Tiago Cardoso Mendes, most commonly known as simply Tiago, is a Portuguese football player who currently features for the Spanish football club Atletico Madrid. He is a central midfielder and is renowned for his intricate dribbling and piercing passes.
Tiago commenced his professional career for the Portuguese side SC Braga in 1999 and after making 62 appearances was signed by Portuguese giants Benfica in December 2001. He made 83 appearances and scored 20 goals for Benfica until the end of the 2003-2004 season when he was signed by Premier League giants Chelsea for 15 million euros.
But Tiago was a failure in his first and only season at Stamford Bridge although he did win the Premier League title with the London club. In the summer of 2005 he was transferred to French giants Lyon for just over 10 million euros on a four-year contract.
| Position | Midfielder |
| Height / weight | 1.83 m / 75 kg |
| Born | 2 May 1981 |
| Nationality |
Portugal
|
| Number | 5 |
| Team History | |
Atletico
|
2011 - 2017 |
|
Atletico
|
2010 - 2011 (loan) |
| Juventus FC | 2007 - 2011 |
Lyon
|
2005 - 2007 |
Chelsea
|
2004 - 2005 |
Benfica
|
2002 - 2004 |
Sporting Clube de Braga
|
1999 - 2002 |
|
Sporting Clube de Braga
|
1999 - 2001 |
Tiago was a huge success in a defensive-minded midfield role in his first season at Lyon and also won the French Ligue 1 title with Lyon. Next season too he continued his good form for Lyon and won the French league title once again.
Juventus signed Tiago in the summer of 2007 for 13 million euros but he has unable to be a huge hit for the Old Lady of Turin. After just two years, he moved to Atletico on loan in 2009 and played for them in the next two seasons. He regained his form in La Liga and was signed by the Rojoblancos on a permanent contract in 2011.
Tiago won the Europa League with Atletico in 2011-12 and finished runners-up in the Copa del Rey in 2009-10.
Tiago made his international debut for Portugal in November 2002 against Scotland and represented his nation at Euro 2004 and 2006 Germany World Cup. He announced his retirement after the 2010 World Cup finals, having scored three goals in 58 international appearances for his nation.
