The protagonist of Barcelona's "Dream II Dynasty" is of course "Ronaldinho", but the green leaf players behind him cannot be ignored; the Portuguese Deco is the best assistant of Xiao Luo, who leads the way to the top of Europe.
Originally a Brazilian, Deco chose this path of travel to Europe early on, moving to The Portuguese Super League powerhouse Benfica in 1997, but he failed to gain a foothold in Benfica, was loaned to Alverca, and later played for Salgueiros, two less famous teams in Portugal. In 1999, Decaux was unexpectedly favored by domestic powerhouse Porto and was seen by team president Toni as the next Rui Costa.
Deco was not optimistic in the early days of joining, but in the end Deco finally became a super midfielder under Mourinho. In the 2002–03 season, Deco delivered 12 goals and 29 assists (and 17 yellow cards) in 45 games in all competitions, and in addition to his creative ability and vision, he was also quite willing to return to the defense team defense, becoming the first form of Mourinho's "defensive attacking midfielder". This season, Porto won the Europa League under Deco and also won the league.
In the second quarter, Deco took it to the next level, delivering four goals and 29 assists in 45 games, forming a Portuguese central axis with Maniche, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, Bosingwa and others, leading the Champions League and achieving a good story. At the end of the season, a group of Porto's "golden generation" scattered, Mourinho came to Chelsea to take charge of the whip, but also took Ricardo Carvalho and Paul Ferreira; at that time Deco also rumored that chelsea would be in the past, but in the end the Portuguese chose to cross barcelona and go to La Liga. Because of his outstanding performance in Porto, Deco was selected for the Final Selection of the Ballon d'Or, but unfortunately, he only got the second place and did not make it to the top (the winner of the Golden Globe was Shevchenko).
In Barcelona, Deco continued to have excellent performances, forming an unstoppable attacking combination with Ronaldinho, Eto'o and others. In his four seasons in Barcelona, Deco played 161 games for the team, delivering 20 goals and 45 assists, leading two La Liga titles, and also won the Big Ear Cup with the team in the 2005-06 season, achieving the legend of dream two. Although Deco's sharp edge in Barcelona is completely overshadowed by "Xiao Luo", his performance is definitely still a master level. His big-picture view and passing vision are quite superior, and when Xavi, Iniesta and other juniors have not yet looked up, Deco is the heavy player who single-handedly supported the Barcelona midfield.
In the summer of 2008, Deco moved to Chelsea for £8 million to reunite with national team boss Scolari. In the Blues, Although Deco is not the main force of the team, it still adds a lot of competitiveness to the Blues midfield. In his two seasons with the Blues, Deco played in 58 games for the team, scoring six goals and five assists, and in his premier league match against Portsmouth, he scored an unrivalled world wave, which is still talked about today. However, because Scolari was soon dismissed by the Blues, Deco was close to leaving the team in mid-season, when Mourinho was rumored to be interested in taking him to Inter; but the deal was not finally settled.
Under Ancelotti, Deco's importance has increased, and Ancelotti has from time to time arranged a 4-4-2 "Diamond Formation" in that season, with Essien, Deco, Ballack and Lampard forming a four-person midfielder, but the effect is surprisingly good, and the Blues also successfully regained the Lost Three Seasons premier League title in the season; at the same time, they won the FA Cup and achieved the great feat of local doubles. However, Deco did not get the ball to stay, and the Portuguese decided to return to Brazil to join Fluminense, retiring three years later (2013).
Deco's career peak is the second place to win the Ballon d'Or, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a legend of a generation; unfortunately, when he played for major teams, the light was taken away by others. In Porto, the focus of the team is of course the "madman" Mourinho; in Barcelona, it is the world of Ronaldinho; in Chelsea, lampard and Drogba, who scored goals, are more dazzling than Deco. However, this Brazilian-Portuguese player is indeed a generation of midfield masters in the world of football, and it is really a pleasure to watch his control and pass the essence.