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76-562: Anderson Luís de Souza OIH (born 27 August 1977), also known as Deco ( Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈdɛku] ), is a former professional football player who primarily played as an attacking or central midfielder . Born and raised in Brazil, he acquired Portuguese citizenship and played for Portugal . He is regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation. He currently works as sporting director in Barcelona . Deco

152-457: A winger on either flank. What he lacked in pace as well as physical, defensive and athletic attributes, he made up for in stamina, as well as excellent ball control, dribbling skills, passing range and crossing ability, which allowed him to beat players, find space and create chances for teammates. Deco was an excellent visionary with the ball, who opened up spaces for his teammates through finding passing lanes that no one else saw, and also had

228-748: A 17-year career. The decision came on the day before his 36th birthday. His final match was four days prior, against Goiás . Deco was never called up to the Brazil national team , as the Brazil squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup included other attacking midfielders such as Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Juninho . After completing six years of residence in Portugal, he was able to gain Portuguese citizenship and play for their national team . As none of his great-grandparents, grandparents or parents were Portuguese, under FIFA 's player eligibility rules his citizenship

304-534: A 30-yard goal in a 4–0 league victory over Portsmouth . Deco followed up his performance by scoring in his second game for Chelsea, a curling free-kick against Wigan Athletic . These performances led to him winning the Premier League Player of the Month award for August. Deco made his Champions League debut for Chelsea on 16 September. Deco injured himself during a training session, but he returned from

380-609: A Europa League game as a musical element of the competition's opening sequence. The competition's first anthem was composed by Yohann Zveig and recorded by the Paris Opera in early 2009. The theme for the re-branded UEFA Cup competition was first officially unveiled at the Grimaldi Forum on 28 August 2009 before the 2009–10 season group stage draw. A new anthem was composed by Michael Kadelbach and recorded in Berlin and

456-443: A Silver Medal ( Medalha de Prata – MedPIH) and a Gold Medal ( Medalha de Ouro – MedOIH). The special distinction of Grand Collar can be awarded only to heads of state. Ribbons and medals are characterized by equal stripes of blue, white and black (either horizontal or vertical) and a ruby-enameled golden cross pattée . The stars of Grand Officer and Grand Cross bear the inscription " Talant de bien faire ". Membership to

532-521: A caution in the match with Iran. The win against England in the quarter-final stage led to Portugal's defeat in the semi-final, which Deco was able to participate in. On 11 June, Deco scored the opening goal in Portugal's second match of Euro 2008 , a Group A clash with the Czech Republic . The match ended 3–1 to Portugal, with Deco aiding his team in their passage to the quarter-finals where Portugal's campaign came to an end against Germany ,

608-588: A cup winner). Since Gibraltar was accepted as a full UEFA member at the 24 May 2013 UEFA Congress in London, their cup winner also qualified for the Europa League. Although the other teams were the next-highest-ranked in each domestic league (after those qualifying for the UEFA Champions League), France and England continued to use one spot for their league-cup winners. With the abolition of

684-575: A greater number of berths in UEFA Cup to the more successful nations. Three nations had four places, five nations had three places, thirteen nations had two places, and eleven nations only one place. Since 1998, a similar system has been used for the UEFA Champions League . Before 1980, the entrance criteria of the last Fairs Cup was used. The competition was traditionally a pure knockout tournament. All ties were two-legged , including

760-509: A multiple-winner badge. As of 2016–17 , only Sevilla has earned the honour to wear the multiple-winner badge, having achieved both of the prerequisites in 2016 . The trophy was designed and crafted by Silvio Gazzaniga , who also designed the FIFA World Cup Trophy , working for Bertoni , for the 1972 UEFA Cup Final . It weighs 15 kg (33 lb) and is silver on a yellow marble plinth. 67 centimetres (26 in) tall,

