Diego de Souza Andrade (born 17 June 1985) is a Brazilian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

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

for

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

, Grêmio,

Sport Recife Sport Club do Recife (), commonly known as Sport Recife or simply Sport, is a Brazilian sports club, located in Recife, Pernambuco. Founded in 1905, the club currently competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top tier of football i ...

, and many other clubs. In a

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

career, he played for ten clubs 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" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

, including nine of the Big Twelve, having begun at

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...

in 2003. He also played for

, where he was Série A top scorer in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. Souza also had brief spells in Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. He earned seven

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

for

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

from his debut in 2009, scoring twice.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Souza began playing club football for

in the

. In May 2005, he signed a five-year deal with Portugal's Benfica. That July he was loaned to Fluminense's

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

– the club he supported as a child – until May 2006, with his wages to be split between Benfica and Flamengo. Souza was loaned for the year 2007 to Grêmio. In May that year, Benfica set a fee of €4 million ( R$11 million) if the move were to be made permanent. In that year's Copa Libertadores, he scored in wins over compatriots

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

(quarter-final) and Santos (semi-final) as his team finished runners-up.

Palmeiras

In 2008, he moved to

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

(and partner) for €3.75 million total fee. He signed a contract until December 2011. Co-currently, along with Lenny, Fluminense transferred its shares on both players' economic rights to

Desportivo Brasil Desportivo Brasil Participações Ltda., commonly referred to as Desportivo Brasil, is a Brazilian professional association football club based in Porto Feliz, São Paulo. The team competes in the Campeonato Paulista Série A3, the third tier of t ...

(owned by

Traffic Group Traffic Group is a sports event management company founded in Brazil, headquartered in São Paulo. History Traffic Group holds the television rights to a number of association football matches in the Americas including Copa América, Copa Lib ...

) as part of the deal, made Fluminense gained a profit of R$ 1,320 thousand and R$1,500 thousand respectively. Both players were signed by Palmeiras as part of R$40 million partnership with Traffic, which Palmeiras only owned 10~20% of the rights of Diego. On 18 April 2009, he received a red card after an argument with Domingos during the state semi finals match against Santos. He later took Domingos down after coming back to the field.

Atlético Mineiro

On 30 June 2010,

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

's president

Alexandre Kalil Alexandre Kalil (Belo Horizonte; March 25, 1959) is a Brazilian politician and sports administrator. He served as mayor of Belo Horizonte from 2017 to 2022. He served as president of Clube Atlético Mineiro, a football club based in Belo Horizo ...

announced the signing of Souza. After the transaction, the club from

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

owned 70% of his economic rights and Traffic the rest, with the team having paid reported R$6.6 million (€2.2 million).

Vasco da Gama

On 2 March 2011, Souza signed for

on a four-year deal. The Rio-based club paid €1.5 million to Atlético who retained 17% of his economic rights, €500,000 to sportswear firm

Penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

, and €1.2 million to Traffic. He reached double figures in the national league for the first time with 11 goals, including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

on 25 September in a 3–0 win at Cruzeiro. The team also won the

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () 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 it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

for which he added three more, including one in each leg of a 3–1 aggregate win over

Avaí Avaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 5,436 (2020 est.) in an area of 540 km2. Media In telecommunications, the city was served by Companhia Telefônica Brasileira until 1973, when it began to be serve ...

Al Ittihad and Cruzeiro

In July 2012, Souza moved back abroad to

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

of the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

. He began legal action against the club in October due to unpaid wages. Denied an

exit visa A visa (; also known as visa stamp) is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on the duration of the foreigner's stay, area ...

from the Middle Eastern kingdom, he sought help from the Brazilian embassy in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

in November. Cruzeiro signed Souza before the end of 2012, and the transfer was allowed to go through by the following February when FIFA denied an appeal by Al Ittihad. He scored four goals as they came runners-up to his former team Atlético in the

Campeonato Mineiro The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is run by the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: bef ...

, including two in a 4–0 (5–0 aggregate) home win over Villa Nova in the semi-finals on 28 April.

Metalist Kharkiv and Sport

In July 2013, Souza moved to

Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv, also known as Football Club Metalist Kharkov or FC Metalist Kharkov ( ), is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2023–24 season. It was rev ...

in Ukraine, for a fee of €4 million. In January 2014, he wanted to return to Brazil to escape the

2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine From the end of February 2014, in the aftermath of the Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity, which resulted in the ousting of Russian-leaning President of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, demonstrations by Russian-backed, ...

