Diego Pituca

Diego Cristiano Evaristo (born 1 August 1992), known as Diego Pituca or simply Pituca, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Japanese club Kashima Antlers. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also play as a left back.

Diego Pituca
Diego Pituca playing for Santos in 2018
Personal information
Full name Diego Cristiano Evaristo
Date of birth (1992-08-01) 1 August 1992
Place of birth Mogi Guaçu, Brazil
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Kashima Antlers
Number 21
Youth career
2002–2009 Guaçuano
2009–2010 Itapirense
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011 Mineiros 0 (0)
2011 Brasilis 15 (0)
2012–2013 Guaçuano 39 (6)
2013–2015 Matonense 65 (6)
2014 → União São João (loan) 13 (3)
2015 → Botafogo-SP (loan) 12 (0)
2016–2017 Botafogo-SP 48 (3)
2017–2021 Santos 123 (6)
2021– Kashima Antlers 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:30, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Pituca was born in Mogi Guaçu, São Paulo, and mainly represented Guaçuano and Itapirense as a youth. In 2011 he joined Mineiros, but failed to appear for the side during his spell.[1][2]

In 2011 Pituca returned to his native state, after agreeing to a contract with Brasilis.[2] He made his debut for the club on 7 May of that year by starting in a 1–0 Campeonato Paulista Segunda Divisão away loss against his first club Guaçuano,[3] and played his first campaign as a left back.[2]

On 11 January 2012, after being a regular starter for Brasilis, Pituca moved back to Mandi.[4] He only scored his first senior goal on 3 March of the following year, in a 2–2 home draw against Sertãozinho; thirteen days later, however, he netted a brace in a 4–1 home routing of Marília.

After two seasons as a starter, Pituca joined Matonense in April 2013.[5] On 28 May 2014, he was loaned to União São João until the end of the year's Paulistão Segunda Divisão.[6]

Botafogo-SP

Upon returning to Matonense, Pituca impressed enough for the side to secure a loan deal to Botafogo on 19 May 2015, despite being relegated with his previous club.[7] He immediately became a starter at the side, helping in their Campeonato Brasileiro Série D winning campaign and remaining a mainstay afterwards; on 17 November 2016, he renewed his contract until the end of 2018.[8]

Santos
Pituca representing Santos in 2018

On 29 May 2017 Pituca joined Santos, being initially assigned to the B-team.[9] The following 24 January, he was promoted to the first team by new manager Jair Ventura.[10]

Pituca made his first team – and Série A – debut on 14 April 2018, replacing Jean Mota in a 2–0 home win against Ceará.[11] He made his Copa Libertadores debut on 24 May, starting in a 0–0 home draw against Real Garcilaso.[12]

Pituca scored his first senior goal for Peixe on 23 September 2018, netting the opener in a 1–1 home draw against Vasco da Gama. Under new manager Cuca, he became an undisputed starter[13] and finished the campaign with 34 league appearances.

On 3 May 2019, Pituca renewed his contract until April 2023.[14] He remained a regular under subsequent managers Jorge Sampaoli and Jesualdo Ferreira, playing in a more advanced midfield role with the latter.[15]

On 10 November 2020, it was announced that Pituca and a further six first team players tested positive for COVID-19.[16]

Kashima Antlers

On 15 January 2021, Santos president Andrés Rueda announced the sale of Pituca to Japanese club Kashima Antlers.[17] Antlers confirmed the transfer six days later, with Pituca joining the club after the 2020 Copa Libertadores Final.[18]

Career statistics
As of 2 February 2021[19]
Club Season League State League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Mineiros 2011 Goiano 2ª Divisão —00———00
Brasilis 2011 Paulista 2ª Divisão —150———150
Guaçuano 2012 Paulista A3 —220——11[lower-alpha 1]0330
2013 —176———176
Subtotal —396——110506
Matonense 2013[20] Paulista 2ª Divisão —263———263
2014 Paulista A3 —223———223
2015 Paulista A2 —170———170
Subtotal —656———656
União São João (loan) 2014[21] Paulista 2ª Divisão —133———133
Botafogo–SP 2015 Série D 120————120
2016 Série C 190143———333
2017 20130———150
Subtotal 330273———603
Santos 2017 Série A ————17[lower-alpha 1]3173
2018 34100303[lower-alpha 2]0—401
2019 352141712[lower-alpha 3]0—584
2020 2711312012[lower-alpha 2]1—543
Subtotal 96427212116118316911
Career total 12741852010116129336729
  1. Appearance(s) in Copa Paulista
  2. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  3. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana

