Deco Back in the First Team for Chelsea
The Portugal Midfielder Regained Favour at Stamford Bridge
Every time Chelsea changed manager in recent years, it has been observed that some of their players would fall in and out of favour.
Guus Hiddink’s temporary tenure at the end of last season saw the Dutch coach brought Alex and Branislav Ivanovic into the first team.
Deco Back in the Starting Line-Up under Ancelotti
Now with Ancelotti in charge, the rejuvenation of 31-year-old Deco would have come as a pleasant surprise to many Chelsea fans.
Deco, née Anderson Luís de Souza, half-Japanese and a naturalised citizen of Portugal, was born in Brazil and played for clubs in Brazil, Portugal, Spain and England.
A Brief Biography of Deco
After a brief and unsuccessful spell at Brazilian club Corinthians, Deco went to play in Portugal at the age of 19. After playing for a short period for the smaller Portuguese clubs of Alverca and Salgueiros, Deco arrived at Porto at the end of 1998, a club at which he was to experience the highlight of his career so far.
Deco Won Champions League at Porto
With José Mourinho as manager, Porto in the 2002-3 and 2003-4 seasons was a formidable side featuring the likes of Deco, Vítor Baía, Costinho, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and Maniche. Back-to-back winners of the Portuguese top division in those two season as well as winners of the domestic cup competition in 2003, the most memorable achievement was undoubtedly their unexpected triumph in the 2004 UEFA Champions League.
In a campaign that saw Porto knocked out Manchester United in the quarter-final, Deco not only scored the second goal in his team’s 3-0 win over Monaco in the final, but he was also voted Most Valuable Player in the competition.
Deco off to Barcelona
After winning the Champions League Porto experienced an exodus of personnel that included Jose Mourinho going to Chelsea and Deco signing for Barcelona. During his time at Porto Deco scored 32 goals in 154 appearances.
At the Catalan giants Deco’s talents and contributions were very much eclipsed by the phenomenon known as Ronaldinho, and under Frank Rijkaard his position was also pushed slightly backward to a more central midfield role.
Champions League Winner with Two Different Teams
In 2006 Deco won the Champions League again, this time as a Barcelona player, his team coming from a Sol Campbell header down to beat Arsenal 2-1.
This victory meant that Deco joined an elite group of few who won the Champions League with two different teams.
Deco went on to make 113 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 11 goals and winning two La Liga and Spanish Supercup doubles in the 2004-5 and 2005-6 seasons.
Deco Fell out of Favour at Chelsea
As Luiz Felipe Scolari took charge at Chelsea in the summer of 2008, Deco was the first player he signed when he landed the midfielder for £8m from Barcelona.
Despite a bright start featuring two goals in his first two Premier League games, Deco’s fortunes at Chelsea soon faded, probably as a result of a combination of factors including a string of lacklustre performances, a thigh injury and a sending-off in the Champions League against AS Roma.
Expected Departure to Inter Milan
After the removal of Scolari and the installation of Hiddink as manager Deco became a peripheral member of the Chelsea squad, making only a handful of substitute appearances under Hiddink. Over the summer he was heavily tipped to reunite with former mentor Mourinho at Inter Milan.
Deco Re-Discovered his Form
Much to everybody’s surprise, Deco stayed at Chelsea and found his way back in the first team.
He made a substitute appearance in the opening fixture against Hull where his pass to Drogba led to the winning goal.
Deco then started the game away at Sunderland and gave a commanding performance, scoring a brilliant second-half goal.
Ancelotti Tactics Suit Deco
Deco’s renaissance under Ancelotti may, to a significant extent, be attributed to the tactics employed by the Italian.
Whether it was the diamond midfield or the 4-3-2-1 formation as witnessed against Sunderland, he would be playing Deco in a central, but more advanced position, just behind the strikers.
This was the area of the pitch where Deco excelled in the Porto era, and this was also the area to which he was denied access during his time at Barcelona and under Scolari.
When Massimo Moratti, President of Inter Milan, rejected the signing of Deco, he quoted the midfielder’s age of 31 and concluded that the world had seen the best of Deco already.
Under Ancelotti Deco now has the chance to prove not a few people wrong.
Judging from his performance against Sunderland, this season might just see Deco do exactly that.
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