Nélson de Jesus Silva[nb 1] (born 7 October 1973), better known simply asDida (Brazilian Portuguese:[ˈdʒidɐ]), is a Brazilian formerfootballgoalkeeper and goalkeeping coach. He started his senior club career in Brazil in the early 1990s withVitória before moving toCruzeiro andCorinthians. He is perhaps best remembered for his ten-year stint withAC Milan from 2000 to 2010, where he established himself as one of the world's best goalkeepers and won multiple trophies and individual awards with the club, including oneSerie A title (Scudetto) and twice theUEFA Champions League, with the first of those victories coming after he saved three penalties in the 2003final againstSerie A rivalsJuventus, and is one of four Milan keepers with 300 career appearances. After a two-year absence from playing, he returned to Brazil in 2012, appearing for three teams—Portuguesa,Grêmio andInternacional—in as many seasons. He returned to Milan to serve as their goalkeeping coach from 2020 to 2022.
Considered one of the best goalkeepers of all time,[9][10] Dida was the inauguralFIFPro Goalkeeper of the Year. He is additionally rated among the all-time greats in the position for Brazil alongsideAlisson Becker,Marcos,Júlio César,Rogério Ceni,Cláudio Taffarel andGilmar.[nb 2] Dida has been credited with helping end the prejudice against black goalkeepers in Brazilian club football due to his success in Europe, and upon joining Internacional in 2014, became the first Afro-Brazilian keeper to play for the club in 43 years.
Nélson de Jesus Silva was born on 7 October 1973 in the city ofIrará in the northeastern Brazilian state ofBahia,[4] and was raised inLagoa da Canoa in the smaller neighbouring state ofAlagoas, to where his family had moved when he was three months old.[20][21] His first sport of choice wasvolleyball,[22] until he discovered football by way offutsal and pickup games.[23] He was given the nickname "Dida" at a young age, which he would later adopt as his playing name,[21] and his preferred position was that ofgoalkeeper,[24] despite its long-time unpopularity in Brazilian football and the country's history of discrimination againstblack players in the position.[25][26]
A supporter ofRio de Janeiro-based clubFlamengo,[27] Dida helped form an amateur squad calledFlamenguinho ("little Flamengo") at age thirteen,[28] which marked his first experience in organised team play.[23] His footballing idols were goalkeepersRinat Dasayev[23] and futureSeleção teammateCláudio Taffarel, who had enjoyed successful runs inItaly andTurkey and whom Dida later considered a pioneer in the growing acceptance of Brazilian keepers into European clubs.[29]
"[Bahian football] teams featured many homegrown talents.Vitória ... had players like Dida,Vampeta, Giuliano,Rodrigo,Paulo Isidoro,Alex Alves. A nineteen-year-old goalkeeper in Dida, defending a club like Vitória, though he was black. And whenever a black goalkeeper played [in Brazil], he was under suspicion."
In 1990, at age 17, Dida made his club football debut with Alagoan teamCruzeiro de Arapiraca.[31] Two years later, he joined the youth academy of hometown team and 1992Campeonato Baiano winnersVitória.[32][33] In 1993, after starting in Brazil'sFIFA World Youth Championship victory, Dida made 24 starts in goal for Vitória's senior squad as they finished runner-up toPalmeiras in theCampeonato Brasileiro Série A, and he became the youngest recipient, at 20, of Brazilian football magazinePlacar's annualBola de Prata award as the Série A's best goalkeeper.[33]
Dida was then acquired byCruzeiro in 1994, and in a span of five seasons, he won fourCampeonato Mineiro titles, the1996 Copa do Brasil, the1997 Copa Libertadores, and two moreBola de Prata goalkeeping awards. However, in January 1999, he publicly stated his desire to test his skills in Europe and catch the attention of theBrazil national team coaching staff in the process,[34] and took the club to court in attempt to cancel the remainder of his contract so he could sign withAC Milan, the only European team that had extended him an offer.[35] The ensuing legal battle between the player and Cruzeiro lasted for five months,[35] and aFIFA ruling allowed Dida to be loaned to Swiss clubLugano in the meantime so he could keep in shape, though he never played a game. His move to Milan was finalised in May 1999 following a transfer fee of 2.7 billionItalian lire (R$5.2 million) paid to Cruzeiro.[35][36]
Dida was the third goalkeeper on Milan coachAlberto Zaccheroni's depth chart behindChristian Abbiati and aging veteranSebastiano Rossi for the1999–2000 Serie A season, and he returned to Brazil as he was loaned toCorinthians to receive regular playing time. His reputation as apenalty stopper came into national renown[37][38] during the1999 Campeonato Brasileiro after he saved two separate spot kicks — both taken byRaí — in Corinthians' 3–2 victory over intrastate rivalSão Paulo in the semi-final,[39][40] which earned him a 10 rating fromPlacar.[21] Dida received his first nomination for theIFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award that season, finishing eighth in the voting.[41] He kept three clean sheets in four matches and conceded only two goals as Corinthians lifted the inauguralFIFA Club World Cup in 2000, and after the final againstVasco da Gama ended goalless after extra time, he blocked aGilberto penalty in the ensuing shootout that Corinthians won 4–3 after Vasco strikerEdmundo's shot went wide right.[37] Corinthians midfielderRicardinho revealed to the media afterward that the team was actively seeking to take the match to penalties during the extra period, knowing Dida would save "at least one in five";[42] indeed,BBC News castigated the "poor final" as both teams "never look[ing] like scoring in two hours of open play",[43] while Dida himself criticised penalty shootouts in that they "cause[d] suffering to the players and the fans".[42]
Milan recalled Dida and named him their2000–01 Champions League starter with first-choice Christian Abbiati on international duty withItaly at the2000 Summer Olympics. HisRossoneri debut was a 4–1 group stage victory overBeşiktaş on 13 September 2000, but six days later, againstLeeds United at a rain-soakedElland Road, he accidentally dropped a lateLee Bowyer strike into his own goal, causing Milan to lose the match 1–0.[44][45] His explanation was that he attempted to absorb the force of the shot and then catch hold of it, but the ball dropped into a puddle and bounced into the net.[3] He started the remaining group stage games and kept his first clean sheet for Milan in a 2–0 win overBarcelona on 26 September,[46] but was then replaced by Abbiati for thesecond group stage. Dida made his firstSerie A start in a 2–0 November loss toParma, his only league appearance of the year, and after Milan's 2–0 loss toGalatasaray[47]—who featured his idol Taffarel in goal[48]—on 7 March 2001, theRossoneri were eliminated from the Champions League and Dida did not play again for the rest of the season.
