Anderson Luis de Souza is a Brazilian born Portuguese international footballer currently featuring for the Spanish and European giants FC Barcelona. He plays as an attacking midfielder both for club and country and has won the UEFA Champions League twice in his career.

Deco commenced playing football at Brazilian giants Corinthians. But after just a couple of matches, he was deemed too feeble to continue on the trajectory of professional football and was offloaded to Corinthians’ franchise Corinthians Alagoano.

Portuguese club Benfica then acquired the franchise and in 1997 Deco arrived in the European nation. He was loaned off to the Portuguese Liga de Honra side FC Alverca for the 1997-1998 season but then season he was offloaded for good to Porto side SC Salgueiros but during January 1999 he was signed by Portuguese powerhouse FC Porto.

It was Porto that Deco’s class and talent rushed to the fore. He developed under the then Porto manager Jose Mourinho and became a playmaker with crisp passing ability. He became a key figure of the Porto team from the 2002-2003 season onward and won the UEFA Cup with Porto that season.

Next season of course Deco was one of the best in the world as Porto won the UEFA Champions League in 2004 against all the odds. They also won the Portuguese league title that same year. He was adjudged as the best midfielder in the Champions League

FC Barcelona signed Deco in the summer of 2004 and won La Liga with Barca in the 2004-2005 season. He was again one of the key members of the squad that won the Spanish league and the UEFA Champions League in 2006.

Deco has also performed with pomp and glamour in the international arena. He is a naturalized Portuguese international and has featured for his adopted nation at Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006. He is now one of the first names on the Portugal timesheet for any international.