie A, the high point of his career being his s ...
's depth chart behind
Christian Abbiati Christian Abbiati (born 8 July 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Abbiati, who had been with AC Milan since 1998, started his career with Monza, and later played more than 300 official matches for Mil ...
and aging veteran
Sebastiano Rossi Sebastiano Rossi (born 20 July 1964) is an Italian retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. During a 21-year professional career, he appeared in 346 Serie A games, most notably representing A.C. Milan (12 seasons) with which ...
for the 1999–2000 Serie A season, and he returned to Brazil as he was loaned to
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 ...
-based club
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 ...
to receive regular playing time. During this stint, his reputation as a
penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...
stopper came into national renown after he saved two separate spot kicks—both taken by
Raí Raí Souza Vieira de Oliveira (born 15 May 1965), known as Raí (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent the better part of his 15-year career with São Paulo and Paris Saint-Germain, wi ...
—in Corinthians' 3–2 victory over intrastate rival
São Paulo FC São Paulo Futebol Clube (), commonly referred to as São Paulo, is a professional football club in the Morumbi district of São Paulo, Brazil, founded in 1930. It plays in the Campeonato Paulista (the State of São Paulo's premier state leag ...
in the 1999 Campeonato Brasileiro semi-final, which earned him a 10 rating from ''Placar''. Dida received his first nomination for the
IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper The IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper is a football award given annually since 1987 to the best goalkeeper of the year as voted by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). The votes are cast by IFFHS's editorial staff ...
award that season, finishing eighth in the voting. In 2000, he kept three clean sheets in four matches while allowing only two goals as Corinthians lifted the inaugural
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
. After the 15 January final against
Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...
ended goalless after extra time, he blocked a
Gilberto Gilberto is the Iberian and Italian version of the originally Norman-French given name ''Gilbert'', used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages. In Galician, it's spelled Xilberto or Xilberte. ''Gilbert'' is ultimately derived from the Germ ...
penalty in the shootout that Corinthians won 4–3 after Vasco striker
Edmundo Edmundo is a common name that is used by many individuals including: * Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto, former Brazilian football player * Edmundo Farolan, Filipino writer * Edmundo Ros, Trinidadian musician * Edmundo Rivero, Argentine singer * Edmundo ...
's shot went wide right. Corinthians midfielder Ricardinho revealed to the media afterward that the team was actively seeking to take the match to penalties during the extra period, knowing Dida would save "at least one in five"; indeed,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
castigated the "poor final" as both teams "never look nglike scoring in two hours of open play", while Dida himself criticized penalty shootouts in that they "cause suffering to the players and the fans".


AC Milan


1999–2002: Beginnings with Milan and return to Corinthians

Milan recalled Dida and named him their 2000–01 Champions League starter with first-choice
Christian Abbiati Christian Abbiati (born 8 July 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Abbiati, who had been with AC Milan since 1998, started his career with Monza, and later played more than 300 official matches for Mil ...
on international duty with
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
at the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
. His ''Rossoneri'' debut was a 4–1 group stage victory over
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...
on 13 September 2000, but six days later, against
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
at a rain-soaked
Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...
, he accidentally dropped a
Lee Bowyer Lee David Bowyer (; born 3 January 1977) is an English football manager and former professional player. As a player, he was a midfielder who featured for Charlton Athletic, Leeds United, West Ham United (two spells), Newcastle United, Birming ...
strike into his own goal, causing Milan to lose the match 1–0. His explanation was that he attempted to absorb the force of the shot and then catch hold of it, but the ball dropped into a puddle and bounced into the net. He started the remaining group stage games and kept his first clean sheet for Milan in a 2–0 win over
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 ...
on 26 September, but was then replaced by Abbiati for the
second group stage The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
. Dida made his first
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
start in a 2–0 November loss to
Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
, and was unable to beat out Rossi for the starting position after Abbiati was injured. He did not play again save for Milan's 2–0 loss to
Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...
—who featured his idol Taffarel in goal—on 7 March 2001, as the ''Rossoneri'' were eliminated from the Champions League. Dida returned to Milan for the 2001–02 season, for which he was later suspended by the
Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...
(FIGC) for his role in a false-passport scandal and therefore loaned back to Corinthians. He made only eight Série A appearances as the deputy to established first-choice Doni, but began a sustained high run of form in winning the
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 ...
, the Torneio Rio-São Paulo championship, and 2002 Copa do Brasil with the ''Timão''.


2003–2004: Champions League and ''Scudetto'' success

Dida was recalled once again by Milan for 2002–03 as a reserve, making his season debut on 14 August 2002 as an injury substitute for Christian Abbiati in the second half of Milan's Champions League third-round qualifier against
Slovan Liberec FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles and the domesti ...
, in which his performance in the 1–0 victory resulted in second-year coach
Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...
promoting him to first choice. He made a then-career best 30 starts as Milan finished third in Serie A and exhibited the league's second-best defence that conceded only 30 goals (one behind champion
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
' 29), while he won his lone
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
with the ''Rossoneri'' in 2003. Dida additionally made fourteen Champions League appearances, missing only the second leg of Milan's semi-final elimination of crosstown rival
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 ...
to injury as Milan advanced to face Juventus in the only all-Italian final in competition history. Dida was relatively untested during the goalless regulation and extra-time periods save for a stop of a late
Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit fo ...
shot, but saved from
David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at the age of eight, progressing through their youth sys ...
,
Marcelo Zalayeta Marcelo Danubio Zalayeta (; born 5 December 1978) is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a striker. Zalayeta began his club career with Danubio before moving to Peñarol for a season in 1997, where he won the Uruguayan Primera Divisi ...
and Paolo Montero in the penalty shootout that saw five of the first seven shots collectively stopped by Dida and Juventus' star goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
. After Milan's
Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko, or Andrii Mykolaiovych Shevchenko ( uk, Андрій Миколайович Шевченко, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian football manager, a former professional football player and a former politici ...
slotted the winner, he celebrated by leaping into Dida's arms as they were mobbed by teammates. Juventus coach
Marcelo Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional football player and manager, who led the Italian national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appointed as Italy head coach in the summer of 2004 and ...
said after the match that "four or five" of his players had refused to take part in the shootout, while ''Bianconeri'' defender
Lilian Thuram Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 1 January 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He began playing football professionally in his homeland with Monaco and played in the top flight in France, Italy and Spai ...
, who was not a participant, admitted to being affected beforehand by Dida's reputation as a penalty stopper. Dida ended the year by becoming the first Brazilian goalkeeper nominated for the
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...
, finishing 13th in voting. Despite his succes, Dida never became
Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year The AIC Goalkeeper of the Year ( it, Migliore portiere AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) since 1997 to 2010 as part of the Oscar del Calcio awards, given to the goalkeeper who had been considered to h ...
. He was nominated for the 1st time in 2004 but lost to rival and legend
Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
, after conceding only 20 goals in 32 appearances in Milan's 2003–04 ''
Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (Italian language, Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in ...
''-winning season. Though Milan's Champions League repeat bid was ended by
Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They currently p ...
in the quarter-finals, a highlight of their campaign was during a previous group-stage match against
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
on 16 September 2003, when Dida blocked a point blank-range shot from
Rafael van der Vaart Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and is currently the assistant manager of Danish 2nd Division club Esbjerg fB. Van der Vaart began his c ...
at the end of extra time to preserve Milan's 1–0 win.


