Deco

Anderson Luís de Souza (born 27 August 1977), also known as Deco, is a former professional football player who primarily played as an attacking or central midfielder.

Born and raised in Brazil, he acquired Portuguese citizenship and played for Portugal.

He is regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation.

He currently works as sporting director in Barcelona.

In the 1997 edition, Benfica sent Toni to scout the tournament, and he soon noticed Deco, recommending his signing.

In June 1997, Benfica purchased his rights from CSA and immediately sent him on loan (along with fellow Brazilian Caju) to their farm team, Alverca.

After helping them win promotion to the top tier in 1997–98 season by scoring 13 goals in 32 appearances, he returned to Benfica in July 1998.

However, he left for Salgueiros in exchange for Nandinho, who went in the opposite direction.

When asked by Nuno Gomes in an interview for FourFourTwo why he did not stay and become a legend at Benfica, Deco said, "Benfica decided, it wasn't my decision. They didn't want me. The coach was Graeme Souness at the time. I was young and Benfica needed some players."

At Salgueiros, Deco was plagued by injuries and only made a few appearances, until Porto purchased him in March 1999, in time to win the league title.

His release from Benfica and subsequent success with Porto was considered by António Simões as an "historical mistake", while Toni stated he saw in Deco, a successor for Rui Costa the club needed since his departure.

In his first season with Porto, Deco scored a goal after just 30.08 seconds in a 1–0 away win against Molde in the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League.

Deco received Portuguese citizenship in 2002 having completed five years of Portuguese residence, and subsequently opted to play internationally for the Portugal national team.

Under the guidance of manager José Mourinho in the 2002–03 season, Deco scored 10 goals in 30 matches and received 17 yellow cards and 1 red card.

He was one of the key players in Porto's UEFA Cup final 3–2 win over Celtic 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 UEFA Champions League's top assist provider and also suffered the most fouls in the Champions League that season.

That season, Deco also won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year as well as the award for the best midfielder in the competition.

Deco is one of the few players to have won the UEFA Champions League with two clubs, with Porto in 2004 and Barcelona in 2006.

He was named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and UEFA Best Midfielder in Porto's Champions League-winning season and was named Man of the Match in the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final.

Deco was the first player to win the UEFA Best Midfielder Award with two clubs, Porto and Barcelona.

He earned 75 caps for them, playing at two UEFA European Championships and two FIFA World Cups, reaching the final of Euro 2004, and achieving a fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup.

Born in São Bernardo do Campo, Deco spent time at Corinthians as a youngster, competing in the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior for them.

A deal was achieved between Porto and Barcelona the day after the Euro 2004 final.

Barcelona agreed on a €15 million fee in cash, plus the complete rights of Ricardo Quaresma to Porto, which tagged Quaresma for €6 million.

On 14 May 2005, Deco played in the draw against Levante, which gave Barcelona their 17th La Liga title.

He also was named Barcelona's player of the season in the 2005–06 season.

He was awarded the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball and the Man of the Match award in the final despite losing to Internacional.

Deco scored twice in the 2006 Supercopa de España, which Barça won.

Deco won the UEFA Best Midfielder Award yet again for his performance in Barça's UEFA 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.

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.

On 30 June 2008, Chelsea signed Deco from Barcelona on a three-year contract for €10 million (£8 million).

He was the first signing of new Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was formerly the head coach of the Portugal national team.

Deco scored on his Chelsea debut and his Premier League debut with a 30-yard goal in a 4–0 victory over Portsmouth.

Deco followed up his performance by scoring in his second game for Chelsea, a curling free-kick against Wigan Athletic.

These performances led to him winning the Premier League Player of the Month award for August.

Deco made his UEFA Champions League debut for Chelsea on 16 September.

Deco injured himself during a training session, but he returned from the thigh injury on 19 October and came on as a substitute against Middlesbrough.

He was sent off in the 3–1 defeat by Roma on 4 November 2008.

He then scored a bicycle kick against Bolton Wanderers on 6 December.