.jpg) Denilson in 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Denílson de Oliveira Araújo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1977-08-24)24 August 1977 (age 48) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Diadema, Brazil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| São Paulo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1998 | São Paulo | 191 | (26) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2005 | Real Betis | 196 | (14) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | →Flamengo (loan) | 17 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Bordeaux | 31 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Al Nassr | 15 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | FC Dallas | 8 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Palmeiras | 55 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Itumbiara | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Hải Phòng | 1 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Kavala | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 514 | (60) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2003 | Brazil | 61 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Denílson de Oliveira Araújo (born 24 August 1977), known simply asDenílson or sometimesDenílson Show, is a Brazilianfootballpundit and former professional player who played as awinger.
In a 17-year career, he played mainly forSão Paulo andReal Betis, who made him theworld's most expensive player in 1998. He also appeared for teams in five other countries during his career.
Denílson gained more than 60caps forBrazil, making his full debut before his 20th birthday. He represented the nation in six international tournaments, including twoFIFA World Cups, winning the2002 edition. Denílson holds the record for the most appearances as a substitute in the World Cup.[1]
Born inDiadema, São Paulo, Denílson made his senior debuts with localSão Paulo at the age of only 17, appearing with the team in the1994 Copa CONMEBOL and winning the tournament.[2]
In 1998, he broke the world-record transfer fee whenReal Betis paid£21.5 million for his services.[3] He made hisLa Liga debut on 29 August in a 0–0 away draw againstAlavés,[4] and finishedhis first season with 35 games and two goals as his team ranked in 11th position; theAndalusians were relegated toSegunda División in2000.[5]
Denílson spent some months back in his country withFlamengo, on loan, but returned in January 2001 to be a productive attacking unit for Betis as itachieved promotion back (21 games, one goal). He continued to be regularly played in the following top flight campaigns, but more often than not as asubstitute.
In2004–05 Betis finished in fourth position andqualified to theUEFA Champions League, also addingthe season'sCopa del Rey, but Denílson was only a fringe player now, starting in just three games and playing only 290 minutes.
In the 2005 off-season, Denílson was sold to French clubBordeaux for an undisclosed amount, four years before his Betis contract was due to expire. Inhis only season inLigue 1, he appeared regularly to help Bordeaux to a second-place finish, albeit trailing eventual championsLyon by 15 points.
As the team failed to match Denílson's wage demands, he left and signed for Saudi Arabia'sAl Nassr, where he played for a couple of months.
On 24 August 2007, Denílson joinedFC Dallas ofMajor League Soccer, becoming the team'sdesignated player.[6] He made his MLS debut on 1 September, entering in the 55th minute againstD.C. United, and the following week he made his first start, againstToronto FC atPizza Hut Park, scoring from thepenalty spot in the 36th minute of an eventual 2–0 win.[7]
After only one goal and noassists, Denílson was excluded from Dallas' squad for their appearance in the final of theU.S. Open Cup, raising questions of whether he would remain with the club following the season (even though Open Cup regulations allowed no more than five foreign players on the game-day roster). Further fueling speculation, head coachSteve Morrow said the player would need to "earn a spot in the starting lineup like everybody else";goalkeeperDarío Sala added the team was having problems adjusting to a change in tactics to accommodate Denílson.[8]
At the end ofthe season, FC Dallas decided not to pick up its option on Denílson, but stated their desire to resign the winger at a lower salary.[9] In February 2008, he signed a one-year performance-based contract withPalmeiras, hoping the club structure and experienced coachVanderlei Luxemburgo would help him recover his best form. He was unable to make the starting squad, spending most ofthe season as a bench option; nonetheless, he helpedVerdão to theSão Paulo State Championship anda berth in theCopa Libertadores after a fourth-place finish in the league.
On 6 January 2009, Denílson was taken on trial byPremier League sideBolton Wanderers with a chance to sign a contract until the end ofthe campaign.[10] He stated: "I want to play in Europe, but I am not in a rush. I have received proposals from England, Greece, Turkey and Germany. I am studying them," further adding: "I understand that this is the time to return to European football, but if I am not convinced by any offer I hope to continue in Brazil, where there are also clubs interested in me."[11] However, nothing came of the trial.[12]
After terminating his contract with Palmeiras, 31-year-old Denílson signed a three-month contract withItumbiara.[13] On 2 June 2009 he penned a six-month deal with Vietnamese clubHải Phòng on a pay-as-you-play contract.[14] He made his debut on the 21st againstHoàng Anh Gia Lai, scoring through afree kick just two minutes into the game, but left after only three weeks with the team with only that single appearance to his credit due to injury. Denílson was paid $12,000 for the match and a $5,000 bonus for the goal.[14]
In January 2010, Denílson signed a two-year contract withKavala in Greece. He was released on 16 April of that year without having played any games.[15]
Denílson made his debut forBrazil in November 1996 at the age of 19 againstCameroon. In 1997, Denílson was selected for the1997 Copa América and the1997 FIFA Confederations Cup, winning both tournaments and totalling ten appearances (two goals); the following year, he was selected for the squad that competed at the1998 FIFA World Cup, appearing in every match for the eventual runners-up.
