Diego Ribas da Cunha
Encyclopedia
Diego Ribas da Cunha commonly known as just Diego, is an international Brazil
ian footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid on loan from VfL Wolfsburg
, as an attacking midfielder.
in 2002 and in the same year he won the domestic Campeonato Brasileiro
championship. He, Robinho
, Elano
and Alex
were known as a famous group when they played for Santos.
club FC Porto in July 2004 as a replacement for the FC Barcelona
-bound Deco
. However, in 2005–06, Diego did not maintain a stable place in the Porto team under coach Co Adriaanse
and he subsequently left Porto for Werder Bremen
.
until 2010 for a transfer fee of €6 million.
His first match for Werder Bremen came in the DFB-Ligapokal
(League Cup). Werder Bremen won the cup beating Bayern Munich
in the final on 5 August.
The 2006–07 Bundesliga
season began well for Diego. He scored the first goal and set up two more for Bremen in their 4–2 win over Hannover 96
, on 13 August. In his second match in the Bundesliga he set up both goals in the 2–1 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
Thanks to his good performances in August, both in the Bundesliga and in the Premiere Ligapokal, Diego won the August Player of the Month award. As the Bundesliga season went on, Diego made several amazing performances and became one of the most valuable players for Werder Bremen, along with his team-mate Torsten Frings
. They are called the "two motors of Bremen's midfield." In October 2006, he won a second Player of the Month award and again in December 2006. He was then named as the Best Player of the first half of the Bundesliga.
Werder Bremen finished in third place in Group A in the Champions League
group stages, and they moved to the UEFA Cup
, where they reached the semi-finals, beating AZ from the Netherlands
in the quarter-finals, due in part to Diego's creative play.
On 15 April, Diego again played well, scoring in the 2–0 win over Borussia Dortmund
. Five days later, on 20 April, Bremen played against Alemannia Aachen
. Although Diego's performance was good, he did not score until stoppage time when he scored from 62.5 metres, which later was elected as goal of the year. Bremen won the game 3–1 and topped the table with 60 points.
Following his good performances in the first half of the Bundesliga, Diego got called up to the Brazilian national football team
in November.
After the 2006–07 season ended, Diego won the Bundesliga Player of the Season award organised by popular magazine Kicker
. He got just over 50 percent of the votes. Unfortunately, his team did not win the Bundesliga after finishing 3rd in the table, behind champions VfB Stuttgart
and Schalke 04
.
n club Dinamo Zagreb 3–2 in Zagreb
, with Diego scoring two penalties.
On the first Champions League Group Stage matchday, Bremen lost 2–1 to Real Madrid
, but Diego's performance aroused interest in Real Madrid's coach Bernd Schuster
. But the stories were put to an end when Diego signed a new contract which would last until 2011.
After the loss to Real Madrid, Bremen faced VfB Stuttgart
, the defending German champions, at home. Werder won 4–1, with Diego leading the midfield. Later on in the season, Bremen achieved a historical 8–1 win over Arminia Bielefeld
, with Diego assisting three goals and scoring one himself.
Diego was voted Player of the Month in September.
He then scored two goals on the way to the UEFA Cup quarter final with Bremen.
and were knocked out of the Champions League
at the group-stage.
In the UEFA Cup that season, Diego scored 6 goals, all in the knockout stages.
He scored against AC Milan the in round of 32, equalizing after 84' minutes, and assisting Claudio Pizarro
second leg's only goal. He helped his team through the round of 16, and scored four of the six goals, and managed one assist in the quarterfinal knockout of Udinese,.
In the semi finals, after losing 1–0 in their hometown to "North Derby" rivals Hamburger SV
, Diego helped his team back in the second leg with an early equalizer to Ivica Olic
's early critical goal. Later on that game, he assisted a corner to Frank Baumann's third Bremen goal. In that game, Diego received an unfortunate yellow card, preventing him from playing in the final, and with a 3–2 away win, he ended his UEFA Cup participation, leading Bremen to their first UEFA Cup final ever.
Without Diego in the 2009 UEFA Cup final, Bremen lost the game 2–1 in extra time to Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk.
In his last match with Bremen, Diego gave the assist to Mesut Özil
's winning goal against Bayer Leverkusen
in the German Cup final, to win the German Cup for the sixth time.
at the end of the season. The fee paid to Bremen by Juventus was worth €24.5 million. The price can rise by a further €2.5 million in case of the fulfillment of established sports objectives in the next five years.