836-451: A notable ability to switch the tempo of play in rapid style. A diminutive midfielder, in later years, as he lost his acceleration, agility and mobility, he also went through a physical development, which, along with his balance, allowed him to protect the ball against larger opponents. He also contributed offensively with occasional goals due to his accurate mid-range shooting ability, and his adeptness at free-kicks . Despite his talent, Deco

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912-421: A player, Deco was a versatile, tactically intelligent and creative midfielder with excellent vision and technical ability. A generous and hard-working team-player capable of playing in several midfield positions. He was initially used as a central midfielder under manager José Mourinho during his time with Porto, although he was also capable of playing as an attacking midfielder , as a deep-lying playmaker or as

988-401: A round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final (all of the knockout games except the final are played over two legs). The league phase consists of each team playing a total of eight matches, with four at home and four away. The top eight teams from the league phase receive a bye to the round of 16, while the teams ranked 9th to 24th contest the knockout play-offs with the winners advancing to

1064-468: A standard number of three berths (across both the Europa League and the Conference League), except: Usually, each country's places are awarded to teams who finish in various runners-up places in its top-flight league and the winner of the main cup competition . Typically the teams qualifying via the league are those in the highest places not eligible for the UEFA Champions League ; however,

1140-589: A substitute for Sérgio Conceição and scored the free-kick which won the match 2–1. This was Portugal's first win over Brazil since the 1966 FIFA World Cup . Since that match, he became a regular in the national team. Before UEFA Euro 2004 , Luís Figo criticised Deco's inclusion and said, "Se você nasceu chinês, bem, você tem que jogar pela China." (English: "If you're born Chinese, well, you have to play for China.") Deco responded, "Eu nasci no Brasil e seria uma mentira dizer que sou português agora e não brasileiro. Mas amo Portugal e adoro jogar pela seleção." (English:"I

1216-494: A third year in a row beating Liverpool in the 2016 final, making them the most successful team in the history of the competition with five titles. Atlético won their third title in 2018. The 2019 all-London final between Chelsea and Arsenal was the first UEFA Cup/Europa League final between two teams from the same city. Sevilla added a record-extending sixth victory in 2020, after defeating Inter Milan , and won an unprecedented seventh title in 2023. The UEFA Cup, also known as

1292-933: A three-year contract. Deco is the brother-in-law of fellow former footballers Alecsandro and Richarlyson . Deco is an ambassador for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. He also has a charitable organisation, the Deco Institute, based in the Brazilian city of Indaiatuba , near São Paulo , where he grew up. After retiring, Deco set up D20 Sports Management, a sports agency registered in Dublin , Ireland. The agency, whose clients include Brazil international Fabinho and Burkina Faso international Edmond Tapsoba , recorded €300,000 profit in 2017. Deco features in EA Sports ' FIFA football video game series . He

1368-610: Is no longer qualified through the cup berth. These rules became effective for the 2015–16 season. Beginning with the 2018–19 tournament , all domestic champions eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League will transfer to the Europa League, rather than just teams that are eliminated in the third-qualifying and play-off rounds. Europa League qualifying will also provide a separate champions route for these teams, allowing more opportunities for domestic league champions to compete against each other. If

1444-660: Is one of the few players to have won the UEFA Champions League with two clubs, with Porto in 2004 and Barcelona in 2006. He was named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and UEFA Best Midfielder in Porto's Champions League-winning season and was named Man of the Match in the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final . Deco was the first player to win the UEFA Best Midfielder Award with two clubs, Porto and Barcelona. He

1520-653: Is the second-tier competition of European club football , ranking below the UEFA Champions League and above the UEFA Conference League . Introduced in 1971 as the UEFA Cup, it replaced the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup . The UEFA Cup was the third-tier European club competition from 1971 to 1999 before the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was discontinued, and it is still often referred to as the "C3" in reference to this. Clubs qualify for