2004–2005: Internazionale flare incident and Miracle of Istanbul

Milan started 2004–05 by winning the Supercoppa Italiana, and the first half of the Serie A season saw Dida nearly insurmountable in net. After he was sent off in the ''Rossoneri's'' season opener against
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
, he conceded only ten goals as Milan went unbeaten in 17 of their next 18 league matches, among them a 1–0 win over
Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...
on 28 November 2004 in which he had performed an acrobatic save on a Roberto Baronio
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 offence ...
, changing direction after the ball was deflected midflight. Ancelotti later described the save to reporters as "
orth Orth can refer to: Places * Orth, Minnesota, an unincorporated community in Nore Township, Minnesota, United States * Orth an der Donau, a town in Gänserndorf, Lower Austria, Austria * Orth House, a historic house in Winnetka, Illinois, United S ...
no less than a goal". Though Dida kept 16 total clean sheets and conceded 25 goals in 36 (out of 38) appearances, Milan faltered by going winless in five of their final eight matches and finished runner-up to ''Scudetto'' winners Juventus. In the Champions League, Dida allowed only three goals in Milan's first ten matches, including a string of five straight clean sheets following a 2–1 group-stage loss to Barcelona on 2 November 2004. The fifth of these came against crosstown rival
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 ...
in the quarter-finals on 7 April 2005, in which Dida kept the ''Nerazzurri'' at bay with multiple saves, notably that of a top-corner
Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional Footballer, football player and Football coach (association football), manager. During his career as a football ...
free kick. With Milan leading 1–0 in the return leg on 12 April, Inter midfielder
Esteban Cambiasso Esteban Matías Cambiasso Deleau (; born 18 August 1980), nicknamed ''"Cuchu"'', is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. During his career, Cambiasso won 21 official titles, the majority of which were won dur ...
's second-half header was disallowed by referee
Markus Merk Markus Merk (born 15 March 1962) is a former top-level German football referee. He is a six-time winner of the ''German Referee of the Year Award'' and the record holder in games refereed in the Bundesliga. In 2005, Merk was awarded the German ...
due to a foul on Dida by forward Julio Cruz. Inter
ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are renowned for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tende ...
located in the
curva Curva (plural: ''curve'' ) is an Italian term or name for curved stands of seating located at sports stadiums, particularly in Italy; so named, originally, due to their curved or bending shape. The curva plays an integral part in the culture of ...
behind Dida's goal reacted to the call by hurling bottles and burning flares onto the pitch. As Dida attempted to resume gameplay by clearing out the debris from his penalty area to take a goal kick, a flare struck him on his right shoulder, missing his head by inches. The match was halted as firefighters worked to clear the pitch while Dida received treatment for bruising and first-degree burns to his shoulder. After a half-hour delay, the game resumed with Christian Abbiati in goal but was abandoned less than a minute later after more projectiles rained down.
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 ...
officially awarded Milan a 3–0 win, resulting in Dida tying a Champions League record, then shared with
Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...
and Józef Wandzik, with his sixth consecutive shutout. Inter were later fined €200,000 (£132,000) by UEFA and ordered to play their next four European matches behind closed doors. In the semi-finals against PSV, Dida set a competition record with his seventh consecutive clean sheet in Milan's 2–0 first-leg victory on 26 April, but his scoreless streak ended at 623 total minutes following a
Park Ji-sung Park Ji-sung (; ; born 30 March 1981) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in the South Korean capital Seoul, Park is the most successful Asian player in football history, having won 19 trophies in ...
strike in the ninth minute of the second leg on 4 May as PSV won 3–1, but the ''Rossoneri'' advanced to the final on
away goals The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
. Milan charged to an early 3–0 lead in the first half in the 2005 Champions League final in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
against
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 ...
side
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, who in turn rallied in the second half with three goals in a span of six minutes, the second being a strike from Reds midfielder
Vladimír Šmicer Vladimír Šmicer (, born 24 May 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his senior career at Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England where he played ...
that Dida got a hand to but was unable to keep out. The third came on a
Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player who is currently the head coach of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his hom ...
penalty saved by Dida before Alonso netted the rebound. With the match going to penalties after ending 3–3 in regulation and extra time, Dida stopped only from
John Arne Riise John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a left back and a left midfielder. He is currently the manager of Toppserien club Avaldsnes. With 110 caps, Riise is ...
as Liverpool won the shootout 3–2. He later faced press criticism for what was deemed a poor reaction to Šmicer's shot on goal. Dida was among five Milan players named to the inaugural FIFPro World XI at the end of the season, while he finished a career-best second for the 2005 IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award, behind winner
Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as ...
. He also made a nomination for
Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year The AIC Goalkeeper of the Year ( it, Migliore portiere AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) since 1997 to 2010 as part of the Oscar del Calcio awards, given to the goalkeeper who had been considered to h ...
for a 2nd time but once again lost to
Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
. He was additionally shortlisted for the 2005 Ballon D'Or, but did not receive any votes.