. A loan deal with

was set in September 2014. At the end of 2015, Souza signed a three-year deal to return to Fluminense after over a decade away. The following 22 March however, he returned to Sport on a deal until the end of 2017. He finished the

2016 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The 2016 was the 60th season of the Série A, the top level of professional football in Brazil, and the 13th edition in a double round-robin since its establishment in 2003. The season began on 15 May 2016 and ended on 11 December 2016. Fixtures ...

as one of three joint

top scorers Top most commonly refers to: * Top, a basic term of orientation, distinguished from bottom, front, back, and sides * Spinning top, a ubiquitous traditional toy * Top (clothing), clothing designed to be worn over the torso * Mountain top, a mount ...

with 14 goals in 34 games, equalling a club record from

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and becoming only the third Série A top scorer from a northeastern club – the first since

Bahia Bahia () 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 (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

's Charles Fabian in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Later career

On 7 January 2018, Souza signed for

on a two-year deal for a fee of R$10 million, with the club obtaining his full economic rights. Seventeen days later, he netted his first goal to open a 2–0 victory against

Mirassol Mirassol is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The city is located in the northern part of the state, 453 km from the city of São Paulo and 15 km from São José do Rio Preto. Mirassol has 60,303 inhabitants (IBGE/2020). ...

in the

2018 Campeonato Paulista The 2018 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1 was the 117th season of São Paulo's top professional football league. Format *In the first stage the sixteen teams are drawn, with seeding, into four groups o ...

. His only national campaign with the ''Tricolor'' yielded 12 goals, putting him third in the league's top scorers behind Santos'

Gabriel Barbosa Gabriel Barbosa Almeida (born 30 August 1996), commonly known as Gabigol or Gabi, is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Cruze ...

and Atlético Mineiro's

Ricardo Oliveira Ricardo José Dognella Lima de Oliveira (; born 6 May 1980) is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Oliveira represented São Paulo and Santos in two different spells, but also played in Spain, amassing La Lig ...

. After losing his place at São Paulo, Souza transferred on 8 March 2019 to

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 ...

. This was his 10th Série A club, his 9th of the Big Twelve, and made him the 17th player to represent all four Rio-based members of the latter. His first Série A goal for the club came on 2 June as the only one of a home win against city rivals and former club Vasco. Souza's contract with Botafogo expired at the start of 2020, and he moved on a free transfer to Grêmio over a decade after leaving the club from

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

. In the year's

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

, he was top scorer with 9 goals in 11 games as his team won the title, including one in the 3–2 aggregate final win over Caxias in August. He scored 13 times in the national league season, four times in the Copa do Brasil and twice in the Copa Libertadores, to end the year as the top scorer in Brazilian football with 28, one more than Flamengo's

. Souza announced his retirement from playing in February 2024.

International career

Souza was part of the Brazil U-23 side in 2007 under coach Dunga. He was in the winning squad of Brazil U-17 at the 2001 South American Under 17 Football Championship in Peru. He played twice in

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Worl ...

. In September 2009, Souza was called up for the first time to the senior national team, by 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 ...

for a game against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

. He made his debut against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

on 11 October in another qualifier, being replaced at half time by Alex Raphael Meschini in a 2–1 loss in

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

; it was the nation's first defeat in 16 months. He did not return to the team until 28 September 2011, when he came on as a 68th-minute substitute for

Lucas Moura Lucas Rodrigues Moura da Silva (born 13 August 1992), known as Lucas Moura (), is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger or Midfielder (association football), attacking midf ...

in a 2–0 win over

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in the

Superclásico de las Américas The Superclassic of the Americas (, ), was an annual Exhibition game, friendly association football, football match between the national teams of Argentina national football team, Argentina and Brazil national football team, Brazil. Established ...

. Following his first two caps, Souza had to wait over five years for another opportunity in January 2017, when Tite selected him for a friendly against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

based on his form for Sport Recife, and he retained his place for World Cup qualifiers that year. On 13 June that year he scored his first international goals in a 4–0 win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

, in the eleventh second and in added time.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Diego Souza goal.''

Honours

Fluminense *

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

Flamengo *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Grêmio *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

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

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Recopa Gaúcha The Recopa Gaúcha (), is a super cup tournament organized by the Rio Grande do Sul Football Federation (FGF), disputed between the winners of Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Cam ...

runner-up:

Palmeiras *

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Vasco da Gama *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Sport *

Ariano Suassuna Trophy The Ariano Suassuna Trophy () or Ariano Suassuna Cup is an annual friendly football competition held in January, before the football season in Brazil. The competition is hosted by Sport Recife and is named in honour of Ariano Suassuna Ari ...

: 2017 *

Campeonato Pernambucano The Campeonato Pernambucano is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. It is run by the Pernambuco Football Federation (FPF). History The first edition of the Campeonato Pernambucano was played i ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

International *

Individual * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Best Player:

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A top scorer:

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Diego 1985 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Men's association football midfielders Brazil men's international footballers Brazil men's under-20 international footballers Brazil men's youth international footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Ukrainian Premier League players Saudi Pro League players Fluminense FC players S.L. Benfica footballers CR Flamengo footballers Grêmio FBPA players SE Palmeiras players Clube Atlético Mineiro players CR Vasco da Gama players Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players FC Metalist Kharkiv players Sport Club do Recife players São Paulo FC players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen