Lúcio

Lucimar Ferreira da Silva (born 8 May 1978), commonly known as Lúcio, is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a central defender. A tall and physically strong defender who excelled in the air, Lúcio was known for his long, surging, galloping runs on the ball, which earned him the nickname O Cavalo ("The Horse", in Portuguese).

For the left-back, see Lúcio Carlos Cajueiro Souza. For other people, see Lucio.
This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Ferreira and the second or paternal family name is Da Silva.

Lúcio
Lúcio, pictured in 2013
Personal information
Full name Lucimar Ferreira da Silva
Date of birth (1978-05-08) 8 May 1978
Place of birth Planaltina, Federal District, Brazil
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
1995–1997 Planaltina EC[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997 Guará 0 (0)
1997–2000 Internacional 49 (5)
2001–2004 Bayer Leverkusen 92 (15)
2003[3] Bayer Leverkusen II 1 (0)
2004–2009 Bayern Munich 144 (7)
2009–2012 Inter Milan 96 (3)
2012 Juventus 1 (0)
2013 São Paulo 10 (1)
2014–2015 Palmeiras 25 (2)
2015–2016 FC Goa 19 (0)
2018 Gama 0 (0)
2018–2020 Brasiliense 17 (1)
Total 454 (34)
National team
2000–2011 Brazil 105 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:43, 12 July 2019 (UTC)

Lúcio began his professional career in 1998 with Sport Club Internacional. After three years in the club, he moved to Bayer Leverkusen, where he reached the 2002 Champions League final against Real Madrid of Spain. He scored a header in the final, which Real Madrid won with the score of 2–1. In 2004, he arrived at Bayern Munich, where he won three Cups and three Bundesliga titles. Since coach Louis van Gaal did not have a place for him at Bayern, he decided to search for a new team. He moved to Inter Milan in the summer of 2009. He won the treble with Inter in 2010, helped them win the 2010 Champions League against his former club Bayern Munich.

With Brazil, Lúcio has accumulated a number of significant accomplishments, winning the 2002 World Cup, 2005 Confederations Cup and 2009 Confederations Cup. After the retirement of Kaká, he was the last active player of the 2002 winning team.

Club career

Early career

Lúcio started playing football for his hometown club[4] Planaltina as a forward.[5] In 1997, now playing as a defender, he was loaned to Guará, then current Campeonato Brasiliense champions, for their match against Internacional for 1997 Copa do Brasil.[5] Despite a 0–7 home loss,[6] he impressed the Porto Alegre club and was purchased.[5]

Internacional

At Internacional, Lúcio later became a starting centre-back and had his best year in 2000, receiving his first call-up to the Brazil national football team and being awarded the Bola de Prata as one of the two best centre-backs of the 2000 Campeonato Brasileiro.[7]

Bayer Leverkusen

In January 2001, he moved to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. The following season was bittersweet for Leverkusen, as the club surrendered a five-point lead atop the Bundesliga by losing two of its last three matches while Borussia Dortmund swept ahead with three consecutive victories in the final matches to finish a point ahead of Leverkusen. They also experienced defeat in the DFB-Pokal Final, losing 4–2 to Schalke 04, and in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final against Real Madrid, in which Lúcio cancelled out Raúl's eighth-minute goal just five minutes later with a header, only for Zinedine Zidane to give Real a 2–1 win with a sublime volley just before half-time. Despite the disappointing end to the season, Lúcio's impressive individual displays drew the attention of several of Europe's top clubs. In July 2003, Roma made an official bid, but the deal fell through.[8]

Bayern Munich

In 2004, Lúcio joined Bayern Munich on a six-year contract, where he became a vital part of the team. Following Oliver Kahn's retirement in 2008, Dutchman Mark van Bommel was named club captain with Lúcio as vice-captain. When Bayern were playing against Real Madrid in the Round of 16 in the 2006–07 Champions League, Lúcio scored. The goal was in the 66th minute, while the score was 1–0 in favour of Bayern. The goal took Bayern through to the quarter-finals, where they lost to eventual champions Milan. In the 2008–09 DFB-Pokal, he scored in the quarter-finals against his former club, Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern were already down 3–0 when he scored, and even though Miroslav Klose scored again, Lúcio's goal did not matter as Stefan Kießling scored again to win it for Leverkusen 4–2.[9]