2005–2006: Decline in form

In 2005–06, Milan went trophyless in both domestic and European competition for the first time since 2001–02. They finished second and three points behind Juventus in Serie A, before being implicated in the ''
Calciopoli ''Calciopoli'' () was a sports scandal in Italy's top professional association football league Serie A and to a lesser extent Serie B. Involving various clubs and numerous executives, both from the same clubs and from the main Italian football b ...
''
match-fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...
scandal. The ''Rossoneri'' lost as many matches (five) in the first half of the season as they had the entire previous year while conceding 22 goals in that 19-game span, with Dida not keeping a clean sheet until the fourth matchday, a 2–0 win over
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
. His form had also begun to visibly decline as he committed noticeable errors such as dropping a
cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
in Milan's 4–3 win over Parma on 8 January 2006 that allowed
Paolo Cannavaro Paolo Cannavaro (; born 26 June 1981) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. After beginning his career with S.S.C. Napoli, Napoli, he moved to Parma A.C., Parma in 1999, where he played a ...
to score the loose ball and give Parma an early 1–0 lead; and attempting an underhand catch of an
Andrea Gasbarroni Andrea Gasbarroni (born 6 August 1981) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Juventus An Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder who can also play occasionally ...
shot that instead bounced off his arm and into goal, resulting in a 1–1 draw with
Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
on 28 January that put Milan nine points behind Juventus in the title race. In February 2006, Brazil national team coach
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 ...
, who had previously coached Dida at Corinthians, publicly declared that Dida risked jeopardizing his starting position for the upcoming
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 ...
if his form did not improve. Milan were eliminated by Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League semi-final on a 1–0 aggregate, but Dida was praised for saves against
Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation from 11 December 2021. In his prime, Eto'o was regarded by pundits as one of ...
,
Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. Wide ...
and
Henrik Larsson Edward Henrik Larsson (born 20 September 1971) is a Swedish professional football coach and former player, formerly an assistant manager of Barcelona. Playing as a striker, Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. In 1992, he moved to Hels ...
over both legs. However, his Champions League clean-sheet record of seven from the previous season was surpassed by
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
's
Jens Lehmann Jens Gerhard Lehmann (; born 10 November 1969) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was a member of Arsenal's " Invincibles", playing every match of their unbeaten title-winning season. He holds the UEFA Ch ...
, who finished the year with ten straight.


2006–2007: Return to Champions League victory

As punishment for their involvement in the ''
Calciopoli ''Calciopoli'' () was a sports scandal in Italy's top professional association football league Serie A and to a lesser extent Serie B. Involving various clubs and numerous executives, both from the same clubs and from the main Italian football b ...
'' scandal, Milan began the 2006–07 Serie A season with an eight-point deficit in the standings, and finished fourth behind Internazionale, Roma and Lazio. Following a strike by Lazio's
Stephen Makinwa Stephen Ayodele Makinwa (born 26 July 1983) is a retired Nigerian footballer who played as a striker. Makinwa also played for the Nigerian national team. His name, Ayodele, means "''Joy has come home''". Club career Early career Makinwa was ...
in Milan's 2–1 season opener on 10 September 2006, Dida did not allow a league goal for the next 446 minutes. He played his 200th match for Milan in a 1–0 win over
Ascoli Ascoli may refer to: Places in Italy *Ascoli Satriano, a town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region *Province of Ascoli Piceno, a province of the Marche region ** Ascoli Piceno, a city which is the seat of the province above ...
on 20 September. However, 2006–07 was also the first injury-plagued season of his career, beginning with knee ligament damage suffered in Milan's 1–0 loss to
AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...
on 21 November 2006 that sidelined him for the rest of the year. Reserve keeper
Zeljko Kalac Zeljko Kalac (born 16 December 1972) is an Australian former soccer goalkeeper, who is currently the manager of NK Urania Baška Voda, who play in the Croatian third division. Nicknamed "Spider" due to his tall, gangly figure, standing at 2.02& ...
deputized until Dida returned on 21 January 2007 in a goalless draw with Lazio. He missed 13 total Serie A matches due to recurring knee and shoulder problems, after having missed ten games in the last three seasons combined. Milan additionally had to qualify for the 2006–07 Champions League, accomplished by defeating
Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...
on aggregate, and the ''Rossoneri'' then proceeded to top their group as Dida kept four clean sheets and conceded only twice in that six-match span. In the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich, he was criticized for conceding a stoppage-time equalizer from
Daniel Van Buyten Daniel Van Buyten (; born 7 February 1978) is a Belgian former footballer who played as a centre back. Nicknamed "Big Dan", Van Buyten was known for his uncompromising style of play, exploiting both his physical strength and aerial ability. Begi ...
in the first leg on 3 April that relegated Milan to a 2–2 home draw. Dida then kept a clean sheet in the second leg as Milan shut out Bayern 2–0 and advanced to the semi-finals against
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, but he again received criticism for errors resulting in goals (from
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 ...
and
Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while ...
) in a 3–2 defeat. After the loss, a Milan fan mockingly put Dida up for sale on auction site
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
before the site removed the listing. Dida kept another second-leg clean sheet in Milan's decisive 3–0 home win on 3 May, in addition to becoming the first goalkeeper to register an
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 ...
in the Champions League, as the ''Rossoneri'' advanced to the 2007 final for a rematch against Liverpool. Dida saved from
Jermaine Pennant Jermaine Lloyd Pennant (born 15 January 1983) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder#Winger, winger. Pennant made over 350 league appearances for 15 clubs, and scored 25 league goals. Born ...
,
Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, Ge ...
and
Peter Crouch Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped 42 times by the England national team between 2005 and 2010, scoring 22 goals for his country during that time, and ...
as Milan won 2–1 and he raised his second Champions League trophy, and the ''Rossoneri's'' seventh overall, in five seasons.


2007–08: Injury problems, Celtic fan incident, and benching

Dida won his second career
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
after Milan defeated
Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...
on 31 August 2007, and his second
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
with Milan's 4–2 win over
Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
on 16 December. He had additionally set a record with his sixth match played in the competition, a mark that was broken after several
Al Ahly AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...
players collectively earned their seventh caps the next year. However, Dida endured his worst season with the club, as ongoing poor form and injuries spelled the end of his tenure as Milan's number one after six seasons, as the ''Rossoneri'' finished fifth in Serie A and consequently missed out on Champions League qualification for the following season. On 3 October 2007, during Milan's Champions League group stage match against
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 ...
in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Celtic striker
Scott McDonald Scott Douglas McDonald (born 21 August 1983) is an Australian former professional footballer and is the current head coach for National Premier Leagues club Gold Coast Knights. Originally a striker, McDonald could also play as an attacking mid ...
scored the match-winner in the 90th minute to seal a 2–1 victory. As the Celtic players celebrated, 27-year-old Celtic fan Robert McHendry entered the pitch and tapped Dida on the shoulder while running through Milan's penalty area. Dida initially gave chase but after a few steps collapsed to the ground while holding the side of his face, and he was stretchered off and substituted. McHendry later turned himself in to police and was given a lifetime ban from
Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...
, but UEFA charged Dida with breaching rules upholding "loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship", as it was deemed that he had feigned injury. He was punished with a two-match suspension, while Celtic were fined £25,000 for the pitch invasion. Milan appealed the ruling, feeling the sentence "turn dDida into the protagonist of the incident". Dida never spoke publicly about the incident, but in Milan's first home game following the Celtic match — a 1–0 loss to
Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...
on 21 October — he offered a gesture of apology to the fans in attendance by pausing during warmups to bow to each section of the crowd, receiving a round of applause in response. His ban was reduced to one match, causing him to miss Milan's 4–1 first-leg victory over
Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...
on 24 October, but he returned for the 3–0 second leg victory on 6 November. The death knell of Dida's campaign came in Milan's 2–1
derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
loss to Inter on 23 December, when he inexplicably dived in the opposite direction of Esteban Cambiasso's game-winning goal, for which he was lambasted by fans and the press. He started Milan's 5–2 win over
Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
on 13 January 2008, but a knee injury the following week saw him replaced by backup
Zeljko Kalac Zeljko Kalac (born 16 December 1972) is an Australian former soccer goalkeeper, who is currently the manager of NK Urania Baška Voda, who play in the Croatian third division. Nicknamed "Spider" due to his tall, gangly figure, standing at 2.02& ...
, whose own strong form kept him first choice for the remainder of the season, including the Champions League until Milan were eliminated in the knockout round by
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
.


