Giant passers-by, game cattlemen, fringe internationals, those players you forgot, live stream remember. This issue of football brings you the story of Diego, a genius with a special name and a special encounter.
Name: Diego Ribas da Cunha
Birthday/Age: February 28, 1985 (age 34)
Nationality: Brazilian (of partial Italian descent)
Place of birth: Ribeirao Preto
Youth team: Santos
Main teams: Santos, Porto, Werder Bremen, Juventus, Wolfsburg, Atletico, Fenerbach, Flamengo
Position: Attack midfield
Height: 173cm
Weight: 73Kg
Dominant foot: Right foot
Nickname: One of Santos' double stars, Zico's successor
Technical features: excellent foot skills, excellent passing ability, excellent ability to insert goals
South America, the most fanatical football region on earth. There is no shortage of geniuses here, not even geniuses named "Diego".
We can count as many famous players as "Diego": Fran, Milito, Costa, Godin, and of course Maradona and Simone.
Being able to use this name as your own name, and to be recognized and remembered by others, requires not only courage, but also enough talent. And talented Brazilians, there will always be big and small decisive battles waiting for them.
[Genius teenager, double star shining; landing in the black shop, the death of Zhongyong?] 】
Genius, genius, often shows its extraordinary features when they are young.
At the age of 6, Diego showed his talent in the youth echelon of commercial clubs, but these small clubs did not meet Diego's ambitions. At the age of 12, Diego came to the state of São Paulo and joined the team that once cultivated the "king of the ball" Pele - Santos.
(Diego's wonderful performance in Santos)
At the age of 16, Diego made his career debut at the Rio State Championship. In his debut season, Diego scored 10 league goals, and he and Robinho were known as the "Santos Twin Stars", attracting the covetousness of many European giants, and their influence was no less than that of another pair of "Twin Stars" Neymar and Ganso.
(Santos Twin Stars Shine)
The twin stars, together with Elano and Alex, are invincible in Brazil, winning two League ones in three years. Diego scored 35 goals in 127 matches, showing off his offensive talent, amazing talent, delicate technique and white skin, reminiscent of "White Bailey" Zico.
The prodigies we know often skip the learning stage of ordinary people, have high education at a young age, and the same is true in the field of football, and their outstanding talent allows Diego to quickly complete the triple jump at all levels of the national team.
When he was a Santos academy player, he had already won the South American U-17 Championship for Brazil's U-17. This was the first major tournament title he won, and it was also the first final mode and result that he successfully collected.
Soon, he ushered in the jump.
For us today, the term "U-23" is nothing more than signing in with the age threshold, being "retired" after a year, and having to be changed several times in a game. Diego, who had just turned 18, participated in the international A-class tournament - the CENTRAL AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN FOOTBALL UNION GOLD CUP as a Brazilian U-23 player, and even before that, he was called up by the adult national team to make his national team debut.
In the final of the Gold Cup in Central America and the Caribbean, Brazil once again lost to Mexico, giving Diego the first taste of the bitter fruit of the final defeat of the competition. Still, it shows the strength of the football kingdom, the huge age advantage (not to change the age to bully the small, but to win the young), Diego began to run between the U-23 and the adult national team.
Diego played a central role in the olympic qualifiers. In the 2004 Copa America in Peru, brazil, which did not recruit superstars such as Big Norio and Kaca, sent a large number of young players, although people remembered Adriano more as a super substitute, Diego appeared in every game, especially in the final penalty shootout, Diego scored his own penalty, helped Brazil beat the sworn enemy Argentina, and won another important championship trophy of his career, while gaining a different final experience.
(Diego scored a penalty in the Copa America final)
After winning many glories in south America, Diego also began his career in Europe following the trajectory of his predecessors.
The Portuguese League, which is also Portuguese-speaking, is the first choice for many Brazilian players to land in Europe, and Porto, which is the European champion of the new branch and is good at discovering South American players and changing hands at high prices, seems to be the most suitable next home.
Diego is seen as the best successor to another Brazilian genius, Deco, but this rigid metaphysics is clearly not feasible, and even the proud son of heaven, Diego, is difficult to adapt to.