Diego made his Juventus debut against the Korean side Seongnam
, in a game they won 3–0. In the first half, Diego made the pass to Mauro Camoranesi
, whose pass followed up to a goal. Diego then scored in the second half and was subbed out at the 60th minute. On his Serie A
debut, he assisted Vincenzo Iaquinta's
goal from a set-piece. In the second fixture of the campaign, Diego recorded his first Serie A goal, scoring twice in Juventus' 3–1 victory against Roma
on 30 August 2009. He also scored goals against Bologna
, Fiorentina
and also against Napoli
. One of his most noted assists was his backheel to Alessandro Del Piero
's goal against Genoa
. He has also scored in the 2010 Trofeo TIM against Milan
.
for a club record transfer fee of €15.5 million, which Juve would only received €14.75 million as 5% of the transfer fee transferred to his youth clubs as solidarity contribution. In his first match for VfL Wolfsburg, he scored his debut goal in a game which Wolfsburg lost 3–4 to Mainz
. On 5 February 2011, Diego won a penalty for Wolfsburg. Diego took the ball from designated spot-kick taker Patrick Helmes and then hit the woodwork 10 minutes from time. Wolfsburg later lost the match by one goal and Wolfsburg's furious manager fined him €100,000 (£86,000) for failing to follow instructions. He was also informed that he will be removed from the first team for Wolfsburg’s upcoming game against Hamburg. He once again got in trouble with the management of Wolfsburg, when he on 14 May before a crucial relegation game against Hoffenheim left the hotel in which the team was staying, when he was informed he would not be starting the game. This left Wolfsburg with only six players on the bench for the game that would determine whether they would play another season in the German Bundesliga
. Wolfsburg went on to win the game 3–1 without Diego ensuring another top flight season for the club, though Diego was fined €500,000 for his actions.
. He scored his first goal for Atletico in a Europa League game against Celtic.
Diego made his international debut in April 2003 in a friendly match against Mexico
. He was later included in Brazil U-23
team that competed in 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
alongside Santos' teammate Robinho
. Although Brazil compete as an under-23 team, the international appearances and goals were recorded as FIFA
acknowledge the tournament as senior-team matches. He appeared five times and scored two goals as Brazil U-23 lost out to Mexico senior-team in the final.
In 2004, Diego was called up for the Brazil national squad for the Copa América 2004
, and he was instrumental in securing the tournament victory for Brazil when he scored in the penalty shootout against Argentina
in the final.
However, due to his decline in performance with FC Porto between 2004 and 2006, he was often left out of the Brazil squad. He was mostly playing as deputy to Kaká
and was also left out of the Brazil squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
.
After a move to Werder Bremen
, he regained his form and subsequently recalled to the Brazil squad for a in November 2006. He was then included in Brazil's squad for Copa América 2007
, which Brazil went on to win, once again defeating Argentina in the final.
Diego also participated with Brazil U-23 team for 2008 Olympics
in Beijing. Brazil went on to achieve Bronze medal with a third place finish in the tournament.
Porto
Werder Bremen
International
|-
|2002||rowspan="3"|Santos||rowspan="3"|Série A
||22||8||—||—||||||—||—||22||8
|-
|2003||33||9||—||—||||||—||—||33||9
|-
|2004||9||4||—||—||||||—||—||9||4
|-
64||21||—||—||||||—||—||64||21
|-
|-
|2004–05||rowspan="2"|Porto||rowspan="2"|Portuguese Liga
||30||3||||||||||6||1||36||4
|-
|2005–06||19||1||||||||||4||1||23||2
|-
49||4||||||||||10||2||59||6
|-
|-
|2006–07||rowspan="3"|Werder Bremen
||rowspan="3"|Bundesliga
||33||13||1||0||||||14||2||48||15
|-
|2007–08||30||13||3||1||||||8||2||41||16
|-
|2008–09||21||12||5||2||||||13||7||39||22
|-
84||38||9||3||||||35||11||128||52
|-
|-
|2009–10
||rowspan="2"|Juventus
||rowspan="2"|Serie A
||33||5||2||2||||||9||0||44||7
|-
33||5||2||2||||||12||0||47||7
|-
|-
|2010–11
||rowspan="1"|Wolfsburg
||rowspan="1"|Bundesliga
||30||6||2||0||||||3||0||35||6
|-
30||6||2||0||||||3||0||35||6
|-
246||71||13||5||3||0||57||13||319||89
to Brazil
. His paternal great grandfather, Carlo Lazzari, came from Ferrara
, Italy, and his paternal great grandmother, Maria Concetta Viola, came from Naples
, Italy. As a result of his Italian ancestry, Diego received his Italian passport in 2004.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid on loan from VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg is a professional German association football club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, who play in the Bundesliga football competition. Wolfsburg have won the Bundesliga once in their history, in the 2008–09 season, and were DFB-Pokal runners-up in 1995. The current head coach is Felix...