2008–2010: Revival, rivalry, and closure

Dida was among a clog of goalkeepers on the Milan roster at the start of the 2008–09 season that included Kalac,
Christian Abbiati Christian Abbiati (born 8 July 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Abbiati, who had been with AC Milan since 1998, started his career with Monza, and later played more than 300 official matches for Mil ...
, and 2007 signing
Marco Storari Marco Storari (born 7 January 1977) is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. After a lengthy spell in Italy's lower leagues, he arrived in Serie A aged 27. Steady performances for Messina prompted his signing by A.C. Milan ...
. He was ultimately named second choice behind Abbiati, with Kalac demoted to third choice after conceding five goals in Milan's
Russian Railways Cup Russian Railways Cup (russian: Кубок РЖД) was an annual pre-season football tournament, held in Moscow and hosted by FC Lokomotiv Moscow. The first edition of the tournament took place in 2007. Dutch club PSV Eindhoven won the title afte ...
loss to
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
on 3 August, and Storari being loaned to
Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
. Dida was designated to Milan'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 ...
campaign, in which he kept only one clean sheet in six matches as the ''Rossoneri'' were eliminated by eventual finalists
Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...
. On 15 March 2009, Dida played his first Serie A match in over a year after Abbiati suffered a season-ending knee injury during Milan's 5–1 win at
Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
. He finished the season as starter, keeping six clean sheets in a career-low ten league appearances as Milan placed third behind Inter and Juventus and returned to the Champions League. In 2009–10, with Carlo Ancelotti replaced by
Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...
as head coach after nine seasons, Milan finished third behind Internazionale and Juventus in
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
for the second straight year, and were eliminated by Manchester United on a 7–2 aggregate in the Champions League round of 16. Dida was unable to compete for the starting spot after missing the preseason with injury, and served as Storari's backup until making his season debut as an injury substitute for the third time in his Milan career, in a 2–1 defeat of Roma on 18 October 2009. On 21 October, in his first Champions League appearance of the season against
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
during the group stage, Dida caught an
Esteban Granero Esteban Félix Granero Molina (; born 2 July 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer. Known as ''El Pirata'' ("The Pirate"), he could play as a central or an attacking midfielder. He emerged through Real Madrid's youth academy, but ma ...
header in the 18th minute and hurried to move the ball upfield without having complete control of it, causing him to bounce it off his knee and
Raúl Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...
to slot the loose ball into an empty net. His mistake did not prove costly as Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas erred on two goals that enabled Milan to gain their first victory (3–2) at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...
. Dida retained the starting spot on the back of strong league performances despite Storari returning to fitness, such as a stoppage-time save from
Pablo Granoche Pablo Mariano Granoche Louro (born 5 September 1983) is a Uruguayan football coach and former player, in the role of striker, currently in charge as assistant coach of FC Clivense in the Eccellenza amateur league. During his playing career, he ...
in a 25 October 2–1 win over Chievo, and double and triple saves performed minutes apart in a 2–2 draw at Napoli on 28 October. Dida kept four clean sheets and conceded an average of one goal per game as Milan enjoyed an eight-match unbeaten league run in that stretch that ended in a 2–0 loss to
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
on 13 December. With Dida retaining the number-one jersey into 2010 and Abbiati returning from injury, Storari was loaned to Sampdoria on 15 January. However, after Abbiati returned for his first match in ten months on 31 January, a 1–1 draw with Livorno that Dida missed due to a back injury, both keepers were subsequently juggled in and out of the starting lineup due to Leonardo's difficulty in establishing a definite number one, until Abbiati's heroics in Milan's 2–0 win over
Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
on 21 February relegated Dida to the bench. After Abbiati was sidelined with
tendinitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elbo ...
on 28 March, Dida started for the rest of the season, finishing with his most Serie A appearances (23) in four years. On 1 May, he played his 300th match in all competitions for Milan in a 1–0 win over Fiorentina, and was substituted for Abbiati in the 88th minute of the ''Rossoneri's'' 3–0 season-finale defeat of Juventus on 15 May, receiving a standing ovation as he departed. His final game for Milan was a postseason friendly against
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
(MLS) team Chicago Fire. Dida's contract expired on 30 June 2010, ending his decade-long tenure with the club. He made 302 total appearances in goal for Milan, the third-highest number behind Christian Abbiati (380), and Sebastiano Rossi (330). He finished with the currently sixth-highest number of Champions League clean sheets (35) and the second-highest percentage of clean sheets in games played (49%, behind Edwin Van der Sar's 52%), in addition to the fourth-highest unbeaten mark (623 minutes) in Champions League history. Dida continued to participate in team-related events after his departure. He joined ''Milan Glorie'' (a selection of team
alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
) for charity friendlies against other veterans from clubs such as
HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. The club competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history ...
and Vélez Sársfield, in which he was often deployed in attack instead of goal. In May 2012, he represented
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
in the 2012 ''Mundialito de Clubes''
beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand. Whilst football has been played informally on beaches, the introduction of ''beach soccer'' was an a ...
tournament, in which the ''Rossoneri'' were eliminated in the group stage after going winless in three games.


Return to Brazil


Portuguesa (2012)

After two years of being unable to secure a contract and continue playing in Europe, Dida returned to Brazil to resume his career. On 24 May 2012, Portuguesa signed him for the remainder of the
Brasileiro ''Brasileiro'' is a 1992 album by Sérgio Mendes and other artists including Carlinhos Brown which won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. Track listing # "Fanfarra" (Carlinhos Brown)– 4:03 # "Magalenha" (Carlinhos Brown)– 3:3 ...
season as a replacement for departing goalkeeper Weverton. He made his debut on 26 June in a 1–0 win over São Paulo, and on 1 July, helped in holding Santos to a goalless draw in a match that was billed as a duel of generations between Dida and Santos' young star
Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Sain ...
, who was 18 years his junior. Dida made 32 starts and conceded 31 goals as Portuguesa avoided relegation from the Campeonato Brasileiro top flight, but he departed after the season when his contract expired.