Inter Milan
Lúcio playing for Inter in 2009

On 16 July 2009, Lúcio moved to Italian club Inter Milan, signing a three-year contract with the Serie A champions.[10] He was given the number 6 shirt. He scored his first goal with Inter on 23 September 2009 against Napoli with a header from a corner kick. Lúcio also scored an own goal in the UEFA Champions League in the group stages against Dynamo Kyiv, resulting in a draw. Throughout the season, both Lúcio and his defensive partner Walter Samuel drew praise for their performances,[11] and on 22 May, Lúcio was in the Inter team that won the Champions League by defeating his former club Bayern Munich 2–0, to seal a historic treble and end a 45-year wait to be crowned European Champions.[12] On 24 September 2011, Lúcio made his 100th appearance in an Inter shirt, scoring the third of a 3–1 win at Bologna in Serie A matchday 5.[13] On 29 June 2012, it was announced that Lúcio would be leaving Inter following a mutual agreement to terminate the final two years of his contract.[14]

Juventus

On 4 July 2012, Lúcio signed a two-year contract with Serie A titleholders Juventus, adding him to the list of players to play for both Inter and Juventus.[15] Although he was initially used as a starter in the club's three-man defence, featuring in Juventus's 4–2 victory over Napoli in the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana on 11 August,[16] after struggling with injuries and producing some inconsistent performances, he was soon left out of the first-team in favour of the defensive trio of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli. In total, he made only four appearances in all competitions during his next sixth months with the club: one in Serie A, two in the Champions League, and one in the Supercoppa Italiana.[17] Due to this lack of playing time, Lúcio left Juventus on 17 December 2012, after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.[17][18]

São Paulo

On 18 December 2012, one day after leaving Juventus, Lúcio signed for a two-year contract with Brazilian side São Paulo.[19] After 12 years in Europe, he said that he needed to familiarize himself again with Brazil.[20] He scored his first goal for São Paulo against Botafogo on 7 April 2013.

In July 2013, after a change of coaches in club – Ney Franco was replaced for Paulo Autuori – Lúcio was removed from team. The episode gained force after the 1–0 loss against Internacional, in a Brazilian League match. Lúcio did not accept Paulo Autuori's criticism, that the Colorado goal, scored by Leandro Damião, would have been scored after a fail from former captain of Seleção Brasileira. This way, reporting an insubordination, Autuori preferred to take off Lúcio from his staff.[21]

After his removal, Lúcio did not travel with the club to Germany to contest the 2013 Audi Cup. His presence at the friendly tournament was requested by his former club Bayern Munich, and without him São Paulo earned €40,000 less than initially accorded. The German side understood the explanations of the directors of the Brazilian club about the insubordination issues, but insisted on São Paulo's performance of contract.[22]

Training apart from the main staff, Lúcio has become a "problem" to the club. He did not accept playing offers from clubs of Middle East and Japan, preferring to stay in Brazil, and did not receive proposals from other Brazilian teams. The directors of Tricolor did not want to sign his rescission, claiming about the high value to do this, however Lúcio was still earning a lucrative salary despite not playing.[23] With defenders Antônio Carlos and Roger Carvalho arriving at the club, Lúcio effectively lost his chance at playing again, prompting efforts from São Paulo to transfer him to a European club before the transfer window closes; they were unsuccessful.[24] In December 2013, after almost six months, Lúcio broke the silence and spoke about his poor relationship with the club: "I felt humiliated. I thought "Oh, my god, what did I do to deserve this?"[25]

Palmeiras

On 1 January 2014, Lúcio broke his contract with São Paulo (originally to last until December 2014) and signed with Tricolor's rivals Palmeiras. Following the departure of former team captain and centre-back Henrique, an idol for the club, Lúcio will now play a major leadership role on the team's defensive group, alongside goalkeeper and current team captain Fernando Prass. Upon signing his contract, Lúcio agreed to only earn a third of the salary he had in at São Paulo, being further compensated through prizes based on his performance on the field.[26]

FC Goa

On 7 June 2015, it was confirmed that Lúcio had signed for FC Goa of the Indian Super League as their marquee player.[27] He made 14 appearances in his first season, as FC Goa finished as runners-up of the league. The following season was a lot less successful, with just five appearances from Lúcio and FC Goa finishing at the bottom of the table.