, as an attacking midfielder.
Santos
Diego was first signed by the São Paulo team Santos at the age of 12. Diego developed whilst in the Santos youth system, making his first team debut at the age of 16 in the Rio-São Paulo ChampionshipTorneio Rio-São Paulo
Torneio Rio – São Paulo was a traditional Brazilian football competition contested between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro teams until from 1935 until 2002....
in 2002 and in the same year he won the domestic Campeonato Brasileiro
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
championship. He, Robinho
Robinho
Robson de Souza , more commonly known as Robinho, is a Brazilian professional footballer who currently plays as second striker and winger for Serie A club AC Milan...
, Elano
Elano Blumer
Elano Ralph Blumer , commonly known as Elano, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Santos and the Brazil national team.Elano has been noted for his accurate passing and precise set pieces.- Early career :...
and Alex
Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa
Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, better known as Alex , is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Chelsea FC and the Brazil national team. His nickname is "Vinny" amongst fans for his close similarities to actor Vin Diesel....
were known as a famous group when they played for Santos.
Porto
Diego was then signed by PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
club FC Porto in July 2004 as a replacement for the FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
-bound Deco
Deco
Anderson Luís de Souza, OIH , commonly known as Deco, is a Brazilian-born Portuguese professional footballer who currently plays for Fluminense....
. However, in 2005–06, Diego did not maintain a stable place in the Porto team under coach Co Adriaanse
Co Adriaanse
Jacobus "Co" Adriaanse is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who is currently the head coach of Eredivisie team FC Twente.-Playing career:...
and he subsequently left Porto for Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
.
2006–07 season
In May 2006, Diego signed a contract with Werder BremenSV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
until 2010 for a transfer fee of €6 million.
His first match for Werder Bremen came in the DFB-Ligapokal
DFB-Ligapokal
The DFB-Ligapokal, or German League Cup, was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous Fußball-Bundesliga season and the winners of the DFB-Pokal in Germany...
(League Cup). Werder Bremen won the cup beating Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
in the final on 5 August.
The 2006–07 Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
season began well for Diego. He scored the first goal and set up two more for Bremen in their 4–2 win over Hannover 96
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96, Hannover or simply 96, is a German association football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony.-Foundation to WWII:...
, on 13 August. In his second match in the Bundesliga he set up both goals in the 2–1 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
Thanks to his good performances in August, both in the Bundesliga and in the Premiere Ligapokal, Diego won the August Player of the Month award. As the Bundesliga season went on, Diego made several amazing performances and became one of the most valuable players for Werder Bremen, along with his team-mate Torsten Frings
Torsten Frings
Torsten Frings is a German football midfielder who plays for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer and is known for his vision and an explosive, powerful shot.-Early career:...
. They are called the "two motors of Bremen's midfield." In October 2006, he won a second Player of the Month award and again in December 2006. He was then named as the Best Player of the first half of the Bundesliga.
Werder Bremen finished in third place in Group A in the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
group stages, and they moved to the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
, where they reached the semi-finals, beating AZ from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in the quarter-finals, due in part to Diego's creative play.
On 15 April, Diego again played well, scoring in the 2–0 win over Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
. Five days later, on 20 April, Bremen played against Alemannia Aachen
Alemannia Aachen
Alemannia Aachen is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three-year turn in the top flight in the late 1960s and, after a successful 2005–06 campaign, returned to first division play...
. Although Diego's performance was good, he did not score until stoppage time when he scored from 62.5 metres, which later was elected as goal of the year. Bremen won the game 3–1 and topped the table with 60 points.
Following his good performances in the first half of the Bundesliga, Diego got called up to the Brazilian national football team
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
in November.
After the 2006–07 season ended, Diego won the Bundesliga Player of the Season award organised by popular magazine Kicker
Kicker (sports magazine)
kicker Sportmagazin is Germany's leading sports magazine and is focused primarily on football. The magazine was founded in 1920 by German football pioneer Walther Bensemann and is published twice a week, usually Monday and Thursday, in Nuremberg...
. He got just over 50 percent of the votes. Unfortunately, his team did not win the Bundesliga after finishing 3rd in the table, behind champions VfB Stuttgart
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons...
and Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...
.
2007–08 season
Diego started his season well, scoring a penalty on the first matchday. Diego gave many outstanding performances. He was crucial as Bremen got through to the Champions League's group phase. They beat CroatiaCroatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n club Dinamo Zagreb 3–2 in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, with Diego scoring two penalties.