Grêmio (2013)

On 19 December 2012, Dida joined
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
-based Grêmio on a deal for an undisclosed duration that was finalized after he accepted a reduction of his original wage request. He was signed at the behest of 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. ...
, who sought an experienced backup to incumbent Marcelo Grohe. By January 2013, Dida had surpassed the 26-year-old Grohe as first choice, allowing 34 goals in 37 league starts as Grêmio finished runner-up to Cruzeiro, while advancing to the semi-final of the
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 ...
by eliminating Corinthians in a penalty shootout that saw Dida stop three spot kicks, notably former Milan teammate
Alexandre Pato Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva (; born 2 September 1989), commonly known as Alexandre Pato () or just Pato, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker. Pato began his career as a youth player for Internacional in 2000, maki ...
's botched panenka attempt. Grêmio were unable to advance past the round of 16 in the
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 ...
after losing on away goals to
Independiente Santa Fe Club Independiente Santa Fe, known simply as Santa Fe, is a Colombian professional football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Santa Fe is one of the th ...
, which led to Luxemburgo's firing on 30 June.


Internacional (2013–2015)

After Grêmio turned down his extension request at the end of the season, Dida signed a two-year deal with archrival
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 ...
on 26 December 2013. He downplayed the rivalry between the clubs, citing that he had wanted to remain in Porto Alegre for family reasons. Due to injury, Dida did not make his debut until 23 February 2014 in a 1–0 loss to
Veranópolis Veranópolis is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As of 2020, the estimated population was 26,533. Veranópolis, like most of its neighbouring towns, is known as one of the cities with highest standards of living in Brazi ...
, but was able to supplant brothers Alisson and Muriel for the starting spot, making 27 total first-team appearances as Internacional would finish third in Série A and win the 2014 Campeonato Gaúcho. Following a poor performance in a 2–0 loss to his former club Vitória on 10 September, Dida was benched in favor of Muriel for Internacional's 2–0 win over
Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...
four days later, but entered as an injury substitute in the second half. He made six consecutive starts while Muriel recovered from a thigh injury, but lost the job permanently after Internacional were blown out 5–0 by Chapecoense on 5 October, during which he was
sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...
for a late challenge. Alisson was established as the ''Colorado's'' number one thereafter, with Dida demoted to third choice. His final appearance was a 2–0 win over
Passo Fundo Passo Fundo is a municipality in the north of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is named after its river. It's the twelfth largest city in the state with an estimated population of 204,722 inhabitants living in a total municipa ...
on 5 April 2015 in the first round of the
2015 Campeonato Gaúcho The 2015 Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF (2015 FGF First Division Professional Football Championship), better known as the 2015 Campeonato Gaúcho or Gaúcho, was the 95th edition of the top flight football leagu ...
, during which he became the oldest player, at 41 years and six months, to ever take the pitch for Internacional. On 25 August, an online video of Dida performing a series of acrobatic practice saves during a team training session went viral. In 2016, he unsuccessfully sought a new club with whom to continue playing until the end of the calendar year, and retired thereafter.


Coaching career

After his contract with Internacional expired in 2015, Dida temporarily remained with the club in an internship role as he studied to earn his coaching badges, and took
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 ...
-required courses in December 2015 alongside former Brazil teammates Taffarel and Ricardinho. He served as an assistant and consultant to
China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...
club
Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
under the invitation of former Milan teammate and then-head coach
Clarence Seedorf Clarence Clyde Seedorf (; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is regarded by many to be one of the best midfielders of his generation. Seedorf is considered one of the most successful players in UE ...
from October to November 2016. In August 2018, Dida joined the technical staff of
Egyptian Premier League The Egyptian Premier League ( ar, الدوري المصري الممتاز), also known as WE Egyptian Premier League (WE EPL) after the addition of title sponsor WE, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the top level of th ...
side
Pyramids FC Pyramids Football Club ( ar, نادي بيراميدز لكرة القدم or ) is an Egyptian professional football club based in Cairo that competes in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest league in the Egyptian football league system. ...
to provide additional goalkeeper training, and returned to Milan a year later as goalkeeping coach of the team's youth sector. He was promoted in August 2020 to goalkeeping coach of the senior squad for the 2020–21 season.


International career


1993–1996: Youth career, first cap, and Olympics disappointment

Dida is the first major Brazilian goalkeeper to be known by a nickname, as opposed to the tradition of going by either his first or last name. He first represented the ''Seleção'' at the under-20 level as first choice at the
1993 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the 1993 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 9th edition FIFA World Youth Championship. U20 Brazil defeated Ghana, 2–1 for its third title. It took place ac ...
, keeping four clean sheets in six matches and conceding only two goals as Brazil were victorious. After Taffarel was suspended for the first two games of the
1995 Copa América The 1995 Copa América football tournament was staged in Uruguay. It was won by Uruguay, who beat Brazil 5–3 in the penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw in the final. All 10 CONMEBOL members took part, with Mexico and the United States invited i ...
due to a uniform violation, Dida earned his first
cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
for the senior side at age 21 in a 1–0 defeat of
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
, and started in Brazil's 2–0 win over
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
. He was called up by coach
Mário Zagallo Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo (; born 9 August 1931) is a Brazilian former professional football player, coordinator and manager, who played as a forward. Zagallo holds the record for World Cup titles in general with four titles in total. He was ...
as the backup to Danrlei for the
1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the third edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). The tournament returned to the United States and California; the games were hosted by Los ...
, in which Brazil sent their under-23 squad, and he never left the bench as the ''Seleção'' finished runners-up to
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. Dida was named the starter for the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
, but Brazil endured a disappointing campaign and finished with a bronze medal, while he gained notoriety for colliding with teammate
Aldair Aldair Nascimento dos Santos (; born 30 November 1965), known simply as Aldair, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a defender, and who was part of the Brazil national team that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Considered as one of ...
in a 1–0 loss to
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
as they chased a long ball into the penalty area, giving Japan the empty-net goal.