Dida was recalled once again by Milan for2002–03 as a reserve, making his season debut on 14 August 2002 as an injury substitute for Christian Abbiati in the second half of Milan'sChampions League third-round qualifier againstSlovan Liberec, in which his performance in the 1–0 victory and subsequent matches resulted in second-year coachCarlo Ancelotti promoting him to first choice.[44] He made a then-career high 30 starts as Milanfinished third in Serie A and exhibited the league's second-best defence that conceded only 30 goals (one behind championJuventus' 29), while he won his loneCoppa Italia with theRossoneri.[50]
He made fourteen Champions League appearances, missing only the second leg of Milan's semi-final elimination of crosstown rivalInternazionale to injury,[51] as Milan advanced to face Juventus in the onlyall-Italian final in the competition's history. He was untested during the goalless regulation and extra-time periods save for his stop of a lateAlessandro Del Piero shot,[52] but saved fromDavid Trezeguet,Marcelo Zalayeta andPaolo Montero in the penalty shootout that saw five of the first seven shots collectively stopped by Dida and Juventus' star goalkeeperGianluigi Buffon.[53][54] After Milan'sAndriy Shevchenko scored the winner, he celebrated by leaping into Dida's arms as they were mobbed by teammates.[55] Juventus coachMarcelo Lippi said after the match that "four or five" of his players had refused to take part in the shootout,[56] whileBianconeri defenderLilian Thuram, who was not a participant, admitted to being affected beforehand by Dida's reputation as a penalty stopper.[52] Dida ended the year by becoming the first Brazilian goalkeeper nominated for theBallon d'Or,[29] finishing 13th in voting.[57]
Dida became the first non-Italian goalkeeper to win theScudetto[58] when Milan won its seventeenth title in the2003–04 season, and he was runner-up to Buffon for the 2004Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award after conceding only 20 goals in 32 league appearances.[59][60][61] Though Milan'sChampions League repeat bid was ended byDeportivo de La Coruña in the quarter-finals, a highlight of their campaign was during a previous group-stage match againstAjax on 16 September 2003, when Dida blocked a point blank-range shot fromRafael van der Vaart at the end of extra time to preserve Milan's 1–0 win.[62][63][64]
2004–2005: Internazionale flare incident and Miracle of Istanbul
Milan started2004–05 by winning theSupercoppa Italiana, and the first half of theSerie A season saw Dida nearly insurmountable in net. After he was sent off in theRossoneri's season opener againstLivorno,[65] he conceded only ten goals as Milan went unbeaten in 17 of their next 18 league matches, among them a 1–0 win overChievo on 28 November 2004 in which he had performed an acrobatic save on aRoberto Baroniofree kick, changing direction after the ball was deflected mid-flight.[3][66] Ancelotti later described the save to reporters as "[worth] no less than a goal".[3] Though Dida kept 16 total clean sheets and conceded 25 goals in 36 (out of 38) appearances, Milan faltered by going winless in five of their final eight matches and finished runner-up toScudetto winners Juventus.[67]
In theChampions League, Dida allowed only three goals in Milan's first ten matches, including a string of five straight clean sheets following a 2–1 group-stage loss to Barcelona on 2 November 2004.[68] The fifth of these came against crosstown rivalInternazionale in the quarter-finals on 7 April 2005, in which Dida kept theNerazzurri at bay with multiple saves, notably that of a top-cornerSiniša Mihajlović free kick.[69][70] With Milan leading 1–0 in the return leg on 12 April, Inter midfielderEsteban Cambiasso's second-halfheader was disallowed by refereeMarkus Merk due to a foul on Dida by forwardJulio Cruz.[71] Interultras located in thecurva behind Dida's goal reacted to the call by hurling bottles and burningflares onto the pitch.[71] As Dida attempted to resume gameplay by clearing out the debris from his penalty area to take a goal kick, a flare struck him on his right shoulder, missing his head by inches.[71] The match was halted as firefighters worked to clear the pitch while Dida received treatment for bruising and first-degree burns to his shoulder.