In Porto, Diego won more titles – two Portuguese Super Cups and a Toyota Cup – but he made 30 league appearances in his first european season, scoring only three goals, and the following season saw a sharp drop in appearances for various reasons, seemingly confirming the story that "less time is not better". Embarrassingly, after reducing Diego's tactical position, Porto regained the league title.
Diego therefore chose to leave, and his next stop was Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. Alofs, known as the best manager in the Bundesliga, took Diego from the "black shop" for just 6 million euros, and Porto, which rarely looked at the materials, once again looked at the valuation of Diego's future. But fortunately, this wrong place met the wrong person, achieved the great cause of Four consecutive porto domestic league championships, and also achieved a better Diego in front of everyone.
[Bundesliga journey, technical poverty alleviation, fame, but also taste the consequences]
Under The German Coach of the Year in 2004, Schaff, Werder Bremen was once again a Bundesliga powerhouse in the early 2004s. At that time, the team was full of a large number of straightforward and capable but not known for their skills:
Mertesack and Naldo sit in the back, there are international players such as Flynns, Borovsky and Baumann sweeping and tandem at the back, and the "KK combination" composed of "K God" Klose and "Kidney Fighter" on the front line, all of which are important contributors to Bremen's becoming the domestic double in 2004, and the frenchman Miku who plays the midfield engine for the team.
After Miku left, Diego, who took over the No. 10 shirt, quickly integrated into the team's offensive football system and played his personal technical advantages to the fullest.
In the pre-season DFB-Pokal, Diego helped the team beat the powerful Bayern Munich. Since then, whenever he plays against the Bundesliga giants, Diego often performs well, so that Bremen does not fall behind.
(Goal against Bayern)
Feeling Diego's power, Bayern did not stop baying, in the first round of the league's "Saxon Derby", Diego's insertion of a goal opened the team's record, and twice assisted near the end of the game, helping Bremen beat Hannover 96 to make the opening. Then, in the second round, Diego helped the team beat Bayer Leverkusen with two assists, and his outstanding performance made him the Bundesliga Player of the Month of August, and this was just the beginning.
Starting with the sixth round of the Bundesliga against Borussia Mönchengladbach at the end of September, Diego led Bremen to score 18 goals in four rounds, winning four consecutive games. Diego not only scored consecutive goals, but also staged an "assist hat-trick" against Bochum.
This season, Diego scored in 13 games, with the team winning 12 of them.
The best of those goals came in the 30th round of the league, Bremen's 3-1 home win over Aachen, where the league title contenders' victory over teams mired in the relegation zone was not a chorus of praise, but Diego's goal made the game different.
In the stoppage time of the game, the Aachen goalkeeper, who was eager to equalize, abandoned the goal and attempted to compete for the top of the header in the Bremen penalty area, Diego got the ball and made a slight adjustment, he got up and hit the goal at a position of about 70 meters from the goal, the ball crossed the beautiful parabola, and finally jumped into the opponent's goal accurately.
(Diego's shocking hanging shot)
The stunning long-range shot was voted the Bundesliga goal of the year, which became the epitome of Diego's season.
Kickers named Diego in the best 11-man squad of the season, and Schaff said bluntly that Diego was the club's biggest asset. At that time, there were also fans who laughed and said that Diego, who played the opposing defense in the applause, was actually coming to the Bundesliga to help the poor.
In the 2007–08 season, Diego continued to work hard, with consecutive goals and assists helping Bremen to a league runner-up. He himself became the Bundesliga assist king, again being named the 11th man of the season and the midfielder of the year. But the flaw is that Diego was suspended for three games in the 21st round of the league for retaliating against his opponents, and the Brazilian's disciplinary problems began to gradually unfold.
When the "double K combination" left before the start of the 2008-09 season, Diego took on more of the responsibility of destroying the city. He was paired with his new partners Pizarro and Ozil, along with Rosenberg, Kruzer, Hunt and former Porto teammate Almeida on the bench, but it was still difficult to hide the pain of the two-gun departure, and Diego's disciplinary problems also made them punished a lot.