Later career

On 7 December 2017, Lúcio returned to his home district in Brazil and signed for Gama, captaining the club during the 2018 Campeonato Brasiliense.[28] On 16 April 2018, Lúcio joined rivals Brasiliense.[29]

Lúcio announced his retirement as a professional footballer on 29 January 2020.[30]

International career
Lúcio and Brazilian President Lula in 2009

2000 Olympics

At junior level, he played for Brazil in the football tournament in the 2000 Olympics.

2002 World Cup

In the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match against England, Lúcio made a mistake that allowed Michael Owen to score the opening goal.[31][32] Luiz Felipe Scolari defended him, stating that he had made no other mistakes. In the final against Germany, Lúcio bore the full brunt of a free-kick, but managed to stay on his feet to complete playing all 630 minutes of the tournament. He was one of three players to do so along with goalkeeper Marcos and right-back captain Cafu.[33][34]

2006 World Cup

In the 2006 World Cup, Lúcio set a FIFA-record by playing 386 consecutive minutes without committing a foul, a streak which was finally broken in Brazil's 1–0 quarter-final loss to France.

In August 2006, Lúcio was appointed as captain by Brazil manager Dunga.

2009 Confederations Cup
Lúcio playing for Brazil in 2011

Lúcio's next international tournament was 2009 Confederations Cup. On 28 June 2009, the Brazilian captain scored the game-winning goal in the 84th minute for Brazil in the final of the Confederations Cup against the United States. Lúcio converted on a header from an Elano corner-kick, which beat American goalkeeper Tim Howard.[35]

2010 World Cup

The 2010 World Cup was Lúcio's third World Cup. He played in the Seleção's first match against North Korea on 15 June 2010, leading his team to a narrow 2–1 win. In the tournament, he partnered Juan in defence. In Group E, Brazil won against the Ivory Coast and played a 0–0 draw against Portugal, which was enough to lead Brazil to the knockout stage. Chile was beaten by Brazil, 3–0, and the Seleção made it to the quarter-finals. There Brazil faced the Netherlands, where Wesley Sneijder scored twice for Netherlands to eliminate Brazil after a 2–1 scoreline.

After World Cup 2010

After head coach Dunga was sacked, the Brazil Football Confederation hired Mano Menezes as the side's new head coach. Menezes also had faith in the experienced Lúcio, who kept his starting centre-back role in the team. Even though Lúcio kept his place, his centreback partner Juan was dropped from the Brazilian squad, and Thiago Silva was Lúcio's new partner.

On 4 June 2011, Lúcio played his 100th game for Brazil,[36] which consists of 98 official caps and two unofficial caps in friendly matches against Spanish club Sevilla in 2005 and against Swiss club Luzern in 2006.[37][38]

2011 Copa América

Lúcio was also named in Brazil's squad for 2011 Copa América. Brazil barely survived the group stage and in the quarter-finals the team faced Paraguay, which eliminated Brazil after penalty shootout.

Towards the end of 2011, Menezes dropped Lúcio from the Brazil's squad, and Robinho became the new team captain. Lúcio made his last appearance for Brazil in September 2011.

International goals

Style of play

Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation,[39] Lúcio is a tall, large, tenacious, and physically strong defender, who excels in the air,[40] and is known for his heavy marking of opponents, as well as his hard-tackling style of play and leadership;[41] he is also highly regarded for his positioning, ability to read the game and his adeptness at winning back possession in one on one situations.[42][43] Gifted with good technical skills, and excellent distribution, although he is usually deployed as a centre-back, he has also been used as a defensive midfielder, where he has demonstrated his confidence in possession, and ability to play the ball out of defence.[41][44][45] Although he is primarily known for his defensive skill and consistency, his pace, stamina and dribbling ability frequently enable him to get forward into good attacking positions, with his trademark long, surging, galloping runs on the ball, which have earned him the nickname O Cavalo ("The Horse", in Portuguese);[41][46] these attributes, along with his powerful striking ability from distance and on set-pieces with his right foot, make him an additional offensive threat.[41][43][47]