[71] After a half-hour delay, the game resumed with Christian Abbiati in goal but was abandoned less than a minute later after more projectiles rained down.[72]UEFA officially awarded Milan a 3–0 win, resulting in Dida tying a Champions League record, then shared withEdwin van der Sar andJózef Wandzik, with his sixth consecutive shutout.[73] Inter were later fined €200,000 (£132,000) by UEFA and ordered to play their next four European matches behind closed doors.[74] In the semi-finals againstPSV, Dida set a competition record with his seventh consecutive clean sheet in Milan's 2–0 first-leg victory on 26 April,[75] but his scoreless streak ended at 623 total minutes following aPark Ji-sung strike in the ninth minute of the second leg on 4 May[76] as PSV won 3–1, but theRossoneri advanced to the final onaway goals.[77]
Milan charged to an early 3–0 lead in the first half in the2005 Champions League final inIstanbul againstPremier League sideLiverpool, who in turn rallied in the second half with three goals in a span of six minutes, the second being a strike from Reds midfielderVladimír Šmicer that Dida got a hand to but was unable to keep out.[78] The third came on aXabi Alonso penalty saved by Dida before Alonso netted the rebound.[79] With the match going to penalties after ending 3–3 in regulation and extra time, Dida stopped only fromJohn Arne Riise as Liverpool won the shootout 3–2. He later faced press criticism for what was deemed a poor reaction to Šmicer's shot on goal.[79][80][81] Dida was among five Milan players named to the inauguralFIFPro World XI at the end of the season,[82] while he finished a career-best second for the 2005 IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award, behind winnerPetr Čech.[83] He also made a nomination forSerie A Goalkeeper of the Year for a 2nd time but once again lost toGianluigi Buffon.[84] He was additionally shortlisted for the 2005 Ballon D'Or, but did not receive any votes.[85]
In2005–06, Milan went trophyless in both domestic and European competitions for the first time since2001–02. They finished second and three points behind Juventusin Serie A, before being implicated in theCalciopolimatch-fixing scandal. TheRossoneri lost as many matches (five) in the first half of the season as they had the entire previous year while conceding 22 goals in that 19-game span, with Dida not keeping a clean sheet until the fourth matchday, a 2–0 win overLazio.[86] His form had also begun to visibly decline as he committed noticeable errors such as dropping across in Milan's 4–3 win over Parma on 8 January 2006 that allowedPaolo Cannavaro to score the loose ball and give Parma an early 1–0 lead;[87] and attempting an underhand catch of anAndrea Gasbarroni shot that instead bounced off his arm and into goal, resulting in a 1–1 draw withSampdoria on 28 January that put Milan nine points behind Juventus in the title race.[88] In February 2006, Brazil national team coachCarlos Alberto Parreira, who had previously coached Dida at Corinthians,[89] publicly declared that Dida risked jeopardising his starting position for the upcomingWorld Cup if his form did not improve.[90] Milan were eliminated by Barcelona in the2006 Champions League semi-final on a 1–0 aggregate, but Dida was praised for saves againstSamuel Eto'o,Ronaldinho andHenrik Larsson over both legs.[91][92] However, his Champions League clean-sheet record of seven from the previous season was surpassed byArsenal'sJens Lehmann, who finished the year with ten straight.[93]
As punishment for their involvement in theCalciopoli scandal, Milan began the2006–07 Serie A season with an eight-point deficit in the standings, and finished fourth behind Internazionale, Roma and Lazio. Following a strike by Lazio'sStephen Makinwa in Milan's 2–1 season opener on 10 September 2006, Dida did not allow a league goal for the next 446 minutes.[94] He played his 200th match for Milan in a 1–0 win overAscoli on 20 September.[95] However, 2006–07 was also the first injury-plagued season of his career, beginning with knee ligament damage suffered in Milan's 1–0 loss toAEK Athens on 21 November 2006 that side-lined him for the rest of the year.[96] Reserve keeperZeljko Kalac deputized until Dida returned on 21 January 2007 in a goalless draw with Lazio.[97] He missed 13 total Serie A matches[97] due to recurring knee and shoulder problems,[98] after having missed ten games in the last three seasons combined.