1596-548: The 2003–04 season , Deco helped Porto recapture the national title and led the team to the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final , in which Porto won 3–0 over Monaco , scoring the second goal of the match. He was the UEFA Champions League 's top assist provider and also suffered the most fouls in the Champions League that season. That season, Deco also won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year as well as

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1672-502: The 2006 World Cup , Deco scored the first goal in Portugal's second Group D match against Iran in the 63rd minute prior to Cristiano Ronaldo 's 80th-minute penalty. During the first knockout stage of the competition, Deco received two yellow cards in the match against the Netherlands with the first given for a rash tackle on John Heitinga , suspending him from the quarter-final win against England , as he had already picked up

1748-418: The 2020 final . The era of the 2000s began with victory for Galatasaray , the first Turkish team to win the trophy, defeating Arsenal . Liverpool won the competition for the third time in 2001. In 2002, Feyenoord became winners for the second time, defeating Borussia Dortmund . Porto triumphed in the 2003 and 2011 tournaments, with the latter victory against fellow Portuguese side Braga . In 2004,

1824-512: The 2024–25 season, the winner of the Europa League can no longer defend their title as they automatically qualify for the Champions League league phase and teams cannot be transferred from that phase to the Europa League. From 1995 to 2015, three leagues gained one extra place via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking . The format involves a league phase and a knockout phase consisting of preliminary knockout play-offs, followed by

1900-526: The Belgian league awards one place via a playoff between First A and First B teams. Before its discontinuation in 2020–21, France offered a place to the winners of the Coupe de la Ligue . A team may qualify for European competitions through more than one route. In all cases, if a club is eligible to enter the UEFA Champions League then the Champions League place takes precedence and the club does not enter

1976-531: The CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana — since 2023. In the 2024–25 season, the group stage was replaced with an expanded league phase. Spanish clubs have the highest number of victories (14 wins), followed by teams from Italy (10 wins) and England (9 wins). The title has been won by 30 clubs, 14 of which have won it more than once. The most successful club in the competition is Sevilla , with seven titles. Colombian striker Radamel Falcao holds

2052-600: The Coupe UEFA , is the trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Europa League. Before the 2009–10 season , both the competition and the trophy were known as the 'UEFA Cup'. Before the competition was renamed the UEFA Europa League in the 2009–10 season , the UEFA regulations stated that a club could keep the original trophy for a year before returning it to UEFA. After its return,

2128-465: The Intertoto Cup , all participants in the Europa League are qualified through domestic routes. The higher an association is ranked in the UEFA coefficients, the later its members begin the qualification. However, every team except for the title-holder (until the 2014–15 season) and the highest-ranked (the cup winner or the best Europa League-qualified) from the top (six from 2012 to 2015, 12 since

2204-577: The UEFA Fair Play ranking winners (until 2015–16), and eleven places in the second qualifying round for the UEFA Intertoto Cup winners. Winners of the qualifying rounds then joined teams from the associations ranked 1–13 in the first round proper. In addition, non-qualifiers in the third qualifying round of the Champions League also joined the competition at this point along with the current title-holders (unless they had qualified for

2280-537: The UEFA Intertoto Cup , producing an enlarged competition format, with an expanded group stage and a change in qualifying criteria. The winner of the UEFA Europa League qualifies for the UEFA Super Cup , for the following season's UEFA Champions League since the 2014–15 season, entering at the group stage, as well as for the UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge — a friendly cup against the winners of

2356-457: The top tier in 1997–98 season by scoring 13 goals in 32 appearances, he returned to Benfica in July 1998. However, he left for Salgueiros in exchange for Nandinho , who went in the opposite direction. When asked by Nuno Gomes in an interview for FourFourTwo why he did not stay and become a legend at Benfica, Deco said, "Benfica decided, it wasn't my decision. They didn't want me. The coach

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2432-406: The (first) group stage of the Champions League. From the 2004–05 season, the competition started with two knockout qualifying rounds held in July and August. Participants from associations ranked 18 and lower entered the first qualifying round with those from associations ranked 9–18 joining them in the second qualifying round. In addition, three places in the first qualifying round were reserved for