On the first Champions League Group Stage matchday, Bremen lost 2–1 to Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, but Diego's performance aroused interest in Real Madrid's coach Bernd Schuster
Bernd Schuster
Bernhard Schuster is a German football manager and former player, currently unemployed. His nickname is "der Blonde Engel" .-Club career:...
. But the stories were put to an end when Diego signed a new contract which would last until 2011.
After the loss to Real Madrid, Bremen faced VfB Stuttgart
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons...
, the defending German champions, at home. Werder won 4–1, with Diego leading the midfield. Later on in the season, Bremen achieved a historical 8–1 win over Arminia Bielefeld
Arminia Bielefeld
DSC Arminia Bielefeld is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of football, field hockey, figure skating and cue sports. The club has 11,394 members and the club colours are black, white and blue...
, with Diego assisting three goals and scoring one himself.
Diego was voted Player of the Month in September.
He then scored two goals on the way to the UEFA Cup quarter final with Bremen.
2008–09 season
Diego's last season in Werder Bremen was his most successful. Diego scored 20 goals in total (more than his two first seasons in the club), although Bremen did finish just 10th in the BundesligaFußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
and were knocked out of the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
at the group-stage.
In the UEFA Cup that season, Diego scored 6 goals, all in the knockout stages.
He scored against AC Milan the in round of 32, equalizing after 84' minutes, and assisting Claudio Pizarro
Claudio Pizarro
Claudio Miguel Pizarro Bosio is a Peruvian football forward. Pizarro plays for Werder Bremen of the German Bundesliga...
second leg's only goal. He helped his team through the round of 16, and scored four of the six goals, and managed one assist in the quarterfinal knockout of Udinese,.
In the semi finals, after losing 1–0 in their hometown to "North Derby" rivals Hamburger SV
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
, Diego helped his team back in the second leg with an early equalizer to Ivica Olic
Ivica Olic
Ivica Olić is a Croatian professional footballer who plays for Bayern Munich in Germany and internationally for the Croatian national team.- Early career :Olić was born and raised in the village of Davor near Nova Gradiška, Croatia, Yugoslavia...
's early critical goal. Later on that game, he assisted a corner to Frank Baumann's third Bremen goal. In that game, Diego received an unfortunate yellow card, preventing him from playing in the final, and with a 3–2 away win, he ended his UEFA Cup participation, leading Bremen to their first UEFA Cup final ever.
Without Diego in the 2009 UEFA Cup final, Bremen lost the game 2–1 in extra time to Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk.
In his last match with Bremen, Diego gave the assist to Mesut Özil
Mesut Özil
Mesut Özil is a footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and for the German national team. Özil has been a youth national team member since 2006, and a member of the German national team since 2009. He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated...
's winning goal against Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen is a German football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the most well-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports club whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball and other sports.-Origins and early years:On 27 November...
in the German Cup final, to win the German Cup for the sixth time.
Juventus
On 26 May 2009, Diego signed a five-year contract to join JuventusJuventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
at the end of the season. The fee paid to Bremen by Juventus was worth €24.5 million. The price can rise by a further €2.5 million in case of the fulfillment of established sports objectives in the next five years.
Diego made his Juventus debut against the Korean side Seongnam
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma is a South Korean professional football club, based in Seongnam, South Korea, that plays in the K-League...
, in a game they won 3–0. In the first half, Diego made the pass to Mauro Camoranesi
Mauro Camoranesi
Mauro Camoranesi, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian Argentine World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Lanús in the Argentine Primera División. He is a midfielder, usually on the right wing...
, whose pass followed up to a goal. Diego then scored in the second half and was subbed out at the 60th minute. On his Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
debut, he assisted Vincenzo Iaquinta's
Vincenzo Iaquinta
Vincenzo Iaquinta, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Serie A club Juventus. He is a strong striker who can also play on the wing.-Reggiolo:...
goal from a set-piece. In the second fixture of the campaign, Diego recorded his first Serie A goal, scoring twice in Juventus' 3–1 victory against Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
on 30 August 2009. He also scored goals against Bologna
Bologna F.C. 1909
Bologna Football Club 1909, known simply as Bologna, is an Italian Football League club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, formed in 1993. The club are nicknamed the rossoblù because of the red and blue striped shirts they wear. Red and Blue are the official colours of the town.During its history...
, Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A...
and also against Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
. One of his most noted assists was his backheel to Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Serie A club Juventus, of which he is also club captain....
's goal against Genoa
Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...
. He has also scored in the 2010 Trofeo TIM against Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
.