1997–2001: First World Cup, and Copa América success

Dida was excluded from Brazil's 1997 Copa América roster, but returned to the starting lineup for the inaugural
FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
that year, keeping five clean sheets and allowing just two total goals as the ''Seleção'' lifted the trophy with a 6–0 rout of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in the final. Though he was called up for the 1998 World Cup, Zagallo lured Taffarel out of a three-year retirement to be his first choice, and Dida was third behind backup
Carlos Germano Carlos Germano Schwambach Neto (born 14 August 1970), better known as Carlos Germano, is a former Brazilian footballer who played goalkeeper. He was a member of the Brazilian squads that won the 1997 Copa América and that reached the final ...
as Brazil finished runners-up to the hosts. He would not play for the national team in all of 1998, which factored into his decision to leave club team Cruzeiro for Milan at the start of the next year. In 1999, under new coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Dida won his lone
Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...
with Brazil after a 3–0 defeat of
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
in the final. He conceded only two total goals in the competition, and blocked a game-tying
Roberto Ayala Roberto Fabián Ayala (; born 14 April 1973), nicknamed ''El Ratón'' ("The Mouse"), is an Argentine former footballer who played as a centre back for the Argentina national football team, as well as Valencia and Real Zaragoza in Spain, Milan a ...
penalty in a 2–1 victory over archrival
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in the quarter-finals. He made his second straight
Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
start that year as Brazil allowed no goals in the group stage and thrashed hosts
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
8–2 in the semi-finals, but were again thwarted by champions Mexico, losing 4–3 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 ...
. Dida made his third consecutive Confederations Cup start in
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
, keeping clean sheets in every group stage match for the second consecutive time as Brazil finished second behind Japan with one win and two draws, but lost to eventual winners France 2–1 in the semi-finals and then 1–0 to Australia in the third-place match.


2002–2005: World Cup triumph and Confederations Cup record

With his success at Corinthians gaining the attention of coach
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 notab ...
, Dida was called up for the
2002 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 ...
as the backup to
Marcos Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portug ...
, whom Scolari had previously coached at Palmeiras, and he and third choice
Rogério Ceni Rogério Mücke Ceni (; born 22 January 1973) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who is in charge of São Paulo FC. He is considered one of the all-time greatest Brazilian goalkeepers and is recognised by the Inter ...
never left the bench as the ''Seleção'' won its fifth title. On the afternoon of
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 ...
, Dida was requested by
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 ...
to keep him company in attempt to avoid a repeat of the events prior to the 1998 final, when Ronaldo had suffered a convulsive fit in his sleep that factored into his poor performance in Brazil's 3–0 loss to
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. They spent the time talking and playing golf before departing for International Stadium in
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
. Ronaldo scored both goals in Brazil's 2–0 defeat of
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 ...
and won the tournament's Golden Shoe award. Dida started his fourth
Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
in 2003, where Brazil suffered its worst-ever finish with elimination in the group stage. He returned for his fifth and last Confederations Cup start in
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 ...
, and in Brazil's 1–0 group stage loss to Mexico, he saved a penalty from
Jared Borgetti Jared Francisco Borgetti Echavarría (; born 14 August 1973) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer who currently works as a commentator for ESPN Deportes and ESPN Latin America, ESPN Mexico. As a player, Borgetti wa ...
that had to be retaken twice due to repeated player encroachment into the penalty area, after Borgetti scored on the first attempt but hit the crossbar on the second. Dida was rested by coach Carlos Alberto Parreira for a 2–2 draw with Japan on 22 June as Marcos earned his final cap for Brazil. In a 3–2 semi-final victory over hosts Germany, he faced his second penalty of the competition, which
Michael Ballack Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of the German national team. Ballack wore the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for, except 1. FC ...
converted despite Dida guessing the right direction. He became the first two-time Confederations Cup winner after the ''Seleção's'' decisive 4–1 victory over Argentina in the final, earning him the last trophy of his international career.


2006 World Cup and international retirement

After 86 caps earned and two World Cups as an unplayed reserve, Dida started the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, making him the second-oldest World Cup goalkeeper for Brazil, at 32 years and eight months, behind
Gilmar Gylmar dos Santos Neves (; 22 August 1930 – 25 August 2013), known simply as Gilmar, was a Brazilian footballer who played goalkeeper for Corinthians and Santos and was a member of the Brazil national team in three World Cups. He was elect ...
(35 years in 1966). He was part of Brazil's unheralded defensive unit, with
Lúcio Lucimar Ferreira da Silva (born 8 May 1978), commonly known as Lúcio, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. A tall and physically strong defender who excelled in the air, Lúcio was known for his long, sur ...
and
Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
, that conceded only one goal in wins over
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
, Australia and Japan in the group stage. In a 3-0 round-of-sixteen victory over
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, Dida performed a point-blank save from
John Mensah John Mensah (born 29 November 1982) is a former Ghanaian professional footballer who last played as a defender for AFC United in the Swedish second-tier . Born in Obuasi, Ashanti, Mensah is a product of the scouting system in Ghana that ide ...
with his leg, and was 1970 World Cup winner
Tostão Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade (born 25 January 1947), generally known as Tostão, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward or attacking midfielder. Tostão was an intelligent, hardworking and prolific left-footed f ...
's personal choice for man of the match. However, Brazil struggled offensively throughout and were eliminated after a 1–0 loss to France in the quarter-finals, with Dida and the defense among the few players avoiding media criticism for the team's disappointing performance. He became the first keeper to wear the captain's armband for Brazil, since Émerson Leão in
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
, when
Cafu Marcos Evangelista de Morais (born 7 June 1970), known as Cafu (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Known for his pace and energetic attacking runs along the right flank, he is regarded as one of the gr ...
was rested in the 4–1 win over Japan on 22 June. Dida did not play for Brazil again following the July 2006 hiring of new coach
Dunga Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born 31 October 1963), known as Dunga (), is a Brazilian football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. Under his captaincy, Brazil won the 1994 FIFA World Cup and he lifte ...
, and retired from the national team on 1 October. He finished with 91 total caps, third all-time among Brazilian keepers behind Taffarel (101) and Gilmar (94), and allowed 70 goals. Dida is the most successful player in the history of the Confederations Cup, ranking first in appearances (22) and total clean sheets (12), while being the only player to have participated in five editions of the competition. He faced a total of eight penalties in his international career, saving six of them.