In the 1-0 away defeat to Karlsruhe, Diego was heavily punished by the German Football Association for his vicious behavior of angrily pinching his opponents by the camera. This allowed Bremen to score only one point in the next three rounds, and in the end, the team reached the top three of the league for five consecutive years, and could only finish the season with a tenth place finish. The only happy thing is that they achieved a good result in the UEFA Cup, and Diego also played the role of devil and angel - his goal helped the team to beat Hamburg away from home and eliminate the opponent with the advantage of an away goal, but he led the yellow card in the 41st minute, which led to his suspension for accumulating yellow cards, and could only witness the lack of core Bremen being defeated by Miner Donetsk on the sidelines, in this way brushing shoulders with his first European trophy, the result is undoubtedly bitter, But that doesn't negate Diego's brilliant performance when he first joined the Bundesliga.
His outstanding performances have allowed Diego to continue to find a place in the Brazilian national team.
After the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the brazilian team led by the new coach Dunga ushered in a replacement, Dunga changed the gorgeous playing style of the Brazilian team, focusing on creating the defensive counterattack system of Kaka, Fabiano and Robinho, Diego is still just a super substitute. In the 2007 Copa America, Diego originally won a main left midfield position, but against the old enemy Mexico, Diego was quite average, and was replaced at half-time, and then returned to the familiar substitute position in the following game. But Brazil is on the right track, passing the hurdles and once again playing Argentina in the final.
Two of the most prestigious rivals in South American and even world football have once again hit the earth, and "Zico's successor" Diego and "Pele's successor" Robinho are fighting for two "Maradona successors" Messi and Tevez is a good selling point. However, Diego did not appear until 90 minutes as a pawn to delay time, and after only one minute on the field, he "rubbed" the second Copa America title.
It is not easy to say whether it is right or wrong, but don't forget, Diego was only 22 years old at that time, and the Olympic Games were his stage, of course, this sentence also applies to Messi, who was only 20 years old at the time.
On August 13, 2008, in the men's football group stage of the Beijing Olympic Games, Diego took the lead in knocking on the door of the Chinese team through a series of dazzling cooperation against the Chinese Olympic Games, fully demonstrating the strength of the Brazilian team.
(Beijing Olympics Diego's goal against China's Olympic Games)
Brazil reached the final four of the Olympic Games without suspense, and their opponents are still Argentina. In addition to the peak showdown between the no. 10 captains of the two teams, Riquelme and Xiao Luo, the new generation showdown between the two "No. 15s", Diego and Messi, is also an important highlight of the game. As a result, Messi played an important role in all three goals of Argentina, while Diego was inactive and was replaced in the 71st minute. This is probably the watershed between the genius and the future king, and the frustrated Diego can only score a masturbation goal in the third place battle, which can be regarded as saving the face of the Brazilian geniuses. Little did he know that there were many more blows waiting for the Brazilian genius.
[The death of the great, floating and uncertain; once redeemed, and sinking into the abyss]
Successive excellent performances in the league have made Diego's value rise like a rocket, soaring from the original 6 million to 29 million euros, and Juventus has offered a price of 24.5 million euros that is difficult for the German club to refuse, and finally completed the transfer.
At that time, Juventus could be regarded as thirsty for talents, and after returning to Serie A, the midfield has always been their weakness, whether it is the Italian international C. Zanetti who stays, or the buy-in Sissoko and Bauersen are just sweeping machines, while Armilon and Thiago are proved to be difficult to assume the responsibility of the midfield hub, and "Little Margo" Marchisio has not yet grown into an all-round fighter.
Juventus' offensive organization and tandem responsibilities fell on Piero and Nedved, who together are over 70 years old. When Nedved announced his retirement in the summer of 2009, Diego was seen as the antidote to liberating The Juve midfield, and he even rejected the olive branch thrown by Real Madrid in order to join Juve, and no one thought that the sweeter the honeymoon period, the more bitter the result.