Milan additionally had to qualify for the2006–07 Champions League, accomplished by defeatingRed Star Belgrade on aggregate, and theRossoneri then proceeded to top their group as Dida kept four clean sheets and conceded only twice in that six-match span.[97] In the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich, he was criticized for conceding a stoppage-time equalizer fromDaniel Van Buyten in the first leg on 3 April that relegated Milan to a 2–2 home draw.[99][100] Dida then kept a clean sheet in the second leg as Milan shut out Bayern 2–0 and advanced to the semi-finals againstManchester United, but he again received criticism for errors resulting in goals (fromCristiano Ronaldo andWayne Rooney) in a 3–2 defeat.[101] After the loss, a Milan fan mockingly put Dida up for sale on auction siteeBay before the site removed the listing.[102] Dida kept another second-leg clean sheet in Milan's decisive 3–0 home win on 3 May, in addition to becoming the first goalkeeper to register anassist in the Champions League,[103] as theRossoneri advanced to the2007 final for a rematch against Liverpool.[104] Dida saved fromJermaine Pennant,Steven Gerrard andPeter Crouch as Milan won 2–1 and he raised his second Champions League trophy, and theRossoneri's seventh overall, in five seasons.[105]
2007–08: Injury problems, Celtic fan incident and benching
Dida won his second careerUEFA Super Cup after Milan defeatedSevilla on 31 August 2007, and his secondFIFA Club World Cup with Milan's 4–2 win overBoca Juniors on 16 December. He had additionally set a record with his sixth match played in the competition, a mark that was broken after severalAl Ahly players collectively earned their seventh capsthe next year.[106] However, Dida endured his worst season with the club, as ongoing poor form and injuries spelled the end of his tenure as Milan's number one after six seasons,[107] as theRossoneri finishedfifth in Serie A and consequently missed out on Champions League qualification for the following season.
On 3 October 2007, during Milan'sChampions League group stage match againstCeltic inGlasgow, Celtic strikerScott McDonald scored the match-winner in the 90th minute to seal a 2–1 victory. As the Celtic players celebrated, 27-year-old Celtic fan Robert McHendry entered the pitch and tapped Dida on the shoulder while running through Milan's penalty area. Dida initially gave chase but after a few steps collapsed to the ground while holding the side of his face, and he was stretchered off and substituted.[108] McHendry later turned himself in to police and was given a lifetime ban fromCeltic Park,[109] but UEFA charged Dida with breaching rules upholding "loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship", as it was deemed that he had feigned injury.[7] He was punished with a two-match suspension, while Celtic were fined £25,000 for the pitch invasion.[7] Milan appealed the ruling, feeling the sentence "turn[ed] Dida into the protagonist of the incident".[110] Dida never spoke publicly about the incident, but in Milan's first home game following the Celtic match — a 1–0 loss toEmpoli on 21 October — he offered a gesture of apology to the fans in attendance by pausing during warmups to bow to each section of the crowd, receiving a round of applause in response.[111][112] His ban was reduced to one match, causing him to miss Milan's 4–1 first-leg victory overShakhtar Donetsk on 24 October,[113] but he returned for the 3–0 second leg victory on 6 November.[114] The death knell of Dida's campaign came in Milan's 2–1derby loss to Inter on 23 December, when he inexplicably dived in the opposite direction of Esteban Cambiasso's game-winning goal,[115] for which he was lambasted by fans and the press.[116][117] He started Milan's 5–2 win overNapoli on 13 January 2008, but a knee injury the following week saw him replaced by backupZeljko Kalac, whose own strong form[118] kept him first choice for the remainder of the season, including the Champions League until Milan were eliminated in the knockout round byArsenal.[119]
Dida was among a clog of goalkeepers in the Milan squad at the start of the2008–09 season that included Kalac,Christian Abbiati, and 2007 signingMarco Storari.[120] He was ultimately named second choice behind Abbiati, with Kalac demoted to third choice after conceding five goals in Milan'sRussian Railways Cup loss toChelsea on 3 August,[121] and Storari being loaned toFiorentina. Dida was designated to Milan'sUEFA Cup campaign, in which he kept only one clean sheet in six matches as theRossoneri were eliminated by eventual finalistsWerder Bremen.[122] On 15 March 2009, Dida played his first Serie A match in over a year after Abbiati suffered a season-ending knee injury during Milan's 5–1 win atSiena.[123] He finished the season as starter, keeping six clean sheets in a career-low ten league appearances[124] as Milan placed third behind Inter and Juventus and returned to the Champions League.
In2009–10, with Carlo Ancelotti replaced byLeonardo as head coach after nine seasons, Milan finished third behind Internazionale and Juventus inSerie A for the second straight year, and were eliminated by Manchester United on a 7–2 aggregate in theChampions League round of 16. Dida was unable to compete for the starting spot after missing the preseason with injury, and served as Storari's backup until making his season debut as an injury substitute for the third time in his Milan career, in a 2–1 defeat of Roma on 18 October 2009.[125] On 21 October, in his first Champions League appearance of the season againstReal Madrid during the group stage, Dida caught anEsteban Granero header in the 18th minute and hurried to move the ball upfield without having complete control of it, causing him to bounce it off his knee andRaúl to slot the loose ball into an empty net.[126] His mistake did not prove costly as Madrid goalkeeperIker Casillas erred on two goals that enabled Milan to gain their first victory (3–2) at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium.[126]
"Today is the first day I'm living as a formerRossonero after ten years. I wanted to ... say goodbye to all the Milan fans who in these years were close to me and with whom I have shared joys and bitterness, despite winning everything. A big thank you toSilvio Berlusconi,Adriano Galliani and Sporting Director Ariedo Braida: without them I could never have had such a gratifying experience both from a sporting and human point of view. There are many people I'd like to thank: all the teammates I've had, Milan's managers and co-workers, theMilanello staff. But I especially want to citeCarlo Ancelotti, the coach who allowed me to play in this fantastic team and with whom I spent the biggest part of myRossoneri life, andVilliam Vecchi, who endured me for all these years. ... Thanks from the heart andForza Milan!"