Denílson was picked by managerLuiz Felipe Scolari for his2002 World Cup squad in Japan and South Korea. He made five appearances, all as a substitute, as theSeleção won its fifthWorld Cup. He played one minute in the final againstGermany.
AfterCarlos Alberto Parreira returned for his third spell as national team boss, Denílson was not called up again. He gained a total of 61 caps, scoring 8 international goals.[16]
A creative and technically gifted left-footed player, Denílson usually played as a leftwinger either inmidfield or up-front, and was mainly known for his pace, flair, anddribbling skills, in particular for his use of several tricks andfeints to beat opponents, such as thestep over, which he frequently employed;[17][18][19][20][21] however, he was also infamous for his inability to score consistently in front of goal, and for his tendency to pick up bookings.[22] Despite the talent demonstrated in his youth, he was considered by several pundits not to have fulfilled the potential he showed at the start of his career in both Brazilian club and international football, as he struggled to replicate a similar level of performance in European football.[19][22][23][24][25]
Denílson was sponsored by sportswear companyNike, and appeared in commercials for the brand. In a global advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scorpion KO") directed byTerry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such asFabio Cannavaro,Hernán Crespo,Edgar Davids,Rio Ferdinand,Luís Figo,Paul Scholes,Thierry Henry,Gaizka Mendieta,Hidetoshi Nakata,Ronaldinho,Ronaldo andFrancesco Totti, among others, with former playerEric Cantona the tournament "referee".[26][27] In March 2017, Denilson signed with888poker as a brand ambassador.[28][29]
After retiring, Denílson worked as asports commentator forRede Bandeirantes.
| Club | Season | League | State league | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| São Paulo | 1994 | Série A | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 9 | 1 | 9 | 1 | |||
| 1995 | 18 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 59 | 5 | ||
| 1996 | 18 | 3 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 52 | 8 | ||
| 1997 | 14 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 49 | 5 | ||
| 1998 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 0 | – | 6 | 1 | 22 | 7 | |||
| Total | 50 | 4 | 73 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 40 | 6 | 191 | 26 | ||
| Real Betis | 1998–99 | La Liga | 35 | 2 | – | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 39 | 2 | ||
| 1999–00 | 32 | 3 | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 3 | |||||
| 2000–01 | Segunda División | 21 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 1 | ||||
| 2001–02 | La Liga | 34 | 3 | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 3 | ||||
| 2002–03 | 25 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | – | 29 | 3 | ||||
| 2003–04 | 28 | 2 | – | 2 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 2 | |||||
| 2004–05 | 10 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 0 | |||||
| 2005–06 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 185 | 21 | – | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 | – | 198 | 14 | ||||
| Flamengo (loan) | 2000 | Série A | 11 | 3 | – | – | 6 | 1 | – | 17 | 4 | |||
| Bordeaux | 2005–06 | Ligue 1 | 31 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 31 | 3 | ||||
| Al-Nassr | 2006 | Saudi Pro League | 15 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 15 | 3 | ||||
| FC Dallas | 2007 | MLS | 8 | 1 | – | 1[a] | 0 | – | 1[b] | 0 | 10 | 1 | ||
| Palmeiras | 2008 | Série A | 30 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | – | 55 | 7 | |
| Itumbiara | 2009 | Série D | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Hai Phong | 2009 | V.League 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 331 | 39 | 88 | 15 | 24 | 2 | 35 | 5 | 41 | 6 | 517 | 59 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 1996 | 2 | 0 |
| 1997 | 18 | 5 | |
| 1998 | 16 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 61 | 8 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 June 1997 | Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera,Santa Cruz, Bolivia |  Peru | 1–0 | 7–0 | 1997 Copa América | [31] |
| 2 | 10 September 1997 | Estádio Fonte Nova,Salvador, Brazil |  Ecuador | 1–0 | 4–2 | Friendly | [32] |
| 3 | 9 October 1997 | Mangueirão,Belém, Brazil |  Morocco | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | [33] |
| 4 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 5 | 16 December 1997 | King Fahd International Stadium,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |  Mexico | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup | [34] |
| 6 | 15 July 2001 | Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero,Cali, Colombia | Peru | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2001 Copa América | [35] |
| 7 | 18 July 2001 | Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, Cali, Colombia |  Paraguay | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2001 Copa América | [36] |
| 8 | 25 May 2002 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |  Malaysia | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | [37] |
São Paulo
Betis
Palmeiras
Brazil
Individual
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