2508-482: The 1990s was in 1996. Internazionale reached the final the following two years, losing in 1997 to Schalke 04 on penalties, and winning another all-Italian final in 1998, taking home the cup for the third time in only eight years. Parma won the cup in 1999, the last win of the Italian-domination era. It was the last UEFA Cup/Europa League final appearance for any Italian club until Internazionale reached

2584-421: The 2015–16 season) associations had to play at least one qualification round. Except for the teams mentioned, all teams eliminated in the Champions League preliminary round, qualifying rounds and play-off round were transferred to the Europa League. The 12 winners and runners-up in the group stage advanced to the knockout round, with eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage. The distribution

2660-419: The Champions League via their national league), for a total of 80 teams in the first round. After the first knockout round, the 40 survivors entered a group stage, with the clubs being drawn into eight groups of five each. Unlike the Champions League group stage, the UEFA Cup group stage was played in a single round-robin format , with each club playing two home and two away games. The top three teams in each of

2736-417: The Champions League, in addition to their other qualifying teams. More recently, clubs that are knocked out of the qualifying round and (prior to 2024–25) the group stage of the Champions League can also join the UEFA Europa League, at different stages (see below). Formerly, the reigning champions qualified for the Europa League to defend their title, but since 2015 they qualify for the Champions League. From

2812-465: The Europa League from 2021 onwards. With a majority of the former entrants into the Europa League now participating solely in the UECL, the Europa League itself would have a greatly reduced format which will focus primarily around its group stage. There would also be an additional knockout round before the knockout phase proper, allowing for third-placed teams in the Champions League group stage to fall into

2888-527: The Europa League title holders already qualified for the Champions League group stage via their domestic league, the following changes to the access list would be made: The announcement of the UEFA Europa Conference League , a tertiary competition which would serve to split off the lower-ranked teams in the Europa League to give them a greater chance to compete, included a document from UEFA listing their intentions for qualification to

2964-480: The Europa League while still keeping the knockout stage itself at only 16 teams total. Changes would be made if the Europa Conference League title holders qualified through their league position: Changes will be made to the access list above if the Europa League or Conference League title holder qualifies for the tournament via their domestic leagues. Similar to the UEFA Champions League,

3040-715: The Order is conferred by the President, either on his own initiative, upon the recommendation of his Ministers or following nomination by the Council of the Order. UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (previously known as the UEFA Cup ), abbreviated as UEL , is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It

3116-560: The Portuguese internationals on the basis of their age, telling Gazzetta dello Sport , "Deco and Carvalho? They are two champions but at this time I don't feel there's a need to buy them." On 6 August 2010, Deco signed a two-year contract with Brazilian club Fluminense on a free transfer, joining former Chelsea and Barcelona teammate Juliano Belletti . Playing for Fluminense, Deco won the Campeonato Brasileiro in 2010 and 2012 . On 26 August 2013, Deco retired, ending

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3192-417: The UEFA Europa League. The UEFA Europa League place is then granted to another club or vacated if the maximum limit of teams qualifying for European competitions is exceeded. If a team qualifies for European competition through both winning a cup and league placing, the "spare" UEFA Europa League place will go to the highest placed league team which has not already qualified for European competition, depending on

3268-533: The Wednesday ten days before the Champions League final. Qualification changed significantly. Associations ranked 7–9 in the UEFA coefficients sent the cup winners and three (two since the 2015–16 season) other teams to the UEFA Europa League qualification; all other nations sent a cup winner and two other teams, except for Andorra and San Marino (who sent a cup winner and a runner-up) and Liechtenstein (who sent only

3344-463: The award for the best midfielder in the competition. A deal was achieved between Porto and Barcelona the day after the Euro 2004 final . Barcelona agreed on a €15 million fee in cash, plus the complete rights of Ricardo Quaresma to Porto, which tagged Quaresma for €6 million. On 14 May 2005, Deco played in the draw against Levante , which gave Barcelona their 17th La Liga title. He also

