Denílson (footballer, born 1977)

Denílson
Personal information
Full name	Denílson de Oliveira Araújo
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Left winger
Team information
Current team	FC Dallas
Number	10

Denílson, full name Denílson de Oliveira Araújo, (born August 24 1977 in Diadema, Brazil) is a football winger, who in 1998 became the most expensive footballer in the world. He is currently signed to Major League Soccer club FC Dallas.

A player of outstanding close control and dexterity, Denílson is renowned for his 'stand still' stepovers, with many referring to the skill as the "Denílson". In interviews, Denílson is known for talking plainly. In a 2003 interview with Wanderley Nogueira, Denílson offered some advice to Brazil’s younger prospects, like Gil, Robinho and Kaká, suggesting that they should avoid thinking about money, and focus instead on the joy of playing football in a great footballing centre, ironically despite his wage negotiations and exit to Saudi Arabia only a few years later.

Career

Club level

Denílson broke the world record transfer fee when Real Betis paid São Paulo €32 million (UK £21.9 million or US $40.5 million) for his services. Denílson had been with São Paulo since 1995. He earned his pricetag by being considered one of the most promising footballers of his day. He had a superb display in the 1997 Copa América. Denílson has always been known for his amazing trickery; modern-day star Cristiano Ronaldo's adeptness at trickery can be compared to that of Denilson. Sadly his full potential was never reached as he seems to have suffered from a propensity to hold on to the ball for too long, thus earning a reputation as a selfish player.

In 1999/2000 he went on a brief loan to Flamengo. After becoming a World Cup winner in 2002, Real Betis sold the Brazilian in 2005 to French club Bordeaux for an undisclosed amount, four seasons before his contract was due to expire[1]. His performance in the Seville club had been disappointing and most fans considered him a liability at this stage. At the time of the transfer, he was no longer included in the Betis squad.[2]

Despite a slow start at Bordeaux, Denilson managed to find his form in the second part of the season, but his excessively high wage demands prevented the French club from extending his contract. His contract expired in 2006, and he had been linked with free transfers to Tottenham Hotspur, Vestel Manisaspor and Celtic. Even with UEFA Champions League football next season, Bordeaux struggled to match the winger's wage demands, and he left to sign for Saudi Arabia's Al-Nasr. After making only 15 appearances with the club, Denilson negotiated a move to FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, becoming FC Dallas' designated player. On September 1st, Denilson made his MLS debut, entering in the 55th minute against DC United On September 8th, Denilson made his first start against Toronto FC and scored his first MLS goal off a penalty kick in the 36th minute of the match; that goal stood up to be the winner as FC Dallas defeated TFC by a 2-nil score line. He also picked up his a yellow card in the 70th minute of that match for a tackle from behind.

International level

Since his debut in November 1996 against Cameroon and as of 2005, Denílson has been capped 61 times for Brazil, scoring nine goals. After helping his country to a second place finish at the 1998 World Cup, he made five substitute appearances to become a World Cup winner after Brazil won the tournament in Japan and South Korea in 2002. However, he fell out of favour when Carlos Alberto Parreira became the Brazil coach in 2003 and was not included in the 2006 squad. Current Brazilian coach Carlos Dunga has yet to call him.

Honours and awards

FIFA World Cup winner: 2002
Copa del Rey winner: 2005

Quotations

"I'm twice as good as the number 10" - on why he chose the number 20 for Brazil.
On David Beckham: "He’s pretty. So he’s very lucky: he’s both a footballer AND pretty. I’m this ugly and still the women are all over me".
On playing overseas: "Everybody will miss home and feel saddened; the important thing is to be with trusted people in the beginning, when you still haven’t adapted".