Wolfsburg
On 27 August 2010, Diego moved from Juventus to WolfsburgVfL Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg is a professional German association football club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, who play in the Bundesliga football competition. Wolfsburg have won the Bundesliga once in their history, in the 2008–09 season, and were DFB-Pokal runners-up in 1995. The current head coach is Felix...
for a club record transfer fee of €15.5 million, which Juve would only received €14.75 million as 5% of the transfer fee transferred to his youth clubs as solidarity contribution. In his first match for VfL Wolfsburg, he scored his debut goal in a game which Wolfsburg lost 3–4 to Mainz
1. FSV Mainz 05
1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05, or simply Mainz, is a 1905 founded German association football club based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to the football section the 1. FSV Mainz 05 has a handball and table tennis department...
. On 5 February 2011, Diego won a penalty for Wolfsburg. Diego took the ball from designated spot-kick taker Patrick Helmes and then hit the woodwork 10 minutes from time. Wolfsburg later lost the match by one goal and Wolfsburg's furious manager fined him €100,000 (£86,000) for failing to follow instructions. He was also informed that he will be removed from the first team for Wolfsburg’s upcoming game against Hamburg. He once again got in trouble with the management of Wolfsburg, when he on 14 May before a crucial relegation game against Hoffenheim left the hotel in which the team was staying, when he was informed he would not be starting the game. This left Wolfsburg with only six players on the bench for the game that would determine whether they would play another season in the German Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
. Wolfsburg went on to win the game 3–1 without Diego ensuring another top flight season for the club, though Diego was fined €500,000 for his actions.
Atlético Madrid
On the last day of transfer season Diego joined Atlético Madrid on season-long loan. On 10 September 2011, he made his debut for Atlético against ValenciaValencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
. He scored his first goal for Atletico in a Europa League game against Celtic.
International career
Mexico national football team
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...
. He was later included in Brazil U-23
Brazil Olympic football team
Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation...
team that competed in 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean ....
alongside Santos' teammate Robinho
Robinho
Robson de Souza , more commonly known as Robinho, is a Brazilian professional footballer who currently plays as second striker and winger for Serie A club AC Milan...
. Although Brazil compete as an under-23 team, the international appearances and goals were recorded as FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
acknowledge the tournament as senior-team matches. He appeared five times and scored two goals as Brazil U-23 lost out to Mexico senior-team in the final.
In 2004, Diego was called up for the Brazil national squad for the Copa América 2004
Copa América 2004
The Copa América 2004 was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in Peru, who hosted the tournament for the sixth time,...
, and he was instrumental in securing the tournament victory for Brazil when he scored in the penalty shootout against Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
in the final.
However, due to his decline in performance with FC Porto between 2004 and 2006, he was often left out of the Brazil squad. He was mostly playing as deputy to Kaká
Kaká
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite , commonly known as Kaká , is a Brazilian football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club...
and was also left out of the Brazil squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
.
After a move to Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
, he regained his form and subsequently recalled to the Brazil squad for a in November 2006. He was then included in Brazil's squad for Copa América 2007
Copa América 2007
The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams...
, which Brazil went on to win, once again defeating Argentina in the final.
Diego also participated with Brazil U-23 team for 2008 Olympics
Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and several other cities in the People's Republic of China from 6 August to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to send their full women's national teams and men's U-23 teams to participate...
in Beijing. Brazil went on to achieve Bronze medal with a third place finish in the tournament.
Honours
Santos- Campeonato BrasileiroCampeonato Brasileiro Série AThe Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
: 1
-
- 2002Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 2002The 32nd season of the Campeonato Brasileiro began on August 10, 2002, and reached its end on December 15, 2002. The competition was won by Santos.-Format:The 26 teams played against each other once...
- 2002
Porto
- Portuguese SupercupSuperCup Cândido de OliveiraThe Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira , also known as Portuguese SuperCup) is a Portuguese football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of the Portuguese Liga and the winners of the Cup of Portugal. If a team wins The Double , the double winner plays the defeated team of the Cup...
: 1
-
- 2004
- Intercontinental CupIntercontinental Cup (football)The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
: 1
- Intercontinental Cup
- 20042004 Intercontinental CupThe 2004 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on 12 December 2004 between FC Porto, winners of 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, and Once Caldas, winners of the 2004 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the neutral venue of the International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan, in...
- Portuguese LigaPortuguese LigaThe Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...
: 1
- Portuguese Liga
- 2006
- Portuguese CupTaça de PortugalThe Taça de Portugal is the main Portuguese national football knock-out competition. The tournament has been officially known as the Taça de Portugal Millennium since 2008, due to its sponsorship by Portuguese private bank Millennium BCP. It has occurred on a yearly basis since 1938 and is...
