Deco extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Deco
Personal information
Full name	Anderson Luís de Souza
Date of birth	August 27, 1977 (1977-08-27) (age 31)
Place of birth	São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	20
Youth clubs
1995–1996	Nacional
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1996–1997 1997 1997–1998 1998–1999 1999–2004 2004–2008 2008–	Corinthians Corinthians Alagoano FC Alverca SC Salgueiros FC Porto FC Barcelona Chelsea	004 0(2) 000 0(0) 032 (13) 009 0(2) 148 (32) 112 (13) 004 0(2)
National team2
2003–	Portugal	057 0(5)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:41, 13 September 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 10:52, 11 September 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Anderson Luis de Souza, OIH (born August 27, 1977 in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil) is a professional Portuguese Brazilian footballer widely known as Deco. He plays for English club Chelsea and internationally for Portugal. Deco is also one of the few players to win the UEFA Champions League with two different clubs, with FC Porto in 2004 and FC Barcelona in 2006. He was named Man of the Match in the 2003-04 Champions League final. Deco is the first player to win the UEFA Best Midfielder Award with two different clubs, once each. He was awarded the FIFA World Club Cup Golden Ball and The Man of the Match award in the final despite losing to Internacional.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Early career 1.2 Porto 1.3 Barcelona 1.4 Chelsea 2 International career 2.1 2006 World Cup 2.2 Euro 2008 2.3 International goals 3 Career statistics 4 Honours 4.1 Individual 4.2 Club 4.3 Portugal 5 Personal life 6 Quotes 7 References 8 External links

Career

Early career

Deco started off his career at Nacional Atlético Clube in the city of São Paulo, where he was spotted and signed by Corinthians. Despite making a couple of appearances for the Brazilian giant, he was deemed too feeble for professional football and was shipped off to Corinthians' franchise Corinthians Alagoano where he paid his way by moonlighting as an offshore wind farm technician. Deco arrived in Portugal in 1997 at the age of 19 along with fellow Brazilian player Caju, after being acquired by Lisbon side SL Benfica along with the Corinthians Alagoano franchise^[1].

Despite good showings in training, Benfica decided to loan Deco to the Portuguese Liga de Honra side FC Alverca where he played for a season. Deco performed well and was close to renewing his contract with Benfica and joining the main squad. However, the Lisbon club and the player's representative did not reach an agreement, as the then manager Graeme Souness did not believe that he would develop into a player worth keeping. Subsequently Deco was traded to Porto side S.C. Salgueiros in the 1998-99 season, playing 12 games and scoring two goals. His performances caught the eye of the FC Porto staff, and during the winter transfer window, he was sold to Porto.

Porto

Under the guidance of José Mourinho, Deco was given the role of leading an ambitious Porto team. A key figure in the 2002-03 season, he scored 10 goals in 30 games, but nevertheless received 17 yellow cards and one red card. Deco was one of the key players in Porto's UEFA Cup final 3-2 win over Celtic F.C. that year. In the 2003-04 season, Deco helped Porto recapture the national title and led the team to the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final in which Porto won 3-0 over Monaco, scoring the second goal of the match. He was the Champions League's top assist provider and also suffered the most fouls in the Champions League that season. That season, Deco won the UEFA Most Valuable Player, as well as the award for the best midfielder in the competition.

Barcelona

On June 17, 2004, Deco told a Portuguese radio station that he would almost certainly join [[England|were passing a physical examination and signing a formal contract with Chelsea. However, on June 26, 2004 he told the Portuguese sports daily O Jogo that he would rather move to Barcelona than follow Mourinho to Chelsea. While Bayern Munich gave up on Deco after the Chelsea deal seemed to have been concluded, it was still uncertain whether the German side would make a new bid. The best offer at that time was a €21m bid from Barça, but this figure was still €4m short of the request by Porto's board. Portuguese newspapers then reported that Barça would try to offer Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma as part of the exchange in order to ease the deal.

Finally, a deal was achieved between Porto and Barcelona the day after the Euro 2004 final. Barça agreed on a €12m fee, plus the complete rights of Ricardo Quaresma to Porto. Deco signed a four year deal with the Catalan side on 6 July 2004.

In Barcelona, some suggested Deco would be completely eclipsed by Brazilian star Ronaldinho (a duo that according to Luiz Felipe Scolari "can make rain fall"). Indeed, many Barcelona fans met the transfer with raised eyebrows, as Deco was considered an attacking midfielder - a department which was already well covered. Instead, coach Frank Rijkaard used him in a pure central midfield position, where his tactical knowledge, defensive abilities, and enormous work rate surprised many. In December 2004, he came second in France Football's Ballon D'Or 2004 award, losing to Andriy Shevchenko and beating team mate Ronaldinho by six votes.

