Deco
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Anderson Luís de Souza[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | [2] | 27 August 1977||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil[3] | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
1995–1996 | Nacional (SP) | ||||||||||||||||
1996–1997 | Corinthians | ||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
1996–1997 | Corinthians | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
1997 | CSA | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
1997–1998 | Benfica | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
1997–1998 | → Alverca (loan) | 32 | (20) | ||||||||||||||
1998–1999 | Salgueiros | 12 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
1999–2004 | Porto | 148 | (57) | ||||||||||||||
2004–2008 | Barcelona | 113 | (31) | ||||||||||||||
2008–2010 | Chelsea | 43 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
2010–2013 | Fluminense | 56 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
Total | 406 | (133) | |||||||||||||||
International career | |||||||||||||||||
2003–2010 | Portugal | 75 | (19) | ||||||||||||||
Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
2023– | Barcelona (sporting director) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Anderson Luís de Souza .
Deco is one of the few players to have won the
Deco received Portuguese
Club career
Early career
Born in São Bernardo do Campo, Deco spent time at Corinthians as a youngster, competing in the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior for them. In the 1997 edition, Benfica sent Toni to scout the tournament, and he soon noticed Deco, recommending his signing.[5] In June 1997, Benfica purchased his rights from CSA and immediately sent him on loan (along with fellow Brazilian Caju) to their farm team, Alverca.[5][6] After helping them win promotion to the top tier in 1997–98 season by scoring 13 goals in 32 appearances, he returned to Benfica in July 1998. However, he left for Salgueiros in exchange for Nandinho, who went in the opposite direction.[5] When asked by Nuno Gomes in an interview for FourFourTwo why he did not stay and become a legend at Benfica, Deco said, "Benfica decided, it wasn't my decision. They didn't want me. The coach was Graeme Souness at the time. I was young and Benfica needed some players."[7]
At Salgueiros, Deco was plagued by injuries and only made a few appearances, until
Porto
In his first season with Porto, Deco scored a goal after just 30.08 seconds in a 1–0 away win against Molde in the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League.[9]
Under the guidance of manager
Barcelona
A deal was achieved between Porto and Barcelona the day after the
On 14 May 2005, Deco played in the draw against Levante, which gave Barcelona their 17th La Liga title. He also was named Barcelona's player of the season in the 2005–06 season.
Deco scored twice in the
Chelsea
On 30 June 2008, Chelsea signed Deco from Barcelona on a three-year contract for €10 million (£8 million).[13][14] He was the first signing of new Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was formerly the head coach of the Portugal national team.
Deco scored on his Chelsea debut and his
Deco eventually lost his place in the
Fluminense
On 6 August 2010, Deco signed a two-year contract with Brazilian club Fluminense on a free transfer,[17] joining former Chelsea and Barcelona teammate Juliano Belletti.[18] Playing for Fluminense, Deco won the Campeonato Brasileiro in 2010 and 2012.
On 26 August 2013, Deco retired, ending a 17-year career. The decision came on the day before his 36th birthday. His final match was four days prior, against Goiás.[19]
International career
Deco was never called up to the Brazil national team, as the Brazil squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup included other attacking midfielders such as Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Juninho. After completing six years of residence in Portugal, he was able to gain Portuguese citizenship and play for their national team. As none of his great-grandparents, grandparents or parents were Portuguese, under FIFA's player eligibility rules his citizenship was the only factor to allow him to play for Portugal. He was subsequently mentioned several times in the media as an option for the Portugal national team.