Just like his stunning debut at Bremen that year, Diego was also quite gratifying in the initial stages of the Bianconeri, in the first round of the league, he helped the team knock on the door of victory with an assist, and in the second round against Roma, Diego scored twice, helping the team to win two consecutive wins, and also became the focus of european football, people have compared him with Brazilian predecessor Zico and Juve's former core Zidane.
(Double score against Roma)
But in the third round, Diego was painfully replaced by a tough physical contact with Lazio before half-time, and when he returned, he found himself and Juve in a quagmire that could not extricate themselves.
In the Serie A arena known for its defense, Diego's characteristics were quickly understood, and the shortcomings of the sticky ball, such as poor coordination, weak physical confrontation, and insufficient depth of attack ability, were infinitely magnified, and neither Ferrara nor Zacheroni later could create a system for Diego to play out its strengths and avoid weaknesses. Juventus and Diego also sank, not only finishing 7th in the league, but even taking a 3-0 lead in the first leg of the Europa League, when they were reversed 1-4 away from Fulham and disgraced.
Diego didn't want to leave Juve, he wanted to prove his prowess in Serie A, so he showed his loyalty as soon as the league dust settled, and even scored a goal in the TIM Cup in the pre-season, but it was not enough to impress the team's new management.
Samp general manager Marotta and coach Del Neri came together to open a new chapter for Juve in the post-"phone door" era. Diego, on the other hand, seems to be the rhetoric of the fangs in this chapter.
Del Neri insisted on the 442 formation, and although he also admitted that Diego would be a good addition to the squad, the front is not a necessity and Diego's greater value should be in the transfer market.
The topic of whether Juve should sell Diego has been a matter of opinion, some people agree with Moji's "Diego is not worthy of Juve", and some people feel that Diego should be given a little more time, but Juve can't afford to wait. The loss of Champions League qualification cost Juve dearly, and the new general manager Marotta decided to exchange Diego for 14.75 million euros to make up for some of the losses after the team bought a large number of players such as Karasic, Bonucci, Quagliarella and Pepe.
Frankly speaking, in that juve with chaotic top management and imperfect tactical construction, Diego, who was pinned on high hopes and once deified, could only take up this pot unshirkably, and leaving nature was the best choice.
Since separation is inevitable, it is only possible to pray for the well-being of each other, but reality seems to rarely have such decency. This is the truth we have learned from many stories.
After Juve lost Diego, the bet on "Golden Circle" Klasic also failed, and could only relegate to the seventh place in the league again. It wasn't until another year later, when they signed midfield master Pirlo, "Gladiator" Vidal and "Black Mountain Old Demon" Vucinich, that they really began to dominate Serie A again.
In the Bundesliga arena, Diego enjoyed an annual salary of 6 million yuan before taxation, and fought alongside Dzeko, a Bundesliga striker who was once close to Juve, but Wolfsburg's results could only hover on the edge of the relegation zone. After McLaren left class, Magath, who had only left Schalke 04 a day earlier, took over the whip, and Diego, who has a Brazilian's rambling illness, seems to have encountered a "natural enemy", but in fact, the incident of the general discord has been throughout the season.
(Diego's goal at Wolfsburg)
In the 21st round of the Bundesliga, Diego won a penalty for Wolfsburg when the team was behind Hanover. Determined, he snatched a penalty he had created, but did not equalize for the team. After the match, head coach McLaren announced a fine of 100,000 euros and a one-game suspension for Diego. Then in the final round of the league, Wolfsburg had to fight hard to keep their Bundesliga seat, but Magat was reluctant to give Diego any chance.
After learning that he was not in the big list, Diego actually left the hotel where the team was staying, which made his contradiction with the manager public, and Wolfsburg officially issued a fine of 500,000 euros, which is how many people will find it difficult to earn the price tag in their lifetime. After "communicating" with Diego, Magat decided to let the latter leave Wolfsburg. But it wasn't until the summer window closed that Diego was loaned to Atletico.