Personal life

Lúcio is married to Dione, with whom he has three children: Victoria, João Vítor, and Valentinna.[48] He is an Evangelical Christian, and frequently talks about the way his faith sustains his life in professional football.[49]

Career statistics

Club

As of 13 October 2019[3][50][51][52][53]

SeasonClubDivision AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Brazil League Copa do Brasil State League South America Total
1997Guará—–10–10
1998InternacionalSérie A10000–100
199919220–212
2000201340–243
Germany League DFB-Pokal Ligapokal Europe Total
2000–01Bayer LeverkusenBundesliga155000000155
2001–022944100183518
2002–03213110060284
2003–0427311––284
2004–05Bayern Munich323601090483
2005–06302501070432
2006–07260201082372
2007–082416030132463
2008–0932141—80442
Italy League Coppa Italia Supercoppa Europe[n 1] Total
2009–10Inter MilanSerie A3114110120482
2010–113114010110471
2011–12341000071412
2012–13Juventus1000102040
Brazil League Copa do Brasil State League South America[n 2] Total
2013São PauloSérie A10100111100312
2014Palmeiras25270150—472
India League — Total
2015GoaSuper League1420—140
201650—50
Brazil League Copa do Brasil State League South America Total
2018Gama—––70–70
2018BrasilienseSérie D91–––91
20198040101–221
CountryBrazil 101918043210017211
Germany 236222946069734033
Italy 97381303211405
India 190—190
Career total 45334555522111867149

1Includes 4 matches from the knockout stage.
2Includes 3 matches from the knockout stage.

  1. Also includes appearances in 2010 UEFA Super Cup (1 game) and 2010 FIFA Club World Cup (2 games)
  2. Also includes appearances in 2013 Recopa Sudamericana (2 games)

International

[54]

Brazil national team
YearAppsGoals
200010
2001120
2002110
200390
200420
2005132
2006100
200781
200880
2009141
201080
201190
Total1054