After many months of public discussion which split Portuguese public opinion, and despite the opposition of a large number of Porto rivals' supporters, he was called up for his first international, coincidentally against Brazil. He came on as a substitute for Sérgio Conceição and scored the free-kick which won the match 2–1.[20] This was Portugal's first win over Brazil since the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Since that match, he became a regular in the national team. Before UEFA Euro 2004, Luís Figo criticised Deco's inclusion[21] and said, "Se você nasceu chinês, bem, você tem que jogar pela China." (English: "If you're born Chinese, well, you have to play for China.") Deco responded, "Eu nasci no Brasil e seria uma mentira dizer que sou português agora e não brasileiro. Mas amo Portugal e adoro jogar pela seleção." (English:"I was born in Brazil and it would be a lie to say that I'm Portuguese now and not Brazilian. But I love Portugal and I love playing for the national team.")
Despite the early criticism, Deco was one of the highlights of the Portugal national team. He scored 5 goals in 75 caps for Portugal by June 2010, when his international career ended after the second-round defeat to Spain at the 2010 World Cup.
2006 World Cup
In the
Euro 2008
On 11 June, Deco scored the opening goal in Portugal's second match of Euro 2008, a Group A clash with the Czech Republic. The match ended 3–1 to Portugal, with Deco aiding his team in their passage to the quarter-finals where Portugal's campaign came to an end against Germany, the eventual runners-up of the tournament.
In February 2010, Deco announced he would be retiring from international football after the 2010 World Cup.[22]
2010 World Cup
Deco played for Portugal in their opening game against the
Deco retired from international football with 75 caps and 5 goals.
Style of play
As a player, Deco was a versatile, tactically intelligent and creative midfielder with excellent vision and technical ability. Deco was an excellent visionary with the ball, who opened up spaces for his teammates through finding passing lanes that no one else saw, and also had a notable ability to switch the tempo of play in rapid style.
A diminutive midfielder,
Post-retirement
On 16 August 2023, it was announced that Deco would become the sporting director of his former club FC Barcelona by signing a three-year contract.[34][35]
Personal life
Deco is the brother-in-law of fellow former footballers Alecsandro and Richarlyson. Deco is an ambassador for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. He also has a charitable organisation, the Deco Institute, based in the Brazilian city of Indaiatuba, near São Paulo, where he grew up.[36]
After retiring, Deco set up D20 Sports Management, a sports agency registered in Dublin, Ireland. The agency, whose clients include Brazil international Fabinho and Burkina Faso international Edmond Tapsoba, recorded €300,000 profit in 2017.[37]
Media
Deco features in EA Sports' FIFA football video game series. He was included in the Ultimate Team Legends in FIFA 16.[38]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition.[39][40]
Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Corinthians | 1996 | Série A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
CSA | 1997 | Série C | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
Alverca (loan) | 1997–98 | Segunda Divisão | 32 | 12 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 33 | 13 | |||
Salgueiros | 1998–99 | Primeira Divisão | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 2 | |||
Porto | 1998–99 | Primeira Divisão | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
1999–2000 | Primeira Liga | 23 | 1 | 4 | 3 | — | 11[c] | 3 | — | 38 | 7 | |||
2000–01 | Primeira Liga | 31 | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | 10[d] | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 47 | 6 | ||
2001–02 | Primeira Liga | 30 | 13 | 2 | 0 | — | 15[c] | 6 | 1[e] | 0 | 48 | 19 | ||
2002–03 | Primeira Liga | 30 | 10 | 3 | 1 | — | 12[d] | 1 | — | 45 | 12 | |||
2003–04 | Primeira Liga | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 12[c] | 2 | 2[f] | 0 | 45 | 4 | ||
Total | 148 | 32 | 16 | 4 | — | 60 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 229 | 48 | |||
Barcelona | 2004–05 | La Liga | 35 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 7[c] | 2 | — | 42 | 9 | ||
2005–06 | La Liga | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 11[c] | 2 | 2[g] | 0 | 43 | 4 | ||
2006–07 | La Liga | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 8[c] | 2 | 5[h] | 3 | 47 | 6 | ||
2007–08 | La Liga | 18 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 6[c] | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | |||
Total | 113 | 11 | 9 | 0 | — | 32 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 161 | 20 | |||
Chelsea | 2008–09 | Premier League | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 30 | 3 | |