: 1
- Portuguese Cup
- 2006
- 2004
Werder Bremen
- German League CupDFB-LigapokalThe DFB-Ligapokal, or German League Cup, was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous Fußball-Bundesliga season and the winners of the DFB-Pokal in Germany...
: 1
-
- 2006
- German Cup: 1
- 2009
- 2006
International
- Salerno Mundialito: 1
-
- 2000
- South American Under 17 ChampionshipSouth American Under 17 Football ChampionshipThe South American Under-17 Football Championship is a football competition held every two years for South American under-17 teams. The tournament was born in 1985 out of a need for a classification tournament for the newly created FIFA U-16 World Cup . For the first three editions , the...
: 1
- South American Under 17 Championship
- 20012001 South American Under 17 Football ChampionshipThe South American Under 17 Football Championship of 2001 was played in Peru from 2 till 18 March 2001.The host of the competition was the city of Arequipa-First round:The 10 national teams were divided in 2 groups of 5 teams each...
- Toulon TournamentToulon TournamentThe Toulon Tournament is a football tournament which traditionally features invited national teams composed of under-21 players, although the first tournament in 1967 featured club teams...
: 1
- Toulon Tournament
- 2002
- Copa AméricaCopa AméricaThe Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...
: 2
- Copa América
- 2004Copa América 2004The Copa América 2004 was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in Peru, who hosted the tournament for the sixth time,...
, 2007Copa América 2007The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams...
- Olympic Bronze Medalist: 1
- 2008
- 2000
Club career
|-
|2002||rowspan="3"|Santos||rowspan="3"|Série A
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
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|2003||33||9||—||—||||||—||—||33||9
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|2004–05||rowspan="2"|Porto||rowspan="2"|Portuguese Liga
Portuguese Liga
The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...
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|2005–06||19||1||||||||||4||1||23||2
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|2006–07||rowspan="3"|Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
||rowspan="3"|Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
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|2007–08||30||13||3||1||||||8||2||41||16
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|2008–09||21||12||5||2||||||13||7||39||22
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|2009–10
2009–10 Serie A
The 2009–10 Serie A was the seventy-eighth season since its establishment. There were three promoted teams from the Serie B, replacing the three teams that were relegated following the 2008–09 season. Nike provided a new match ball - the T90 Ascente - for this season...
||rowspan="2"|Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
||rowspan="2"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
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|2010–11
2010–11 Fußball-Bundesliga
The 2010–11 Fußball-Bundesliga was the 48th season of the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season started on the weekend of 21 August 2010 with the traditional season opening match involving the defending champions and ended with the last games on 14 May 2011. The winter...
||rowspan="1"|Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg is a professional German association football club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, who play in the Bundesliga football competition. Wolfsburg have won the Bundesliga once in their history, in the 2008–09 season, and were DFB-Pokal runners-up in 1995. The current head coach is Felix...
||rowspan="1"|Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
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246||71||13||5||3||0||57||13||319||89
International career
| National team | Season | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the... |
2003 | 7 | 2 |
| 2004 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2004–2005 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2005–2006 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2006–2007 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2007–2008 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2008–2009 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 4 | |
| International appearances and goals | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Goal | Competition |
| 2003 | ||||||
| 1. | 30 April 2003 | Guadalajara Guadalajara Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco... , Mexico |
0–0 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|
| 2. | 13 July 2003 | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... , Mexico |
0–1 | 0 | 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean .... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
|
| 3. | 16 July 2003 | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... , Mexico |
2–1 | 1 | 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean .... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
|
| 4. | 19 July 2003 | Miami, United States | 2–0 | 0 | 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean .... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
|
| 5. | 23 July 2003 | Miami, United States | 2–1 | 1 | 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean .... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
|
| 6. | 27 July 2003 | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... , Mexico |
0–1 | 0 | 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean .... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
|
| 7. | 7 September 2003 | Barranquilla Barranquilla Barranquilla is an industrial port city and municipality located in northern Colombia, near the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region with a population of 1,148,506 as of 2005, which makes it Colombia's... , Colombia |
2–1 | 0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for South America. 10 teams took part, all in a single group. The rules were very simple: the teams would play against each other in a home-and-away basis, with the four teams with most points qualifying to... |
|
| 2004 | ||||||
| 7 January 2004 | Concepción Concepción, Chile Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants... , Chile |
4–0 | 1 | 2004 Olympic Games qualification 2004 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament -Group B:-------------------------------------Playoffs:-----Final stage:---------------------Scorers:5 goals Sergio Herrera... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
||
| 9 January 2004 | Concepción Concepción, Chile Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants... , Chile |
3–0 | 1 | 2004 Olympic Games qualification 2004 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament -Group B:-------------------------------------Playoffs:-----Final stage:---------------------Scorers:5 goals Sergio Herrera... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
||
| 11 January 2004 | Concepción Concepción, Chile Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants... , Chile |
1–1 | 0 | 2004 Olympic Games qualification 2004 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament -Group B:-------------------------------------Playoffs:-----Final stage:---------------------Scorers:5 goals Sergio Herrera... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