—Dida in his goodbye letter to Milan, 1 July 2010[127]
Dida retained the starting spot on the back of strong league performances despite Storari returning to fitness, such as a stoppage-time save fromPablo Granoche in a 25 October 2–1 win over Chievo,[128] and double and triple saves performed minutes apart in a 2–2 draw at Napoli on 28 October.[129] Dida kept four clean sheets and conceded an average of one goal per game as Milan enjoyed an eight-match unbeaten league run in that stretch that ended in a 2–0 loss toPalermo on 13 December.[130] With Dida retaining the number-one jersey into 2010 and Abbiati returning from injury, Storari was loaned to Sampdoria on 15 January.[131] However, after Abbiati returned for his first match in ten months on 31 January, a 1–1 draw with Livorno that Dida missed due to a back injury, both keepers were subsequently juggled in and out of the starting lineup due to Leonardo's difficulty in establishing a definite number one,[132] until Abbiati's heroics in Milan's 2–0 win overBari on 21 February relegated Dida to the bench.[133] After Abbiati was side-lined withtendinitis on 28 March,[134] Dida started for the rest of the season, finishing with his most Serie A appearances (23) in four years.[130] On 1 May, he played his 300th match in all competitions for Milan in a 1–0 win over Fiorentina,[135] and was substituted for Abbiati in the 88th minute of theRossoneri's 3–0 season-finale defeat of Juventus on 15 May, receiving a standing ovation as he departed. His final game for Milan was a postseasonfriendly againstMajor League Soccer (MLS) teamChicago Fire.[136]
Dida's contract expired on 30 June 2010, ending his decade-long tenure with the club.[127] He made 302 total appearances in goal for Milan, the third-highest number behind Christian Abbiati (380), and Sebastiano Rossi (330).[137] He finished with the currently sixth-highest number of Champions League clean sheets (35)[138] and the second-highest percentage of clean sheets in games played (49%, behind Edwin Van der Sar's 52%),[139] in addition to the fourth-highest unbeaten mark (623 minutes) in Champions League history.[140]
Dida continued to participate in team-related events after his departure.[141][142][143] He joinedMilan Glorie (a selection of teamalumni) for charity friendlies against other veterans from clubs such asHJK Helsinki andVélez Sársfield, in which he was often deployed in attack instead of goal.[144][145][146] In May 2012, he representedMilan in the2012Mundialito de Clubesbeach soccer tournament,[147] in which theRossoneri were eliminated in the group stage after going winless in three games.
After two years of being unable to secure a contract and continue playing in Europe, Dida returned to Brazil to resume his career.[23] On 24 May 2012,Portuguesa signed him for the remainder of theBrasileiro season as a replacement for departing goalkeeperWeverton.[148] He made his debut on 26 June in a 1–0 win over São Paulo,[149] and on 1 July, helped in holdingSantos to a goalless draw in a match that was billed as a duel of generations between Dida and Santos' young starNeymar, who was 18 years his junior.[150][151] Dida made 32 starts and conceded 31 goals as Portuguesa avoided relegation from the Campeonato Brasileiro top flight, but he departed after the season when his contract expired.[152]
On 19 December 2012, Dida joinedPorto Alegre-basedGrêmio on a deal for an undisclosed duration that was finalized after he accepted a reduction of his original wage request.[153] He was signed at the behest of coachVanderlei Luxemburgo, who sought an experienced backup to incumbentMarcelo Grohe.[153] By January 2013, Dida had surpassed the 26-year-old Grohe as first choice, allowing 34 goals in 37 league starts as Grêmiofinished runner-up to Cruzeiro, while advancing to the semi-final of theCopa do Brasil by eliminating Corinthians in a penalty shootout that saw Dida stop three spot kicks, notably former Milan teammateAlexandre Pato's botchedpanenka attempt.[154] Grêmio were unable to advance past the round of 16 in theCopa Libertadores after losing on away goals toIndependiente Santa Fe, which led to Luxemburgo's firing on 30 June.
After Grêmio turned down his extension request at the end of the season, Dida signed a two-year deal with archrivalInternacional on 26 December 2013.[155] He downplayed the rivalry between the clubs, citing that he had wanted to remain in Porto Alegre for family reasons.[156] Due to injury, Dida did not make his debut until 23 February 2014 in a 1–0 loss toVeranópolis,[157][158] but was able to supplant brothersAlisson Becker andMuriel for the starting spot, making 27 total first-team appearances as Internacional would finishthird in Série A and win the2014 Campeonato Gaúcho.