On 14 May 2005, Deco played in the draw against Levante UD, which gave Barcelona their 17th La Liga title. He also was named barcelona's player of the season in the 05/06 season

Deco scored twice in the Spanish Supercup 06-07, which Barça won.^[2] Deco won the UEFA Best Midfielder Award yet again for his performance in Barca's Champions League winning season, enabling him to join the exclusive group of players that have won the same award more than once with different teams, having won the Champions League previously with Porto. Other members of this exclusive group include greats such as Clarence Seedorf (Ajax, Real Madrid, and AC Milan), Marcel Desailly (Marseille and AC Milan), Frank Rijkaard (AC Milan and Ajax), Didier Deschamps (Marseille and Juventus), Owen Hargreaves(Bayern Munich and Manchester United) and Edwin Van Der Sar (Ajax and Manchester United). He was also awarded the Golden Ball at the FIFA Club World Cup and the Man of the Match award despite losing the final to Internacional.^[3]

Chelsea

On June 30, 2008, Chelsea signed Deco from Barcelona on a three year contract for £8 million [1]. He is the first signing of new Chelsea coach Luis Felipe Scolari, who was the national coach of Portugal.

Deco scored on his Chelsea debut and his Premier League debut, with a 40-metres cracker, in a 4-0 victory over Portsmouth. Deco followed up his great performance by scoring in his second game for Chelsea, a curling free kick against Wigan. Deco also set up Juliano Belletti's goal against Tottenham Hotspur on 31st August. These performances led to him winning the Premier League Player of the Month award for August. Deco made his Champions League debut for Chelsea on Tuesday 16th September, Chelsea won the game 4-0, goals from Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka. Deco injured himself during a Chelsea training session but is expected to return soon.

International career

Never called up to the Brazilian national team, Deco was mentioned several times in the media as an option for the Portuguese national team. In 2002, having completed six years of Portuguese residence, he received Portuguese citizenship. After many months of public discussion which split Portuguese public opinion, and despite the opposition of a large number of FC Porto rivals' supporters, he was called up for his first international — coincidentally against his birth country — played at the Estádio das Antas, on March 29, 2003. He played only eight minutes in his debut, but in that time he managed to score the free kick that stunned Brazil, leading to a 2-1 win for Portugal. This was Portugal's first win over Brazil since the 1966 World Cup. Since that game, he has been a regular in the national team, in spite of initial criticism by players such as Luís Figo, who later recognized Deco's value. Despite the early criticism, Deco is today one the highlights of the Portuguese national team. He had scored 4 goals in 55 caps for Portugal by June 2008.

2006 World Cup

During the 2006 World Cup, he scored the first goal in Portugal's second Group D match against Iran. He scored in the 63rd minute minute prior to Cristiano Ronaldo's 80th minute penalty. During the first knockout stage of the competition Deco received two yellow cards in the game against the Netherlands, the first for a rash tackle on Johnny Heitinga that put him out of the quarter final tie against England, having already picked up a caution in the aforementioned match with Iran. The win against England in the quarterfinal stage, lead to Portugals defeat in the Semi-final which Deco was able to participate in.

Euro 2008

On June 11, Deco scored the opening goal in Portugal's second match of Euro 2008, a Group A clash with Czech Republic. The game 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.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	March 29, 2003	Estádio das Antas, Porto, Portugal	Brazil	2-1	2-1	Friendly
2.	October 13, 2004	Estádio José Alvalade, Lisboa, Portugal	Russia	4-0	7-1	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
3.	June 17, 2006	Commerzbank-Arena/FIFA World Cup Stadium Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany	Iran	1-0	2-0	2006 FIFA World Cup Group D Report
4.	June 11, 2008	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Czech Republic	1-0	3-1	UEFA Euro 2008
5.	September 10, 2008	Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal	Denmark	2-1	2-3	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying

Career statistics

Club Performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Brazil			League		Copa do Brasil		League Cup		South America		Total
1996	Corinthians	Série A	17	2
Portugal			League		Cup of Portugal		Portuguese League Cup		Europe		Total
1996-97	Alverca		32	13
1997-98	Porto	Portuguese Liga	6	0
1997-98	Salgueiros	Portuguese Liga	12	2
1998-99	Porto	Portuguese Liga	6	0
1999-00			23	1
2000-01			31	6
2001-02			30	13
2002-03			30	10
2003-04			28	2
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Copa de la Liga		Europe		Total
2004-05	Barcelona	La Liga	35	8
2005-06			29	3
2006-07			31	1
2007-08			18	1
England			League		FA Cup		Football League Cup		Europe		Total
2008-09	Chelsea	Premier League	5	2
Total	Brazil		17	2
	Portugal		198	47
	Spain		113	13
	England		2	2
Career Total			330	64

Honours

Individual

• Premier League Player of the Month: August 2008
• FIFA World Club Cup Golden Ball: 2006
• UEFA Champions League MVP: 2004
• UEFA Best Midfielder Award: 2004, 2006
• European Silver Ball (Second position of the European Player of the Year Award): 2003/04
• Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 2004
• Portuguese Golden Ball: 2003