Honours

See also

References
  1. "Lúcio" (in Portuguese). Palmeiras Official Site. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  2. "São Paulo acerta com Lúcio por duas temporadas" (in Portuguese). São Paulo. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  3. "Lúcio". Fussballdaten.de (in German). Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  4. "Trajetória de sucesso" (in Portuguese). São Paulo. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  5. "Trajetoria". l3lucio.com.br (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  6. "Guará 0 x 7 Internacional, 18/02/1997". futpédia (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  7. "Bola de Prata Placar 2000". Placar (in Portuguese). 7 August 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  8. "Statement regarding Brazilian footballer Lucio" (PDF) (in Italian). AS Roma. 10 July 2003. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  9. "DFB-Pokal 2008/2009" (in German). DFB. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  10. "Lucio to Inter". Bayern Munich. 16 July 2009. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
  11. SW Lim (29 August 2015). "Miranda: Murillo and I are like Lucio and Samuel". goal.com. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  12. "Bayern Munich 0 – 2 Internazionale". ESPN Soccernet. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  13. "Bologna 1-3 Inter: Pazzini, Milito and Lucio score". inter.it. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  14. "Inter exit for Lucio". Sky Sports. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  15. "Official: Lucio completes Juventus switch". Goal.com. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  16. Marco Gaetani (11 August 2012). "Supercoppa alla Juve Ma il Napoli è furioso". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  17. TIMOTHY ORMEZZANO (17 December 2012). "Juve, Chiellini: "Quanto ci è mancato Conte". Lucio rescinde il contratto". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  18. "Lucio, contract terminated". juventus.com. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  19. "Lúcio acerta por dois anos e é oficializado como reforço são-paulino". gazetaesportiva.net (in Portuguese). 18 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  20. "Acostumado à Europa, Lúcio tenta deixar timidez de lado no Brazil". gazetaesportiva.net (in Portuguese). 17 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  21. "São Paulo descarta Lúcio após zagueiro não aceitar críticas de Autuori" (in Portuguese). saopaulofc.com.br. 29 July 2013. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  22. Ferrari, Carlos Augusto (16 August 2013). "Ausência de Lúcio faz São Paulo perder parte da cota da Copa Audi" (in Portuguese). globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  23. Mattos, Rodrigo (12 August 2013). "Sem zagueiros, São Paulo vê impasse com o descartado Lúcio" (in Portuguese). rodrigomattos.blogosfera.uol.com.br. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  24. "Com contratos longos, SP pode levar reforços fracassados para 2014" (in Portuguese). esporte.uol.com.br. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  25. "Lúcio fala pela primeira vez após afastamento: 'Me senti humilhado'" (in Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  26. Abramvezt e Marcelo Hazan, David (2 January 2014). "Lúcio rescinde com São Paulo e acerta com Palmeiras por um terço do salário" (in Portuguese). globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  27. "Lucio joins FC Goa as marquee". Goal.com. 7 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  28. "Aos 39 anos, zagueiro Lúcio acerta com o Gama e volta ao futebol do Distrito Federal". Globoesporte.com. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  29. "Aos 39 anos, Lúcio acerta com o Brasiliense e vai disputar a Série D em 2018". Globoesporte.com. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  30. "Aos 41 anos, zagueiro pentacampeão Lúcio anuncia aposentadoria: "Muito orgulho"". Globoesporte.com. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  31. Maylam, John (22 June 2002). "Ronaldinho goal sinks England". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  32. Murray, Scott (21 June 2002). "England 1 - 2 Brazil". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  33. Hanagudu, Ashwin (4 July 2017). "Brazil 2002 World Cup winning squad: Where are they now?". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  34. Lovell, Mark (7 July 2014). "Brazil vs. Germany 2002 World Cup Final: Where Are They Now?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  35. "US 2–3 Brazil". BBC Sport. 28 June 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  36. "100 games for Lucio". sambafoot.com. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  37. "Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2004–2005". rsssfbrasil.com. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  38. "Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2006–2007". rsssfbrasil.com. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  39. Bhas Kunju (22 June 2014). "Aquarius World Cup interview – Lucio". Goal.com. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  40. "Lúcio". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  41. Tim Vickery (7 March 2011). "Is Luiz the new Lucio?". BBC. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  42. Valerio Clari (4 November 2009). "Incredibile Inter: 2-1 Rimontona sulla Dinamo". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  43. ANDREA SORRENTINO (11 February 2010). "Mirante è un muro, delude Jimenez Lucio, che recuperi. Eto' o a pezzi". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  44. Guglielmo Cannavale (22 May 2011). "Leo in conferenza: "Lucio a centrocampo..."". Tutto Mercato Web (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  45. Riccardo Mancini (26 May 2011). "Inter, Lucio: "Voglio restare qui, aspetto il rinnovo"". Tutto Mercato Web (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  46. "Inter, Lucio: "Mourinho mi rimprovera quando parto palla al piede"". Calcio News 24 (in Italian). 20 March 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  47. "Bayern, Rangers settle for draws in UEFA Cup". CBC. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  48. "Vaterfreuden für Lucio" (in German). Bayern Munich. 13 April 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  49. "Lucio". thegoal.com. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  50. "Lúcio career stats". Football Database.eu. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  51. "Lúcio Brazilian stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  52. "Brazilian stats". Globo.com. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  53. "Lúcio UEFA stats". UEFA.com. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  54. "Lúcio – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  55. "Bola de Prata Placar 2000". Placar (in Portuguese). 20 March 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  56. "Bundesliga Historie 2000/01" (in German). kicker.
  57. "Bundesliga Historie 2001/02" (in German). kicker.
  58. "Bundesliga Historie 2002/03" (in German). kicker.
  59. "Bundesliga Historie 2003/04" (in German). kicker.
  60. "Bundesliga Historie 2004/05" (in German). kicker.
  61. "Bundesliga Historie 2005/06" (in German). kicker.
  62. Karel Stokkermans (14 March 2007). "ESM XI". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  63. "Users pick Top 11". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  64. "FIFPro proudly presents 2010 FIFA FIFPro World XI". FIFPRo.org. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  65. "INTER CLUB: A LUCIO IL "PIRATA D'ORO"". Inter.it. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.