Style of play and reception

While Dida is regarded by several pundits as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, and one of the Brazilian national team's greatest keepers, he received a divided response to his playing style, particularly during his time with Milan, where he was noted for excelling as a Brazilian goalkeeper in a country (Italy) renowned for producing quality keepers. He trained extensively with then-''Rossoneri'' goalkeeping coach
Villiam Vecchi Villiam Vecchi (28 December 1948 – 3 August 2022) was an Italian footballer who played as a goalkeeper and later worked as a goalkeeping coach. Club career Born in Scandiano, Reggio Emilia, Vecchi played with AC Milan from 1967 to 1974, and j ...
, who had previously tutored
Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
at Parma. Vecchi described Dida as "more reflective" in his gameplay, whereas Buffon acted mainly on instinct. In his prime, Dida was recognized for his shot-stopping ability and command of the area, and for possessing athleticism and reflexes that belied his imposing size, which enabled him to perform acrobatic "miracle" saves without resorting to histrionics, while former coaches have praised him for keeping his emotions in check after conceding a goal. Dida's best-known attribute is his expertise in saving penalties, which is acknowledged mainly in Brazil due to his accomplishments with Cruzeiro and Corinthians. He is additionally recognized for his reserved disposition both on and off the pitch and his reluctance in granting interviews, as well as his physical conditioning and work ethic. Dida, however, also faced criticism for lapses in concentration that sometimes resulted in mistakes or goals, with the Leeds goal from 2000 remaining his most prominent example. He has been scrutinized for suspect footwork, hesitance in coming off his goalline, and fielding
crosses Crosses may refer to: * Cross, the symbol Geography * Crosses, Cher, a French municipality * Crosses, Arkansas, a small community located in the Ozarks of north west Arkansas Language * Crosses, a truce term used in East Anglia and Lincolnshire ...
. He was considered one of the world's best goalkeepers at the height of his success with Milan from 2003 to 2005, including a perceived rivalry with Buffon as the best overall in world football, but the April 2005 Internazionale flare incident is cited as the catalyst behind the end of his high run of form. In 2006, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' labeled Dida "Brazil's answer to David James", who himself had gained infamy for goalkeeping errors while playing for
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in the 1990s. He additionally came under fire from former Milan goalkeepers for his drops in performance;
Fabio Cudicini Fabio Cudicini (; born 20 October 1935) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper from 1955 to 1972. Standing at , he was one of the tallest goalkeepers of his time. Despite never playing for the Italy national foot ...
opined in 2007 that Dida's mistakes were due to psychological factors, while
Enrico Albertosi Enrico "Ricky" Albertosi (; born 2 November 1939) is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Regarded as one of Italy's greatest ever goalkeepers, he had a successful club career, winning titles with Fiorentina, Cagliari, and Mi ...
was more blunt, saying in 2009 that Dida was "never a guarantee" in goal, "even when he was at his best".


Nicknames

Dida earned many nicknames in his club career, first at Cruzeiro with ''A muralha azul'' ("Blue Wall"), followed by ''São Dida'' ("Saint Dida") and ''O rei dos pênaltis'' ("King of Penalties") at Corinthians. Milan Channel announcer Carlo Pellegatti nicknamed him ''Baghera la pantera'' (a reference to
Bagheera Bagheera ( hi, बघीरा / ''Baghīrā'') is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in ''The Jungle Book'' (coll. 1894) and ''The Second Jungle Book'' (coll. 1895). He is a black panther ( melanistic Indian leopard) who ...
from ''
The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...
'') for his acrobatic saves. Dida was called ''L’Ammiraglio'' ("The Admiral") by Milan supporters as a play on his first name in reference to
Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...
, but conversely labeled ''Didastro'' — a play on ''disastro'', Italian for "disaster" — after poor performances. ''
Placar ''Placar'' ( en, Score) is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued by Editora Abril. on March 20, 1970, and since then it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses fully on foot ...
'' labeled him ''a geladeira'' ("refrigerator") and ''homem de gelo'' ("the iceman") for his emotionless in-match personality.Santos, Beto (February 2013). ''O homem de gelo'' ("The Iceman"). ''Placar'' #1375, p. 43-48.


Influence

Dida is the first notable Afro-Brazilian goalkeeper to play for club and country since
Moacyr Barbosa Moacir Barbosa do Nascimento (27 March 1921 – 7 April 2000) was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His career spanned 22 years. He was regarded as one of the world's best goalkeepers in the 1940s and 1950s, and w ...
, who had starred for
Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...
and earned seventeen caps for Brazil, but bore the blame for Uruguay's winning goal in the 1950 World Cup final, which resulted thereafter in discrimination against black goalkeepers in Brazilian football. Dida was hailed by Brazilian media outlets for breaking this barrier after making his 1995 national team debut, starting in the 1999 Copa América, and particularly in 2006, when he became the first black keeper in 56 years to start in a World Cup for Brazil. On 27 May 2006, during a press conference in Weggis, Switzerland, where the ''Seleção'' were holding public training sessions, Dida called for his countrymen to forgive Barbosa, and to instead remember his positive contributions to Brazilian football. On 11 June, two days before the ''Seleção's'' opening match against Croatia, ''
Folha de S.Paulo ''Folha de S.Paulo'' (sometimes spelled ''Folha de São Paulo''), also known as simply ''Folha'' (, ''Sheet''), is a Brazilian daily newspaper founded in 1921 under the name ''Folha da Noite'' and published in São Paulo by the Folha da Manhã c ...
'' commented, "Black,
Northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
, and in his thirties, Dida will break barriers for a Brazilian goalkeeper." Though such accolades continued for Dida after the tournament and his international retirement, he and Barbosa remain the only Afro-Brazilian keepers to start a World Cup finals match. On the club level, Dida's success with Milan is cited as a factor in the increased presence of black goalkeepers on Brazilian teams,Guilherme, Paulo. ''Goleiros: Heróis e Anti-Heróis da Camisa 1'' (Kindle edition). Alameda (2006), . and, along with Taffarel, influential in the increase of Brazilian keepers in Europe. ''
Zero Hora ''Zero Hora'' is a Brazilian newspaper based in the city of Porto Alegre, the sixth biggest of the country. It is edited by Grupo RBS. Inquiry on Grupo RBS oligopoly / monopoly practicing The RBS Group is being investigated by the practice of ol ...
'' wrote that Dida had become the first black keeper since 1971 to play for Internacional upon his signing with the club in January 2014. Some goalkeepers have adopted his playing name as an homage, or due to perceived physical resemblances.


Legal issues

During the 2000–01 Serie A season, Dida was among multiple players, including
Juan Sebastián Verón Juan Sebastián Verón (; born 9 March 1975) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current chairman of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he had served as Director of Sports. A former midfielder, Verón's career started in Estudiantes, c ...
,
Álvaro Recoba Álvaro Alexánder Recoba Rivero (; born 17 March 1976; nickname "El Chino"
, and then-future Milan teammate
Cafu Marcos Evangelista de Morais (born 7 June 1970), known as Cafu (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Known for his pace and energetic attacking runs along the right flank, he is regarded as one of the gr ...
, who were implicated in a league scandal involving fraudulent European
passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
s. Dida had joined Milan with a
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
passport in order to gain EU status, as Milan had already met their limit on non-EU players at the time with Andriy Shevchenko, Serginho, and Croatian midfielder
Zvonimir Boban Zvonimir "Zvone" Boban (; born 8 October 1968) is a Croatian former footballer who currently works at UEFA as the Chief of Football. Boban played as a midfielder and was usually deployed as an attacking midfielder. He played most of his professi ...
. However, following a routine check that revealed the document was illegal, Milan promptly re-registered him as a non-EU player. In June 2001, the
Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...
fined the club £314,000 and banned Dida from the league for one year, while
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 ...
imposed a yearlong ban from international play. Milan loaned him back to Corinthians for the 2001–02 season in accordance with the league suspension. On 3 April 2003, following a court appearance in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Dida was handed a seven-month suspended prison sentence.


