Lúcio

Lucimar Ferreira da Silva (born 8 May 1978 in Brasília), commonly known as Lúcio, is a Brazilian Association football Defender (association football) who currently plays for Italy Serie A club F.C. Internazionale Milano and the Brazil national football team, of which Lúcio is the captain (football). Lúcio is widely considered as Brazil's best central defender and a key member of the Brazilian squad's defense. Lúcio also contributes in attack, frequently making runs into the opponent's half using Lúcio technique and aerial ability to full effect.

Lúcio is known for being a part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning Brazil national football team.

Club career

Early career

Lúcio played for youth teams Planaltina EC and CR Guará before signing for Lúcio first professional club, Sport Club Internacional, in 1997.

Germany

In January 2001, Lúcio moved to Fußball-Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen for a fee of €8.5 million. The following season was bittersweet for Leverkusen as the club surrendered a five point lead atop the Fußball-Bundesliga 2001-02 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 2001–02 final, losing 4-2 to FC Schalke 04, and in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final against Real Madrid C.F. in which Lúcio cancelled out Raúl González's 8th 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 2004, Lúcio joined FC Bayern Munich on a six-year contract. Following Oliver Kahn's retirement in 2008, Netherlands Mark van Bommel was named club captain with Lúcio as vice-captain.

F.C. Internazionale

On 16 July 2009, Lúcio moved to Italian club F.C. Internazionale Milano, signing a three-year contract with the Serie A champions.

International career

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

In the junior level, Lúcio played for Brazil in the Football at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

In the 2006 FIFA 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 French national football team.

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

On 28 June 2009, Lúcio scored the game-winning goal in the 84th minute for Brazil in the finals of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup against the United States national soccer team. Lúcio converted on a header from an Elano corner-kick which beat American goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Personal life

Lúcio is married to Dione with whom Lúcio has three children: Victoria, João Victor, and Valentinna.

Honours

FC Bayern Munich
- Fußball-Bundesliga: Fußball-Bundesliga 2004–05, Fußball-Bundesliga 2005–06, Fußball-Bundesliga 2007–08
- DFB-Pokal: DFB-Pokal 2004–05, DFB-Pokal 2005–06, DFB-Pokal 2007–08
- DFB-Supercup: 2004, 2007, 2008

International
- FIFA World Cup: 2002 FIFA World Cup
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

Personal honours

- Brazilian Bola de Prata (Placar): 2000
- FIFA Confederations Cup 2009: Fair Play Award