||
| 15 January 2004 | Concepción Concepción, Chile Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants... , Chile |
1–1 | 0 | 2004 Olympic Games qualification 2004 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament -Group B:-------------------------------------Playoffs:-----Final stage:---------------------Scorers:5 goals Sergio Herrera... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
||
| 21 January 2004 | Valparaíso Valparaíso Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region... , Chile |
0–1 | 0 | 2004 Olympic Games qualification 2004 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament -Group B:-------------------------------------Playoffs:-----Final stage:---------------------Scorers:5 goals Sergio Herrera... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
||
| 23 January 2004 | Viña del Mar Viña del Mar Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located... , Chile |
3–1 | 1 | 2004 Olympic Games qualification 2004 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament -Group B:-------------------------------------Playoffs:-----Final stage:---------------------Scorers:5 goals Sergio Herrera... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
||
| 25 January 2004 | Viña del Mar Viña del Mar Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located... , Chile |
0–2 | 0 | 2004 Olympic Games qualification 2004 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament -Group B:-------------------------------------Playoffs:-----Final stage:---------------------Scorers:5 goals Sergio Herrera... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
||
| 8. | 8 July 2004 | Arequipa Arequipa Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country... , Peru |
1–0 | 0 | Copa América 2004 Copa América 2004 The Copa América 2004 was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in Peru, who hosted the tournament for the sixth time,... |
|
| 9. | 11 July 2004 | Arequipa Arequipa Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country... , Peru |
4–1 | 0 | Copa América 2004 Copa América 2004 The Copa América 2004 was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in Peru, who hosted the tournament for the sixth time,... |
|
| 10. | 14 July 2004 | Arequipa Arequipa Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country... , Peru |
1–2 | 0 | Copa América 2004 Copa América 2004 The Copa América 2004 was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in Peru, who hosted the tournament for the sixth time,... |
|
| 11. | 21 July 2004 | Lima Lima Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima... , Peru |
1–1 | 0 | Copa América 2004 Copa América 2004 The Copa América 2004 was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in Peru, who hosted the tournament for the sixth time,... |
|
| 12. | 25 July 2004 | Lima Lima Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima... , Peru |
2–2 | 0 | Copa América 2004 Copa América 2004 The Copa América 2004 was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in Peru, who hosted the tournament for the sixth time,... |
|
| 2006–2007 | ||||||
| 13. | 15 November 2006 | Basel Basel Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany... , Switzerland |
2–1 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|
| 14. | 6 February 2007 | London, England | 0–2 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|
| 15. | 24 March 2007 | Gothenburg Gothenburg Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area... , Sweden |
4–0 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|
| 16. | 27 March 2007 | Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area... , Sweden |
1–0 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|
| 17. | 1 June 2007 | London, England | 1–1 | 1 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|
| 18. | 5 June 2007 | Dortmund Dortmund Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union.... , Germany |
0–0 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|
| 19. | 26 June 2007 | Puerto Ordaz Puerto Ordaz Puerto Ordaz is a planned city which, together with the older settlement of San Felix, forms Ciudad Guayana in Bolívar State, eastern Venezuela. Puerto Ordaz is located at the confluence of the Caroní and Orinoco Rivers and is the site of the Llovizna Falls. There are bridges across the Caroni and... , Venezuela |
0–2 | 0 | Copa América 2007 Copa América 2007 The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams... |
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| 20. | 4 July 2007 | Puerto la Cruz Puerto la Cruz Puerto la Cruz is a port city located in Anzoátegui State, in Venezuela. It is the seat of the Juan Antonio Sotillo Municipality. The city has road connections to the state capital, Barcelona, to Lecheria and to Guanta, and has the potential to become the largest and most important metropolitan... , Venezuela |
1–0 | 0 | Copa América 2007 Copa América 2007 The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams... |
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| 21. | 10 July 2007 | Maracaibo Maracaibo Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state... , Venezuela |
2–2 | 0 | Copa América 2007 Copa América 2007 The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams... |
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| 22. | 15 July 2007 | Maracaibo Maracaibo Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state... , Venezuela |
3–0 | 0 | Copa América 2007 Copa América 2007 The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams... |
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| 2007–2008 | ||||||
| 23. | 22 August 2007 | Montpellier Montpellier -Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council.... , France |
2–0 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
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| 24. | 9 September 2007 | Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... , United States |
4–2 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
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| 25. | 17 October 2007 | Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th... , Brazil |
5–0 | 0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) The South American zone of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 10 teams competing for places in the finals which were held in South Africa. The format is identical to that used for the previous three World Cup qualification tournaments held by CONMEBOL... |
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| 26. | 6 February 2008 | Dublin, Ireland | 1–0 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
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| 27. | 26 March 2008 | London, England | 1–0 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
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| 28. | 31 May 2008 | Seattle, United States | 3–2 | 1 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
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| 29. | 6 June 2008 | Boston Boston Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had... , United States |
0–2 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
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| 30. | 15 June 2008 | Asunción Asunción Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San... , Paraguay |