2009–10 | Premier League | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4[c] | 0 | 1[i] | 0 | 28 | 3 | |
Total | 43 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 6 | ||
Fluminense | 2010 | Série A | 16 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | ||||
2011 | Série A | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[j] | 1 | 5[k] | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
2012 | Série A | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 8[j] | 1 | 11[k] | 3 | 36 | 5 | ||
2013 | Série A | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[j] | 0 | 5[k] | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
Total | 56 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 2 | 21 | 3 | 91 | 7 | |||
Career total | 406 | 64 | 32 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 113 | 20 | 33 | 6 | 588 | 96 |
- ^ Includes the Copa do Brasil, Taça de Portugal, Copa del Rey and FA Cup
- ^ Includes the Football League Cup
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Cup
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
- ^ One appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira and one appearance in UEFA Super Cup
- ^ Appearances in Supercopa de España
- ^ Two appearances and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup, one appearance in UEFA Super Cup, two appearances and two goals in Supercopa de España
- ^ Appearance in FA Community Shield
- ^ a b c Appearances in Copa Libertadores
- ^ a b c Appearances in Campeonato Carioca
International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[41][42]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Portugal | 2003 | 9 | 1 |
2004 | 15 | 1 | |
2005 | 8 | 0 | |
2006 | 11 | 1 | |
2007 | 8 | 0 | |
2008 | 9 | 2 | |
2009 | 11 | 0 | |
2010 | 4 | 0 | |
Total | 75 | 5 |
International goals
Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first.[41][42]
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 29 March 2003 | Estádio das Antas, Porto, Portugal | Brazil | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
2. | 13 October 2004 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal | Russia | 3–0 | 7–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying
|
3. | 17 June 2006 | Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany | Iran | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup |
4. | 11 June 2008 | Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland | Czech Republic | 1–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2008 |
5. | 10 September 2008 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal | Denmark | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying |
Honours
Porto[43]
- Primeira Divisão/Liga: 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04
- Taça de Portugal: 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2001, 2003
- UEFA Champions League: 2003–04
- UEFA Cup: 2002–03
Barcelona[43]
Chelsea
Fluminense
Individual
- Ballon d'Or Silver Ball: 2004[46]
- UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2003–04[41]
- 2004 UEFA Champions League Final: Man of the Match
- ESM Team of the Year: 2004–05[47]
- FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2006[48]
- Portuguese League Footballer of the Year: 2003–04[46]
- CNID Best Portuguese Athlete Abroad: 2006
- Premier League Player of the Month: August 2008[44]
- Campeonato Carioca Best Player: 2012[49]
- Campeonato Carioca Best Midfielder: 2012[49]
- Globe Soccer Awards Player Career Award: 2013[50]
- Golden Foot: 2016, as football legend[51]
Orders
- Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)
References
- ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Portugal" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
- ^ "Fluminense Football Club | Futebol | Deco". Fluminense.com.br. 27 August 1977. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ a b "Deco" (in Catalan). FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 22 August 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- ^ "AN ODE TO DECO". footballtimes. 27 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Toni descobriu Deco: "Erro histórico do Benfica"" [Toni, who discovered Deco: "Historical mistake from Benfica"]. Maisfutebol (in Portuguese). 26 August 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
- ^ "Caju reforça FC Porto por troca com Duda" [Caju joins FC Porto in exchange for Duda]. Record (in Portuguese). 1 February 2000. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ "Deco: 'At Chelsea, the players spoke directly to the directors over Scolari. That wasn't good'". FourFourTwo. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
- ^ "Deco: "Contestam as nossas vitórias porque têm muita inveja"" [Deco: "They dispute our wins because they are jealous"]. Record (in Portuguese). 25 June 1999. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ "Molde 0–1 Porto". UEFA. 15 September 1999.