3420-400: The club could keep a four-fifths scale replica of the original trophy. Upon their third consecutive win or fifth win overall, a club could retain the trophy permanently. Under the new regulations, the trophy remains in UEFA's keeping at all times. A full-size replica trophy is awarded to each winner of the competition. A club that wins three consecutive times or five times overall will receive

3496-439: The club needed since his departure. In his first season with Porto, Deco scored a goal after just 30.08 seconds in a 1–0 away win against Molde in the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League . Under the guidance of manager José Mourinho in the 2002–03 season , Deco scored 10 goals in 30 matches and received 17 yellow cards and 1 red card. He was one of the key players in Porto's UEFA Cup final 3–2 win over Celtic that year. In

3572-603: The commencement of the Italian clubs' domination, when Diego Maradona 's Napoli defeated VfB Stuttgart . The 1990s started with two all-Italian finals, and in 1992, Torino lost the final to Ajax on the away goals rule . Juventus won the competition for a third time in 1993. Inter Milan kept the cup in Italy in 1994. 1995 saw a third all-Italian final, with Parma proving their consistency after two consecutive Cup Winners' Cup finals. The only final with no Italians in

3648-475: The competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. In 1999 , the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was merged with the UEFA Cup and discontinued as a separate competition. From the 2004–05 season a group stage was added before the knockout phase. The competition took on its current name in 2009 , following a change in format. The 2009 re-branding included a merge with

3724-586: The competition in 1975 and 1979, and reached the final in 1980. Feyenoord won the cup in 1974 after defeating Tottenham Hotspur 4–2 on aggregate (2–2 in London, 2–0 in Rotterdam). Liverpool won the competition for the second time in 1976 after defeating Club Brugge in the final. During the 1980s, IFK Göteborg (1982 and 1987) and Real Madrid (1985 and 1986) won the competition twice each, with Anderlecht reaching two consecutive finals, winning in 1983 and losing to Tottenham Hotspur in 1984. 1989 saw

3800-454: The cup is formed by a base with two onyx discs in which a band with the flags of the UEFA member nations is inserted. The lower part of the sculpture symbolises the stylised footballers and is surmounted by a hand-embossed slab. A musical theme for the competition, the Anthem, is played before every Europa League game at a stadium hosting such an event and before every television broadcast of

3876-423: The cup returned to Spain with Valencia being victorious. CSKA Moscow won in 2005. Sevilla succeeded on two consecutive occasions in 2006 and 2007, the latter in a final against fellow Spaniards Espanyol . Zenit Saint Petersburg won in 2008. Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk , won in 2009, the first Ukrainian side to do so. Since the 2009–10 season, the competition was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League. At

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3952-503: The eight groups qualified for the main knockout round along with the eight third-placed teams in the Champions League group stage. From then on a series of two-legged knockout ties were played before a single-legged final, traditionally held on a Wednesday in May, exactly one week before the Champions League final. In the 2009–10 season , the competition was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League to raise its profile. Eight more teams qualified for

4028-609: The eventual runners-up of the tournament. In February 2010, Deco announced he would be retiring from international football after the 2010 World Cup . Deco played for Portugal in their opening game against the Ivory Coast . During the match, he was injured and was ruled out of the remaining two group matches, against North Korea and Brazil. He was fit again for the round of 16 match against Spain , but Portugal head coach Carlos Queiroz chose Tiago over him. Deco retired from international football with 75 caps and 5 goals. As

4104-579: The expansion of the Portuguese culture , its history and its values (with a particular focus on its maritime history). The number of members in each grade is restricted by its constitution, and titles are conferred by special decree by the Grand Master of the Order, i.e., the President of Portugal . The order includes several classes; in decreasing order of seniority, these are: There is also

