Unlike others, Diego Ribas da Cunha, who insisted on retiring at the age of 37, created unexpected surprises, not that he has lifted 12 trophies, including two Copa Libertadores, since joining Flamengo in 2016, but Diego, who suffered a malicious foul in 2019, almost retired early.
"It was a complex and serious operation. Ligament sutures were performed and fibula fractures were fixed. This was what the surgeon said at the time, but the surgery actually took 3 hours and Diego was away from the ring for 4 months.
Swimming against the current, Diego plays the bloody story of the veteran's immortality, but throughout his career, the flaws have not been hidden. When he first debuted, he and Robinho were on a par with Santos talent, wearing the number 10 shirt, he made his international debut at the age of 18, lifted two Primera League titles before the age of 19, and at one point became the youngest champion in Brazilian league history. While Diego is a Sao Paulo fan and idolizes Rai, Santos doesn't mind the genius gilded under him.
Unexpectedly, his first stop in the "stay abroad" was set in Porto, and the post-Mourinho Porto won the Toyota Cup and the Portuguese Premier League, but Diego was not happy here, injuries and circumstances made it difficult for him to move, so much so that he made only 19 league appearances in the 2005-06 season.
As for memories? I only remember that he insulted his opponent in the penalty shootout in the Toyota Cup final, and was sent off with a red card.
However, Diego's market was not discounted, the outside world just thought that he was on the wrong sedan chair, so Bremen grabbed the Brazilian for 6 million euros, and he scored 6 goals in the first two rounds of the Bundesliga to replace Miku, overshadowing Klose and winning the title of "Maradona of Bremen".
In his first season he was elected German Footballer of the Year with 50.7% of the absolute vote, and in the next two seasons, Diego continued his win-win model, Bremen were able to compete in the Champions League in a row, and of course Diego defended the Copa America in 2007.
'He's a very skilled player, imaginative in passing and has a strong desire to shoot himself", the triumphant Diego deserves such praise. Real Madrid, Chelsea and Juventus were all eyeing him, and finally joined the "Old Lady" in 2009 for 25 million euros.
But in the process of going high, Diego, who won the Bundesliga assist king, went high and low in Serie A, assisted by free kicks in the first round, scored in the second round against Roma and sent 7 key passes, the style of technical flow was praised by Platini, and Diego also took the opportunity to make a declaration of love, claiming that he liked Italian fans and food, and even described the car with interest.
Four months later, the recent poor Juve began to breed negative press, Diego was booed by fans as "a liar", and his secret battle with Piero in the position surfaced, the two even almost touched in training, and after Ferrara's class, the successor Delneri directly stated that "the Brazilian needs to learn to adapt to the team, not the team to adapt to him".
In just one season, he experienced the feeling of going from heaven to hell, and Juventus' seventh-place finish indirectly forced Diego to start over, and tragically, he missed the World Cup in South Africa.
Back in the familiar Bundesliga, Diego and VfL Wolfsburg did not huddle in time to warm up, and even fined 100,000 euros for grabbing penalties, while the Brazilian had an even more uncomfortable time after Magatte took over, especially since he was excluded from the finale squad in 2010-11, and an angry Diego simply flew directly to Brazil for a holiday. With an annual salary of 6 million euros, he did not become a savior, but showed big trouble attributes and even slapped his teammates in training.
Isolated by his teammates, he eventually went on loan at Atletico Madrid, where he won the Europa League and made up for the regrets of his Wolvesburg days, and throughout the Cup, the Brazilian, who scored three goals and nine assists in 12 appearances, seemed to be a prodigal son looking back, and the final against Bilbao was quite eye-catching.
So much so that Diego, who returned to Wolfsburg as a two-season frustrated man, later returned here and lifted the La Liga title by the way. Of course, fans remember vividly in the Champions League quarter-final, when he came off the bench and scored a world wave at Camp Nou, but he was in tears for Atletico Madrid and was a spectator in the 2014 Champions League final.
He thought that the Brazilian would be happy in the five major leagues, but he unexpectedly joined Fenerbahce at the age of 29, perhaps missing the World Cup in Brazil again made Diego re-orient his career, unfortunately, in the enthusiastic fans, the former Zico successor only won two runners-up, but in terms of role, he has long been away from the Brazilian national team and has played remarkably.
Before his next stop in Brazil, Diego received a hefty offer from the Chinese Super League, and he thought about the 2008 Olympics where he had shown Chinese fans to see talent up close, but the 31-year-old was determined after careful consideration that his last remaining heat should be in the Bundesliga, and he missed his mother's cooking skills and his father's teaching.
It proved to be a wise choice, both a brief return to the Brazilian national team and an absolute leader of flamengo, matching the veteran's style with 31 goals and 26 assists in 234 appearances, and it is worth mentioning that on the night when Flamengo lifted the Copa do Brasil, Diego deliberately took the trophy and posed with the stadium cleaners, a form of expression of belonging.
Looking back on Diego's career, he rose to fame at a young age, but was frustrated by the European giants, so much so that he played only 34 games for the Brazilian national team, but he woke up in time to capture the lost beauty in the age of falling leaves.