Honours

Club
Matonense
Botafogo-SP

Individual

References
  1. ""Quero fazer história no Santos"" ["I want to make history at Santos"] (in Portuguese). Jornal Grande Jogada. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  2. ""Meu sonho é ter a minha cara no muro do CT", por Diego Pituca" ["My dream is to have my face painted in the wall of the training ground", by Diego Pituca] (in Portuguese). Diário do Peixe. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  3. "Brasilis 0 x 1 Guaçuano - Mandi estreia com vitória na Segundona!" [Brasilis 0–1 Guaçuano – Mandi debut with victory in the Segundona!] (in Portuguese). Futebol Interior. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  4. "Guaçuano renova com metade do elenco do ano passado e contrata mais 12" [Guaçuano renew with half of the squad of the last year and sign another 12] (in Portuguese). Futebol Barretos. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  5. "Matonense apresenta elenco para a temporada" [Matonense present squad for the season] (in Portuguese). JC Matão. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  6. "União São João contrata meia que subiu com Matonense na Série A3" [União São João sign midfielder who was promoted with Matonense in the Série A3] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  7. "Bota-SP apresenta Francis, Samuel, Jardel e Diego Pituca nesta terça-feira" [Bota-SP present Francis, Samuel, Jardel and Diego Pita this Tuesday] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  8. "Diego Pituca renova contrato com o Botafogo-SP até o fim de 2018" [Diego Pituca renews contract with Botafogo-SP until the end of 2018] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  9. "Santos acerta a contratação de Diego Pituca, do Botafogo-SP" [Santos sign Diego Pituca, from Botafogo-SP] (in Portuguese). Esporte Interativo. 29 May 2017. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  10. "Diego Pituca é promovido ao profissional do Santos" [Diego Pituca is promoted to the professionals of Santos] (in Portuguese). Lance!. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  11. "Santos bate Ceará e volta a vencer em estreia de Brasileirão depois de 13 anos" [Santos defeat Ceará and is back to winning in debut after 13 years] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  12. "Santos empata com Real Garcilaso e vai às oitavas da Libertadores como líder do grupo" [Santos draw against Real Garcilaso and go to Libertadores' round of 16 as group leaders] (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  13. "Qualidade no passe torna Diego Pituca incontestável no meio-campo do Santos" [Passing quality makes Diego Pituca indisputable at Santos' midfield] (in Portuguese). IG. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  14. "Santos anuncia renovação do contrato de Diego Pituca" [Santos announce Diego Pituca's contract renewal] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  15. "Diego Pituca explica nova função, vê Santos 70% pronto e diz: "Quero ter a cara no muro"" [Diego Pituca explains new role, sees Santos 70% ready and states: "I want to have my face in the wall"] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  16. "Nota Oficial" [Official note] (in Portuguese). Santos FC. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  17. "Presidente do Santos confirma venda de Diego Pituca para clube japonês" [Santos president confirms sale of Diego Pituca to Japanese club] (in Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  18. "ディエゴ ピトゥカ選手が完全移籍で加入" [Diego Pituca joins with full transfer] (in Japanese). Kashima Antlers. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  19. Diego Pituca at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  20. "Paulista - Segunda Divisão - 2013" (in Portuguese). Federação Paulista de Futebol. 27 February 2017.
  21. "Paulista - Segunda Divisão - 2014" (in Portuguese). Federação Paulista de Futebol. 27 February 2017.
  22. "Corinthians, Jean Mota e Martinelli dominam premiação do campeonato" [Corinthians, Jean Mota and Martinelli dominate the tournament's awards] (in Portuguese). Federação Paulista de Futebol. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.