4180-667: The final of Euro 2004 , and achieving a fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup . Born in São Bernardo do Campo , Deco spent time at Corinthians as a youngster, competing in the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior for them. In the 1997 edition, Benfica sent Toni to scout the tournament, and he soon noticed Deco, recommending his signing. In June 1997, Benfica purchased his rights from CSA and immediately sent him on loan (along with fellow Brazilian Caju) to their farm team , Alverca . After helping them win promotion to

4256-441: The final. Starting with the 1997–98 season , the final became a one-off match, but all other ties remained two-legged. Before the 2004–05 season , the tournament consisted of one qualifying round, followed by a series of knockout rounds. The sixteen non-qualifiers from the final qualifying round of the Champions League entered at the first round proper; later in the tournament, the survivors were joined by third-place finishers from

4332-412: The group stage, which consisted of 12 groups with four teams each (in a double round-robin); the top two teams in each group advanced. The competition was then similar to the previous format, with four rounds of two-legged knockout rounds and a one-off final held at a neutral ground which met UEFA's Category Four stadium criteria . Matches are generally played on Thursdays. The final was played in May, on

4408-511: The knock-out stage triggered additional bonuses: €500,000 for the round of 32, €1,200,000 for the round of 16, €1,800,000 for the quarter-finals and €2,800,000 for the semi-finals. The losing finalists received €4,600,000 and the champions received €8,600,000. The UEFA Europa League is sponsored by seven multinational corporations, which share the same partners as the UEFA Conference League. The tournament's main sponsors for

4484-411: The prize money received by the clubs is divided into fixed payments based on participation and results, and variable amounts that depend of the value of their TV market. For the 2021–22 season , group stage participation in the Europa League awarded a base fee of €3,630,000. A victory in the group pays €630,000 and a draw €210,000. Each group winner earns €1,100,000 and each runner-up €550,000. Reaching

4560-500: The record of most goals (17) scored in a single season of the tournament. The UEFA Cup was preceded by the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup , which was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The competition grew from 11 teams during the first edition ( 1955–58 ) to 64 teams by the last edition which was played in 1970–71 . It was replaced by the UEFA Cup, a new seasonal confederation competition with different regulations, format and disciplinary committee. The UEFA Cup

4636-432: The round of 16. The teams ranked 25th to 36th in the league phase and the losers of the play-offs are eliminated from the competition. The final is played at a neutral venue. The winner of the competition is entitled to participate in the UEFA Champions League league phase the following season. The competition's matches are usually played on Thursdays. UEFA coefficients were introduced in 1980 and, until 1999, they gave

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4712-411: The rules of the national association, or vacated, if the described limit is reached. The top three ranked associations may qualify for a fourth berth if both the Champions League and Europa League champions are from that association and do not qualify for European competition through their domestic performance. In that case, the fourth-placed team in that association will join the Europa League instead of

4788-671: The same time, the UEFA Intertoto Cup , UEFA's third-tier competition, was discontinued and merged into the new Europa League. Atlético Madrid won twice in three seasons, in 2010 and 2012, the latter in another all-Spanish final between them and Athletic Bilbao . In 2013, Chelsea became the first Champions League holders to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League the following year. In 2014, Sevilla won their third cup in eight years after defeating Benfica on penalties. In 2015, Sevilla won their fourth UEFA Cup/Europa League and, in an unprecedented feat, they defended their title

4864-469: The thigh injury on 19 October and came on as a substitute against Middlesbrough . He was sent off in the 3–1 defeat by Roma on 4 November 2008. He then scored a bicycle kick against Bolton Wanderers on 6 December. Deco eventually lost his place in the 2008–09 starting line up, due in part to some poor performances, but also to the sacking of Scolari. In a June interview, Deco said, "I do not want to stay. I have not liked my experience at Chelsea." This