Following a poor performance in a 2–0 loss to his former clubVitória on 10 September,[159] Dida was benched in favour of Muriel for Internacional's 2–0 win overBotafogo four days later but entered as an injury substitute in the second half.[160] He made six consecutive starts while Muriel recovered from a thigh injury, but lost the job permanently after Internacional were blown out 5–0 byChapecoense on 5 October, during which he wassent off for alate challenge.[161] Becker was established as theColorado's number one thereafter,[162] with Dida demoted to third choice. His final appearance was a 2–0 win overPasso Fundo on 5 April 2015 in the first round of the2015 Campeonato Gaúcho,[161] during which he became the oldest player, at 41 years and six months, to ever take the pitch for Internacional.[163] On 25 August, an online video of Dida performing a series of acrobatic practice saves during a team training session wentviral.[164][165][166] In 2016, he unsuccessfully sought a new club with whom to continue playing until the end of the calendar year,[167] and retired thereafter.
After his contract with Internacional expired in 2015, Dida temporarily remained with the club in an internship role as he studied to earn his coaching badges,[168] and tookBrazilian Football Confederation-required courses in December 2015 alongside former Brazil teammates Taffarel and Ricardinho.[169][170] He served as an assistant and consultant toChina League One clubShenzhen under the invitation of former Milan teammate and then-head coachClarence Seedorf from October to November 2016.[171] In August 2018, Dida joined the technical staff ofEgyptian Premier League sidePyramids FC to provide additional goalkeeper training,[172] and returned to Milan a year later as goalkeeping coach of the team'syouth sector.[173] He was promoted in August 2020 to goalkeeping coach of the senior squad for the2020–21 season.[174]
Dida is the first major Brazilian goalkeeper to be known by a nickname, as opposed to the tradition of going by either his first or last name.[175][176] He first represented theSeleção at theunder-20 level as first choice at the1993 FIFA World Youth Championship, keeping four clean sheets in six matches and conceding only two goals as Brazil were victorious.[177] After Taffarel was suspended for the first two games of the1995 Copa América due to a uniform violation,[178] Dida earned his firstcap for the senior side at age 21 in a 1–0 defeat ofEcuador,[175][179] and started in Brazil's 2–0 win overPeru.
He was called up by coachMário Zagallo as the backup toDanrlei for the1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup, in which Brazil sent theirunder-23 squad, and he never left the bench as theSeleção finished runners-up toMexico. Dida was named the starter for the1996 Summer Olympics, but Brazil endured a disappointing campaign and finished with a bronze medal, while he gained notoriety for colliding with teammateAldair in a 1–0 loss toJapan as they chased a long ball into the penalty area, giving Japan the empty-net goal.[180]
1997–2001: First World Cup, and Copa América success
Dida was excluded from Brazil's1997 Copa América roster, but returned to the starting lineup for the inauguralFIFA Confederations Cup that year, keeping five clean sheets and allowing just two total goals as theSeleção lifted the trophy with a6–0 rout ofAustralia in the final. Though he was called up for the1998 World Cup, Taffarel remained first choice, and Dida was third behind backupCarlos Germano as Brazilfinished runners-up tothe hosts. He would not play for the national team in all of 1998,[179] which factored into his decision to leave club team Cruzeiro for Milan at the start of the next year.[35] In 1999, under new coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Dida won his loneCopa América with Brazil after a 3–0 defeat ofUruguay in the final. He conceded only two total goals in the competition, and blocked a game-tyingRoberto Ayala penalty in a 2–1 victory over arch-rivalArgentina in the quarter-finals.[182] He made his second straightConfederations Cup start that year as Brazil allowed no goals in the group stage and thrashed hostsSaudi Arabia 8–2 in the semi-finals, but were again thwarted by champions Mexico, losing 4–3 inthe final.
Dida made his third consecutive Confederations Cup start in2001, keeping clean sheets in every group stage match for the second consecutive time as Brazil finished second behind Japan with one win and two draws, but lost to eventual winners France 2–1 in the semi-finals and then 1–0 to Australia in thethird-place match.
2002–2005: World Cup triumph and Confederations Cup record
Dida (seen here in 2005) earned 91 caps withBrazil from 1995 to 2006 and was part of threeWorld Cup squads.
With his success at Corinthians gaining the attention of coachLuiz Felipe Scolari, Dida was called up for the2002 World Cup as the backup toMarcos, whom Scolari had previously coached at Palmeiras, and he and third choiceRogério Ceni never left the bench as theSeleção won its fifth title. On the afternoon ofthe final, Dida was requested byRonaldo to keep him company in attempt to avoid a repeat of the events prior to the1998 final, when Ronaldo had suffered aconvulsive fit in his sleep that factored into his poor performance in Brazil's 3–0 loss toFrance.[183] They spent the time talking and playing golf before departing forInternational Stadium inYokohama.[184] Ronaldo scored both goals in Brazil's 2–0 defeat ofGermany and won the tournament'sGolden Shoe award.