Fortunately, such an undignified departure seems to have fulfilled Diego. Diego quickly secured atletico's main position, and his spirituality was once again revealed. In addition to his outstanding performances in the league, Diego also shined in the Europa League, providing consecutive wonderful assists to help the team beat Hanover (indeed the wrongdoers) and Valencia to reach the final.
The regret of missing the Europa League final that year, Diego decided to make up for it himself. He found Falcao in the 7th minute with a scalpel-like thrust, giving him a chance to strike a fatal blow into the penalty area.
In the final stages of the game, while the Bilbao players were pressed on, Diego faced several opponents and blocked them, staging a good play of directly smashing the yellow dragon, and his goal also completely killed the game.
(Diego helped Atletico seal a europa League title goal)
After scoring, Diego knelt on the sidelines, buried his head between his hands and cried bitterly, and the regrets and pressure of public opinion over the past few years were suddenly released, and this was also the highlight of his giant journey.
At the end of the season, despite the players' strong desires, Diego was unable to stay in Madrid for various reasons.
Magath changed his position and attitude, eventually allowing Diego to return to Wolfsburg and regain his absolute main position. Scoring 13 goals and scoring 6 assists in the following season, he was the team's top scorer and assist king, showing the results of an offensive core.
However, this return to the top only lasted for a short time, and the 2013-14 season that made Diego very embarrassed arrived.
Diego played all the first eight starts in the league, scoring only 1 goal and no assists, and Wolfsburg also added to the delay in making progress on the issue of contract extension, which made Diego's future into a confusion. With only half a year left on the contract, Atletico took Diego to Spain again in the winter window. Slightly embarrassing to Diego, his departure did not deal a devastating blow to Wolfsburg, who won nine of their final 15 rounds to finish fifth in the league.
Returning to Atletico, Diego made 19 appearances for the rest of the second half of the season, making just seven starts, with occasional highlights such as a brilliant long-range shot against Barca.
(Diego's long-range shot against Barca)
However, in the second half of the season, Diego only scored 2 goals and one assist, arguably the worst in the past decade, and what is even more embarrassing is that Atletico have maintained their advantage in the table and forced the powerful Barca to win the first league title in 18 years in the Camp Nou showdown.
Diego was only the closest spectator to the sidelines, but the embarrassing story wasn't over yet. Seven days later, at the Stadium of Light, Diego waited 120 minutes on the sidelines again, watching Ramos's header in stoppage time and Real Madrid's three arrows through the heart in extra time.
How it tasted to "lie on the crown" and lose the title in two showdowns in seven days, Diego, as the "collector of the final mode", once again encountered a delicate situation.
[Return to Brazil, get a new life; remove the aura and forge ahead】
At the end of the season, Atletico did not intend to make Diego, who was nearly thirty years old, the cornerstone of their future, and they signed the future star Griezmann at a high price. Diego, on the other hand, was sent to Turkey, home to many players who had been in the top five leagues.
After two consecutive seasons of runner-up at Besiktas, the 31-year-old Diego returned to his home country and joined Brazilian giants Flamengo in the middle of the way, this transfer can be said to save the career of Brazilian geniuses. In the 2017 Brazilian League, Diego scored a total of ten goals, regaining the light of genius, and even returned to the Brazilian national team after nine years to participate in the World Cup qualifiers in Russia, but unfortunately failed to play. But Diego has not stopped moving forward, his skills have not yet declined, and he can still contribute to the goal of a flash of inspiration.
(Diego's wonderful play in flamenco)
He scored six league goals in the 2018 season, tied for the team's second-place finisher, and finished another runner-up in his career. In March of this year, Diego officially became the captain of the flamenco team, entering another stage of football.
This once-talented teenager, although he failed to live up to all his talents and expectations, although he passed the championship or the fancy crown in many finals, Diego has done quite well, with various highlight moments and records, but his aura is only overshadowed by more powerful geniuses. However, there are many geniuses in the world, and it is impossible for everyone to stand in the center of the stage, and the people who set off the greatness of the peerless children and become the stepping stones of their way to the top are actually geniuses who are worthy of applause.
（Wayfarer）
<b>Football is in charge</b>