4940-522: Was Graeme Souness at the time. I was young and Benfica needed some players." At Salgueiros, Deco was plagued by injuries and only made a few appearances, until Porto purchased him in March 1999, in time to win the league title. His release from Benfica and subsequent success with Porto was considered by António Simões as an "historical mistake", while Toni stated he saw in Deco, a successor for Rui Costa

5016-679: Was also awarded the Golden Ball at the FIFA Club World Cup and the Man of the Match award, despite losing the final to Internacional . On 30 June 2008, Premier League team Chelsea signed Deco from Barcelona on a three-year contract for €10 million (£8 million). He was the first signing of new Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was formerly the head coach of the Portugal national team . Deco scored on his debut with

5092-456: Was also known to be injury-prone and inconsistent at times, and was also accused of drifting in and out of matches. Furthermore, his work-rate and fitness were often brought into question in his later career. Deco was also well known for his tendency to commit tactical fouls, and he was accused of diving throughout his career. On 16 August 2023, it was announced that Deco would become the sporting director of his former club Barcelona by signing

5168-474: Was awarded the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball and the Man of the Match award in the final despite losing to Internacional . Deco received Portuguese citizenship in 2002 having completed five years of Portuguese residence, and subsequently opted to play internationally for the Portugal national team . He earned 75 caps for them, playing at two UEFA European Championships and two FIFA World Cups , reaching

5244-408: Was born in Brazil and it would be a lie to say that I'm Portuguese now and not Brazilian. But I love Portugal and I love playing for the national team.") Despite the early criticism, Deco was one of the highlights of the Portugal national team. He scored 5 goals in 75 caps for Portugal by June 2010, when his international career ended after the second-round defeat to Spain at the 2010 World Cup . In

5320-406: Was changed in 2014 to broaden the competition's appeal, giving the Europa League champions a Champions League qualification berth, more teams automatically qualified for the group stage. If cup winners had already qualified for European competition through league performance, their place in the league is vacated and goes to the best-ranked teams not qualified for European competition; the cup runner-up

5396-473: Was first played in the 1971–72 season, and ended with an all-English final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur , with Spurs taking the first honours. The competition has since gained greater prestige and interest from the mass media than the Fairs Cup. The title was retained by another English club, Liverpool , in 1973, who defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach in the final. Gladbach won

5472-593: Was included in the Ultimate Team Legends in FIFA 16 . Appearances and goals by club, season and competition. Appearances and goals by national team and year International goals Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first. Porto Barcelona Chelsea Fluminense Individual Orders Order of Infante D. Henrique It is a five-tier order, whose titles are awarded for relevant services to Portugal and for services in

5548-414: Was launched as part of the competition's rebranding at the start of the 2015–16 season . A new anthem created by MassiveMusic was composed for the start of the 2018–19 season . It is also used for UEFA Conference League matches. Qualification for the competition is based on UEFA coefficients , with better entrance rounds being offered to the more successful nations. In practice, each association has

5624-569: Was named Barcelona's player of the season in the 2005–06 season . Deco scored twice in the 2006 Supercopa de España , which Barça won. Deco won the UEFA Best Midfielder Award yet again for his performance in Barça's UEFA Champions League-winning season , enabling him to join the exclusive group of players that have won the same award more than once with different teams, having won the Champions League previously with Porto. He

5700-407: Was soon followed by Inter Milan , managed by former Chelsea manager José Mourinho, declaring Inter was attempting to sign Deco along with fellow countryman Ricardo Carvalho , who had also declared his desire to leave and, like Deco, desired to link-up with Mourinho again. Both players previously played under Mourinho at Porto. However, Inter club president Massimo Moratti ruled out signing either of

5776-401: Was the only factor to allow him to play for Portugal. He was subsequently mentioned several times in the media as an option for the Portugal national team. After many months of public discussion which split Portuguese public opinion, and despite the opposition of a large number of Porto rivals' supporters, he was called up for his first international, coincidentally against Brazil. He came on as

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