Dida started his fourthConfederations Cup in 2003, where Brazil suffered its worst-ever finish with elimination in the group stage. He returned for his fifth and last Confederations Cup start in2005, and in Brazil's 1–0 group stage loss to Mexico, he saved a penalty fromJared Borgetti that had to be retaken twice due to repeated player encroachment into the penalty area, after Borgetti scored on the first attempt but hit the crossbar on the second.[185] Dida was rested by coach Carlos Alberto Parreira for a 2–2 draw with Japan on 22 June as Marcos earned his final cap for Brazil.[186] In a 3–2 semi-final victory over hosts Germany, he faced his second penalty of the competition, whichMichael Ballack converted despite Dida guessing the right direction.[187] He became the first two-time Confederations Cup winner after theSeleção's decisive 4–1 victory over Argentina in the final, earning him the last trophy of his international career.[188]
After 86 caps earned and two World Cups as a reserve,[189] Dida started the2006 World Cup finals in Germany, making him the second-oldest World Cup goalkeeper for Brazil, at 32 years and eight months, behindGilmar (35 years in1966).[190] He was part of Brazil's unheralded defensive unit,[191][192] withLúcio andJuan, that conceded only one goal in wins overCroatia, Australia and Japan in the group stage. In a 3-0 round-of-sixteen victory overGhana, Dida performed a point-blank save fromJohn Mensah with his leg,[193] and was1970 World Cup winnerTostão's personal choice for man of the match.[191] However, Brazil struggled offensively throughout and were eliminated after a 1–0 loss to France inthe quarterfinals, with Dida and the defence among the few players avoiding media criticism for the team's disappointing performance.[194][195] He became the first keeper to wear thecaptain's armband for Brazil, since Émerson Leão in1978, whenCafu was rested in the 4–1 win over Japan on 22 June.[196]
Dida did not play for Brazil again following the July 2006 hiring of new coachDunga, and retired from the national team on 1 October.[197] He finished with 91 total caps, third all-time among Brazilian keepers behind Taffarel (101) and Gilmar (94), and allowed 70 goals. Dida is the most successful player in the history of the Confederations Cup, ranking first in appearances (22)[198] and total clean sheets (12),[199][200] while being the only player to have participated in five editions of the competition.[188][201] He faced a total of eight penalties in his international career, saving six of them.[202]
While Dida is regarded by several pundits as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation,[203][204] and one of the Brazilian national team's greatest keepers,[nb 2] he received a divided response to his playing style, particularly during his time with Milan,[205][206] where he was noted for excelling as a Brazilian goalkeeper in a country (Italy) renowned for producing quality keepers.[4][101][207] He trained extensively with then-Rossoneri goalkeeping coachVilliam Vecchi, who had previously tutoredGianluigi Buffon at Parma.[205][208][209] Vecchi described Dida as "more reflective" in his gameplay, whereas Buffon acted mainly on instinct.[209] In his prime, Dida was recognised for his shot-stopping ability[210] and command of the area,[210] and for possessing athleticism and reflexes that belied his imposing size,[203][23][89] which enabled him to perform acrobatic "miracle" saves without resorting to histrionics,[6][15] while former coaches have praised him for keeping his emotions in check after conceding a goal.[3][29] Dida's best-known attribute is his expertise in saving penalties,[23][202] which is acknowledged mainly in Brazil due to his accomplishments with Cruzeiro and Corinthians.[211][212][213][214] He is additionally recognised for his reserved disposition both on and off the pitch and his reluctance in granting interviews,[76][101][215][216][217] as well as his physical conditioning and work ethic.[4][23][218]
Dida, however, also faced criticism for lapses in concentration that sometimes resulted in mistakes or goals, with the Leeds goal from 2000 remaining his most prominent example.[3][219][220] He has been scrutinized for suspect footwork,[221] hesitance in coming off hisgoal-line,[203][89][3] and fieldingcrosses.[203][205][6][222] He was considered one of the world's best goalkeepers at the height of his success with Milan from 2003 to 2005, including a perceived rivalry with Buffon as the best overall in world football,[205][6][223] but the April 2005 Internazionale flare incident is cited as the catalyst behind the end of his high run of form.[6][3][8][224][225] In 2006,The Guardian labelled Dida "Brazil's answer toDavid James", who himself had gained infamy for goalkeeping errors while playing forLiverpool in the 1990s.[224] He additionally came under fire from former Milan goalkeepers for his drops in performance;Fabio Cudicini opined in 2007 that Dida's mistakes were due to psychological factors,[226] whileEnrico Albertosi was more blunt, saying in 2009 that Dida was "never a guarantee" in goal, "even when he was at his best".[227]
Dida earned many nicknames in his club career, first at Cruzeiro withA muralha azul ("blue wall"),[228] followed bySão Dida ("Saint Dida")[35] andO rei dos pênaltis ("King of Penalties") at Corinthians.[8]Milan Channel announcer Carlo Pellegatti nicknamed himBaghera la pantera (a reference toThe Jungle Book characterBagheera) for his acrobatic saves.[6] Dida was calledL’Ammiraglio ("The Admiral") by Milan supporters as a play on his first name in reference toHoratio Nelson,[229] but conversely labeledDidastro — a play ondisastro, Italian for "disaster" — after poor performances.[230]Placar labeled hima geladeira ("refrigerator") andhomem de gelo ("the iceman") for his emotionless in-match personality.[24][231]
"In his own quiet way Dida has done a great deal to counter the prejudice that may linger on in the generation ofChico Anysio."