- ^ "FACTO RELEVANTE" (PDF). FC Porto. 6 July 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ^ Gillen, Sean (18 December 2006). "Manuel Jose leads Al-Ahly to historic third place finish". portugoal.net. Archived from the original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ^ Pereira, Marco (21 August 2006). "Deco blasts brace as Barcelona win Spanish Supercopa". portugoal.net. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ^ "Deco goes to Chelsea". FC Barcelona. 30 June 2008. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
- ^ "CHELSEA SIGN DECO". Chelsea FC. 30 June 2008. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ^ "Deco seeks Blues exit". Sky Sports.
- ^ "Inter rule out Chelsea duo". Sky Sports. 6 July 2009.
- ^ "OFFICIAL: Fluminense Sign Deco On Two-Year Contract". Goal.com. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ "Juliano Belletti heads for Fluminense from Chelsea and Deco may follow". The Guardian. London. 18 July 2010.
- ^ uefa.com (26 August 2013). "Member associations - News – UEFA.com".
- ^ "Portugal vs. Brazil - Football Match Report - March 29, 2003 - ESPN". ESPNFC.com.
- ^ "Figo re-ignites Deco row". BBC News. 10 June 2004.
- ^ "Chelsea's Deco to quit Portugal". BBC News. 4 February 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Boldrini, Stefano (4 July 2006). "È Deco l' oro di Scolari". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ Licari, Fabio (12 October 2004). "Deco in pole per i premi "Ma ho paura di Sheva"". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ a b Hytner, David (20 June 2008). "Deco's art dazzles but Germany prevail after Schweinsteiger's masterpiece". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ a b "Deco: Understated Genius". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ De Sà, Manuel Martins (22 January 2000). "Deco, il valore aggiunto". gazzetta.it (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ a b "Anderson Luis de Souza 'Deco'". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ a b "Deco: The master behind the magic of Barça". The Independent. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ a b "Penpix of Portugal's squad". Reuters. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ Galavotti, Giancarlo (15 September 2004). "Deco-Giuly-Larsson Barça scatenato Il Celtic k.o in casa". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ Galavotti, Giancarlo (25 August 2008). "La classe di Deco fa volare il Chelsea". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ "Deco struggles to shine in Blues' rough diamond". The Independent. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ "Barcelona appoints former playmaker Deco as its new sporting director". AP News. 16 August 2023.
- ^ https://www.fcbarcelona.com/fcbarcelona/photo/2023/11/20/82a04935-a6cb-4685-bb71-0273c794a0c5/organigrama_eng.PNG [bare URL]
- ^ Szczepanik, Nick (9 March 2009). "I will show Chelsea the real Deco". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ "D20 Sports Management posts profit of about €300,000 for 2017". The Irish Times. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "FIFA 16 Player Ratings - New Legends". EA Sports. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ "Deco". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Deco". BDFutbol. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Anderson Luis de Souza "Deco" - International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ a b "National football team player - Deco". eu.football.info. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ a b c "Former Portugal midfielder Deco retires". UEFA.com. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ a b "Deco: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ McNulty, Phil (9 August 2009). "Chelsea 2–2 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ a b "FIFA World Cup - Deco – UEFA.com". UEFA. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ Karel Stokkermans (14 March 2007). "ESM Season XI". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ^ "2006 FIFA Club World Cup awards". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ a b "PREMIAÇÃO DO CAMPEONATO CARIOCA 2012 TEVE SETE NOVAS CATEGORIAS". rj.gov.br. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- ^ "Wall of Fame". Globe Soccer.com. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ^ "LEGENDS – GoldenFoot". Golden Foot. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
External links
- Deco at ForaDeJogo (archived)
- Deco at National-Football-Teams.com
- Deco at Soccerbase
- Deco at WorldFootball.net
- FootballDatabase provides Deco's profile and stats at the Wayback Machine (archived 24 December 2008)
- FC Barcelona profile at archive.today (archived 9 December 2012)
- Deco profile from About.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 19 March 2009)
- goal.com