Club

FC Porto

• UEFA Champions League Winner: 2004
• UEFA Cup Winner: 2003
• Portuguese Liga Winner: 1999, 2003, 2004, Runner-up: 2000, 2001
• Portuguese Cup Winner: 2000, 2001, 2003, Runner-up: 2004
• Portuguese Supercup Winner: 1999, 2001, 2003, Runner-up: 2000
• UEFA Supercup Runner-up: 2003

FC Barcelona

• UEFA Champions League Winner: 2006
• Spanish Liga Winner: 2005, 2006, Runner-up: 2007
• Spanish Supercup Winner: 2005, 2006
• UEFA Supercup Runner-up: 2006
• FIFA Club World Cup Runner-up: 2006

Portugal

• European Football Championship Runner-up: 2004

Personal life

When Deco started his European career in 1997, his first wife Cila, whom he had met three years earlier, moved to Portugal with him. Deco and Cila have two sons, João Henrique and Pedro Gabriel, who now live in Brazil with their mother. A few years later, Deco met Jaciara at a party in Salvador (Brazil), and divorced Cila to live with Jaciara in Porto. They married in April 2005 and now have a son and a daughter. They announced their divorce in March 2008.

Deco is the brother-in-law of fellow footballer Alecsandro, who plays for Al-Wahda FC. Alecsandro is the brother of Brazil international Richarlyson.

Quotes

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

• "Deco doesn't talk a lot, but when he does everybody listens" - Lionel Messi
• "World class" - José Mourinho
• "I think one of my bigger mistakes when in Brazil was not signing Deco. Now that we are with Portugal, I am glad I did not." Luiz Felipe Scolari on not inviting Deco to the Brazilian National Team during his tenure as head Brazilian coach.
• "My choice of Deco had to do with his technical and professional qualities and his strong determination in reaching the objectives," - Luiz Felipe Scolari on the inclusion of Deco in the Portuguese national team.
• "Deco is the barometer of our season, when he is in form the quality of the game rises, when he is not so good the team as a whole performs less well" -Former Barça Coach Frank Rijkaard
• "He's a great player. It would be foolish to underestimate him" - Ex-Celtic coach Martin O'Neill on Deco during the 2002-03 UEFA Cup Final.
• "He may look like a lost boy in a Japanese comic but Deco is intelligent, focused, hard, arrogant and a superb passer." - British football magazine FourFourTwo on Deco's abilities.
• "Deco looks constantly worried, poor guy, someone should tell him he's good." Sam Potter in an interview with BBC Sport.

References

External links

• Match stats, Player Profil and News
• FootballDatabase provides Deco's profile and stats
• FC Barcelona profile
• Deco profile from About.com

Awards
Preceded by Pavel Nedvěd	UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder 2003-04	Succeeded by Kaká
Preceded by Gianluigi Buffon	UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player 2003-04	Succeeded by Steven Gerrard
Preceded by Kaká	UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder 2005-06	Succeeded by Clarence Seedorf

v • d • e Portugal squad – UEFA Euro 2004 Runners-up 1 Ricardo • 2 P. Ferreira • 3 R. Jorge • 4 J. Andrade • 5 F. Couto • 6 Costinha • 7 Figo • 8 Petit • 9 Pauleta • 10 R. Costa • 11 Simão • 12 Quim • 13 Miguel • 14 N. Valente • 15 Beto • 16 R. Carvalho • 17 C. Ronaldo • 18 Maniche • 19 Tiago • 20 Deco • 21 N. Gomes • 22 Moreira • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari

v • d • e Portugal squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place 1 Ricardo • 2 P. Ferreira • 3 Caneira • 4 R. Costa • 5 Meira • 6 Costinha • 7 Figo • 8 Petit • 9 Pauleta • 10 H. Viana • 11 Simão • 12 Quim • 13 Miguel • 14 N. Valente • 15 Boa Morte • 16 R. Carvalho • 17 C. Ronaldo • 18 Maniche • 19 Tiago • 20 Deco • 21 N. Gomes • 22 P. Santos • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari

v • d • e Portugal squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Ricardo • 2 P. Ferreira • 3 B. Alves • 4 Bosingwa • 5 F. Meira • 6 R. Meireles • 7 Ronaldo • 8 Petit • 9 H. Almeida • 10 Moutinho • 11 Simão • 12 Nuno • 13 Miguel • 14 J. Ribeiro • 15 Pepe • 16 R. Carvalho • 17 Quaresma • 18 Veloso • 19 Nani • 20 Deco • 21 N. Gomes • 22 R. Patrício • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari

v • d • e Chelsea F.C. – current squad 1 Čech • 2 Ivanović • 3 A. Cole • 5 Essien • 6 R. Carvalho • 8 Lampard • 9 di Santo • 10 J. Cole • 11 Drogba • 12 Mikel • 13 Ballack • 15 Malouda • 16 Sinclair • 17 Bosingwa • 18 Bridge • 19 P. Ferreira • 20 Deco • 21 Kalou • 23 Cudicini • 26 Terry • 27 Mineiro • 33 Alex • 35 Belletti • 39 Anelka • 40 Hilário • 42 Mancienne • 43 Stoch • Manager: Scolari