0–2 | 0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) The South American zone of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 10 teams competing for places in the finals which were held in South Africa. The format is identical to that used for the previous three World Cup qualification tournaments held by CONMEBOL... |
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| 31. | 18 June 2008 | Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country... , Brazil |
0–0 | 0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) The South American zone of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 10 teams competing for places in the finals which were held in South Africa. The format is identical to that used for the previous three World Cup qualification tournaments held by CONMEBOL... |
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| 22 June 2008 | Volta Redonda Volta Redonda Volta Redonda is the name of a city in the Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil with 182.81 km² of area, located from 350m to 707m from the sea level and with a population of 259,811 inhabitants . The area around the city has nearly 700,000... , Brazil |
 Rio de Janeiro State SelectionRio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th... |
1–0 | 0 | Unofficial friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
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| 2008–2009 | ||||||
| 28 July 2008 | Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
3–0 | 1 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
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| 1 August 2008 | Hanoi Hanoi Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam... , Vietnam |
3–0 | 0 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
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| 7 August 2008 | Shenyang Shenyang Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu... , China PR People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... |
1–0 | 0 | 2008 Olympic Games Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament The men's association football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and four other cities in the People's Republic of China from 7 August to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to enter their men's U-23 teams in regional qualifying competitions, from... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
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| 10 August 2008 | Shenyang Shenyang Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu... , China PR People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... |
5–0 | 0 | 2008 Olympic Games Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament The men's association football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and four other cities in the People's Republic of China from 7 August to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to enter their men's U-23 teams in regional qualifying competitions, from... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
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| 13 August 2008 | Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao is a port city in northeastern Hebei province of North China. It is about 300 km east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea.... , China PR People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... |
3–0 | 1 | 2008 Olympic Games Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament The men's association football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and four other cities in the People's Republic of China from 7 August to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to enter their men's U-23 teams in regional qualifying competitions, from... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
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| 16 August 2008 | Shenyang Shenyang Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu... , China PR People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... |
2–0 | 0 | 2008 Olympic Games Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament The men's association football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and four other cities in the People's Republic of China from 7 August to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to enter their men's U-23 teams in regional qualifying competitions, from... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
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| 19 August 2008 | Beijing, China PR People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... |
0–3 | 0 | 2008 Olympic Games Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament The men's association football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and four other cities in the People's Republic of China from 7 August to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to enter their men's U-23 teams in regional qualifying competitions, from... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
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| 22 August 2008 | Shanghai, China PR People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... |
3–0 | 1 | 2008 Olympic Games Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament The men's association football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and four other cities in the People's Republic of China from 7 August to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to enter their men's U-23 teams in regional qualifying competitions, from... (Brazil U-23 Brazil Olympic football team Brazil Olympic football team represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation... ) |
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| 32. | 7 September 2008 | Santiago Santiago, Chile Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level... , Chile |
3–0 | 0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) The South American zone of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 10 teams competing for places in the finals which were held in South Africa. The format is identical to that used for the previous three World Cup qualification tournaments held by CONMEBOL... |
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| 33. | 10 September 2008 | Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th... , Brazil |
0–0 | 0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) The South American zone of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 10 teams competing for places in the finals which were held in South Africa. The format is identical to that used for the previous three World Cup qualification tournaments held by CONMEBOL... |
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Personal life
Diego is of Italian ancestry with both of his paternal great grandparents emigrating from ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. His paternal great grandfather, Carlo Lazzari, came from Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, Italy, and his paternal great grandmother, Maria Concetta Viola, came from Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy. As a result of his Italian ancestry, Diego received his Italian passport in 2004.
External links
- Atlético Madrid official profile
- Diego at Transfermarkt