Media

In 1996, after the Summer Olympics, Dida and Brazil coach
Mário Zagallo Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo (; born 9 August 1931) is a Brazilian former professional football player, coordinator and manager, who played as a forward. Zagallo holds the record for World Cup titles in general with four titles in total. He was ...
filmed a
Volkswagen Gol The Volkswagen Gol is a subcompact car that has been manufactured by Volkswagen do Brasil since 1980 as Volkswagen's entry-level car in the Latin American market—where it succeeded the Volkswagen Type 1 (Fusca) and the VW Brasilia. Sev ...
television commercial in which Zagallo implores ''"sai do Gol"'' ("out of the Gol", a pun on "out of the goal"), while Dida, who is seated inside the vehicle, has no dialogue. Italian jewelry manufacturer FIBO Steel featured Dida and Buffon in a 2005 advertising campaign for their "FA1RPLAY" metal jewelry collection, and he modeled several items in their online catalog. A longtime wearer of goalkeeping gloves from German sportswear manufacturer Reusch, Dida appeared on the cover of their summer 2006 catalog. He has otherwise featured in few endorsement opportunities in his career; he explained to ''Placar'' in 2001 that he was uninterested in
commercializing Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exchan ...
his image. He does not participate in
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
. Dida joined Milan teammates
Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...
, Andriy Shevchenko,
Gennaro Gattuso Gennaro Ivan Gattuso (; born 9 January 1978) is an Italian professional football coach and former player, who currently serves as manager of La Liga club Valencia. He was born in Corigliano (Calabria). As a player, he mainly played in the cent ...
,
Massimo Ambrosini Massimo Ambrosini (; born 29 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a defensive midfielder. At club level, he is mostly known for his successful time at Italian team AC Milan, where he spent eighteen years of ...
, and
Alessandro Costacurta Alessandro Costacurta (born 24 April 1966) is an Italian football pundit, manager and a former professional defender, who usually played as a centre back. Throughout his club career, Costacurta spent over twenty years with AC Milan between 19 ...
in filming a brief appearance in the 2006 Italian comedy '' Eccezzziunale veramente: Capitolo secondo...me'', in which the main character (
Diego Abatantuono Diego Abatantuono (born 20 May 1955) is an Italian cinema and theatre actor, and screenwriter, three-time winner of the Nastro d'Argento. Biography and career Abatantuono was born in Milan to a father of Apulian origin and a mother from Como. T ...
) selects the Milan side in a dream sequence and wants Dida to play in attack due to his being Brazilian, with Shevchenko in goal instead. In a scene from another Italian film released that year, '' Il caimano'', the title character (played by
Silvio Orlando Silvio Orlando (born 30 June 1957) is an Italian actor. Orlando was born and raised in Naples, where he started acting in theatre in 1976. He made his film debut in 1988 with a supporting role in the comedy '' Kamikazen: Last Night in Milan'' ...
) is asked by his son whether Dida or Buffon is the better goalkeeper.


Outside football

On 18 December 2013, Dida gained Italian citizenship. That same year, a
gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...
nasium in his home municipality of Lagoa da Canoa was named in his honor, and in April 2014, he met with mayor Álvaro Melo to discuss youth participation in sports. On 11 September 2015, Dida was named an honorary citizen of
Alagoas Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. It ...
. Former
left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
Serginho, who played with Dida at Milan from 2000 to 2008, currently serves as his agent and manager. In 2014, Dida and then-Internacional teammates
Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
and
Andrés D'Alessandro Andrés Nicolás D'Alessandro (born 15 April 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He has played top-flight football in Argentina, Germany, England, Spain, Brazil and Uruguay. He won an Olym ...
filmed
public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...
s for the
Pan American Health Organization The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for ...
, which stressed the importance of
vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
s in order to prevent the spread of disease.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours


Club

;Cruzeiro * Copa Oro: 1995 *
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 ...
: 1996 *
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 ...
: 1997 ;Corinthians * Campeonato Brasileiro: 1999 *
FIFA Club World Championship The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
: 2000 * Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 2002 *
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 ...
: 2002 ;AC Milan *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 2003–04 *
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 2002–03 * Supercoppa Italiana:
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
*
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 ...
: 2002–03, 2006–07 *
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
:
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
,
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 ...
*
FIFA Club World Championship The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
:
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 ...
;Internacional *
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 ...
:
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 ...
,
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 ...


International

;Brazil Youth *
South American Youth Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American ...
: 1992 *
FIFA World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...
: 1993 *
CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament The CONMEBOL Preolímpico ( en, Pre-Olympic Tournament) is an international association football event in the South America region organized by CONMEBOL. It is the qualification tournament for the football tournament at the Olympic Games. In 1960, ...
: 1996 ;Brazil Senior Team *
Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...
: 1999 *
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 *
FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
: 1997, 2005


Individual

*''
Placar ''Placar'' ( en, Score) is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued by Editora Abril. on March 20, 1970, and since then it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses fully on foot ...
'' Bola de Prata: 1993 (Vitória), 1996, 1998 (Cruzeiro), 1999 (Corinthians) * IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper silver ball: 2005 * IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper bronze ball: 2004 * FIFPro World XI: 2005 * FIFPro Goalkeeper of the Year: 2005 * IFFHS Best Brazilian Goalkeeper of the 21st Century *AC Milan Hall of Fame


See also

*
List of athletes who came out of retirement In most cases, when a professional athlete announces retirement, he or she retires and then never returns to playing professional sports; however, in rare instances there are some athletes who came out of retirement. The following list shows su ...


Notes


References


External links

* * * *
''Bom Senso FC'' official website
(Archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dida 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Bahia Brazilian footballers Association football goalkeepers Esporte Clube Vitória players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players FC Lugano players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players A.C. Milan players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Sport Club Internacional players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Serie A players UEFA Champions League winning players Brazil youth international footballers Brazil under-20 international footballers Olympic footballers of Brazil Brazil international footballers 1995 Copa América players 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 1999 Copa América players 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2001 Copa América players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Copa América-winning players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players FIFA World Cup-winning players Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Italy A.C. Milan non-playing staff