Deco
Anderson Luís de Souza OIH (born 27 August 1977), also known as Deco (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈdɛku]), 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.
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Deco playing for Fluminense in 2013 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Anderson Luís de Souza | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 27 August 1977 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Nacional (SP) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Corinthians | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Corinthians | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997 | CSA | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Benfica | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | → Alverca (loan) | 32 | (20) | ||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Salgueiros | 12 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–2004 | Porto | 148 | (57) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2008 | Barcelona | 113 | (31) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Chelsea | 43 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Fluminense | 56 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 406 | (133) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2010 | Portugal | 75 | (19) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Barcelona (sporting director) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
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 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 received Portuguese citizenship in 2002 having completed five years of Portuguese residence, and subsequently opted to play internationally for the Portugal national team. 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.