Name:Anderson Luis de SouzaBorn:August 27, 1977
Country:Portugal
Current Club:Chelsea
Position:Attacking Midfielder
Previous Clubs:
1996–1997 Corinthians
1997 Corinthians (AL)
1997–1998 FC Alverca
1998–1999 Salgueiros
1999–2004 FC Porto
2004–2008 FC Barcelona
Honours:
Individual
* FIFA World Club Cup Golden Ball: 2006
* UEFA Champions League MVP: 2004
* UEFA Best Midfielder Award: 2004, 2006
* European Silver Ball (Second position of the European Player of the Year Award): 2003/04
* Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 2004
* Portuguese Golden Ball: 2003
FC Porto
* UEFA Champions League Winner: 2004
* UEFA Cup Winner: 2003
* Portuguese Liga Winner: 1999, 2003, 2004, Runner-up: 2000, 2001
* Portuguese Cup Winner: 2000, 2001, 2003, Runner-up: 2004
* Portuguese Supercup Winner: 1999, 2001, 2003, Runner-up: 2000
* UEFA Supercup Runner-up: 2003
FC Barcelona
* UEFA Champions League Winner: 2006
* Spanish Liga Winner: 2005, 2006, Runner-up: 2007, 2008
* Spanish Supercup Winner: 2005, 2006
* UEFA Supercup Runner-up: 2006
* FIFA Club World Cup Runner-up: 2006
Portugal
* European Football Championship Runner-up: 2004
Life at Porto:
Under the guidance of José Mourinho, Deco was given the role of leading an ambitious Porto team. A key figure in the 2002-03 season, he scored 10 goals in 30 games, but nevertheless received seventeen yellow cards and one red card. Deco was one of the key players in Porto's UEFA Cup final 3-2 win over Celtic F.C. that year. In the 2003-04 season, Deco helped Porto recapture the national title and led the team to the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final in which Porto won 3-0 over Monaco, scoring the second goal of the match. He was the Champions League's top assist provider and also suffered the most fouls in the Champions League that season. That season, Deco won the UEFA Most Valuable Player, as well as the award for the best midfielder in the competition.
Barcelona:
On June 17, 2004, Deco told a Portuguese radio station that he would almost certainly join English side Chelsea (then coached by Mourinho) following Euro 2004. He said that a transfer deal between Porto and Chelsea had been all but finalized, and that the only remaining steps were passing a physical examination and signing a formal contract with Chelsea.
However, on June 26, 2004 he told the Portuguese sports daily O Jogo that he would rather move to Barcelona than follow Mourinho to Chelsea. While Bayern Munich gave up on Deco after the Chelsea deal seemed to have been concluded, it was still uncertain whether the German side would make a new bid. The best offer at that time was a €21m bid from Barça, but this figure was still €4m short of the request by Porto's board. Portuguese newspapers then reported that Barça would try to offer Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma as part of the exchange in order to ease the deal.
Finally, a deal was achieved between Porto and Barcelona the day after the Euro 2004 final. Barça agreed on a €12m fee, plus the complete rights of Ricardo Quaresma to Porto. Deco signed a four year deal with the Catalan side on 6 July 2004.
In Barcelona, some suggested Deco would be completely eclipsed by Brazilian star Ronaldinho (a duo that according to Luiz Felipe Scolari "can make rain fall"). Indeed, many Barcelona fans met the transfer with raised eyebrows, as Deco was considered an attacking midfielder - a department which was already well covered. Instead, coach Frank Rijkaard used him in a pure central midfield position, where his tactical knowledge, defensive abilities, and enormous work rate surprised many. In December 2004, he came second in France Football's Ballon D'Or 2004 award, losing to Andriy Shevchenko and beating team mate Ronaldinho by six votes.
Chelsea (2008-)
On June 30, 2008, Chelsea signed Deco from Barcelona on a three year contract for €10 million. He is the first signing of new Chelsea coach Luis Felipe Scolari, who was the national coach of Portugal.
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