—Football journalistTim Vickery in 2007.[232] Anysio, a Brazilian actor and comedian, had disparaged black goalkeepers in a June 2006 article published inLance!.[233] The article was reprinted on 31 October 2007, the same day as a match betweenFlamengo andCorinthians, who respectively started black keepers inBruno andFelipe.[232]
Dida is the first notable Afro-Brazilian goalkeeper to play for club and country sinceMoacir Barbosa, who had starred forVasco da Gama and earned seventeen caps for Brazil, but bore the blame for Uruguay's winning goal in the1950 World Cup final, which resulted thereafter in discrimination against black goalkeepers in Brazilian football.[25][234] Dida was hailed by Brazilian media outlets for breaking this barrier after making his 1995 national team debut,[178] starting in the 1999 Copa América,[175][235] and particularly in 2006, when he became the first black keeper in 56 years to start in a World Cup for Brazil.[236] On 27 May 2006, during a press conference inWeggis, Switzerland, where theSeleção were holding public training sessions, Dida called for his countrymen to forgive Barbosa,[237] and to instead remember his positive contributions to Brazilian football.[238] On 11 June, two days before theSeleção's opening match against Croatia,Folha de S.Paulo commented, "Black,Northeastern, and in his thirties, Dida will break barriers for a Brazilian goalkeeper."[190] Though such accolades continued for Dida after the tournament and his international retirement,[232][239] he and Barbosa remain the only Afro-Brazilian keepers to start a World Cup finals match.[240][241][242]
On the club level, Dida's success with Milan is cited as a factor in the increased presence of black goalkeepers on Brazilian teams,[25][243] and, along with Taffarel, influential in the increase of Brazilian keepers in Europe.[243][244][245][246][247]Zero Hora wrote that Dida had become the first black keeper since 1971 to play for Internacional upon his signing with the club in January 2014.[248] Some goalkeepers have adopted his playing name as an homage,[249][250][251] or due to perceived physical resemblances.[252][253][254]
During the2000–01 Serie A season, Dida was among multiple players, includingJuan Sebastián Verón,Álvaro Recoba, and then-future Milan teammateCafu, who were implicated in a league scandal involving fraudulent Europeanpassports.[49] Dida had joined Milan with aPortuguese passport in order to gainEU status, as Milan had already met their limit on non-EU players at the time with Andriy Shevchenko, Serginho, and Croatian midfielderZvonimir Boban.[255] However, following a routine check that revealed the document was illegal, Milan promptly re-registered him as a non-EU player.[256] In June 2001, theItalian Football Federation fined the club £314,000 and banned Dida from the league for one year,[257] whileFIFA imposed a yearlong ban from international play.[258] Milan loaned him back to Corinthians for the 2001–02 season in accordance with the league suspension. On 3 April 2003, following a court appearance inMilan, Dida was handed a seven-month suspended prison sentence.[259]
In 1996, after the Summer Olympics, Dida and Brazil coachMário Zagallo filmed aVolkswagen Gol television commercial in which Zagallo implores"sai do Gol" ("out of the Gol", a pun on "out of the goal"), while Dida, who is seated inside the vehicle, has no dialogue.[260][261] Italian jewelry manufacturer FIBO Steel featured Dida and Buffon in a 2005 advertising campaign for their "FA1RPLAY" metal jewelry collection,[262][263] and he modeled several items in their online catalog.[264] A longtime wearer of goalkeeping gloves from German sportswear manufacturerReusch, Dida appeared on the cover of their summer 2006 catalog.[265] He has otherwise featured in few endorsement opportunities in his career; he explained toPlacar in 2001 that he was uninterested incommercializing his image.[24] He does not participate insocial media.[231]
Dida gained Italian citizenship on 18 December 2013.[268][269] That same year, agymnasium in his home municipality ofLagoa da Canoa was named in his honour,[270] and in April 2014, he met with its mayor Álvaro Melo to discuss youth participation in sports.[271] On 11 September 2015, Dida was named an honorary citizen ofAlagoas.[272] Formerleft backSerginho, who played with Dida at Milan from 2000 to 2008, currently serves as his agent and manager.[4]
On 17 October 2018, Dida presented theCopa do Brasil atArena Corinthians at the start of the second leg of thefinals between Cruzeiro and Corinthians.[274] He had won the trophy with both clubs in 1996 and 2002 respectively.
^Full name has been incorrectly given asNelson Jesus Dida[3] orNelson Jesus da Silva.[4] He is regularly calledNelson Dida by European media.[5][6][7][8]
^Antonio Lima, Jose (24 October 2013)."Dida, Rogério e Marcos: um trio para sempre" [Dida, Rogério e Marcos: forever a trio].esportefinal.lance.com.br (in Portuguese). Archived fromthe original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved8 July 2016.
^abcDiniz, Guilhermo (12 November 2018)."Imortais do futebol: Dida".imortaisdofutebol.com (in Portuguese).Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved13 May 2020.
^abBueno, Rodrigo (16 January 2000).""Não quero mais pênaltis", afirma Dida" ["I don't like penalties," Dida says].Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). Retrieved1 August 2016.
^"Al Milan anche la Coppa Italia" [The Italian Cup also at Milan].LaRepubblica.it (in Italian). 31 May 2003.Archived from the original on 13 December 2003. Retrieved6 April 2016.
^Mohr, Rodolfo (15 March 2017)."A experiência de Dida na China" [Dida's experience in China].China Brasile Futebol (in Portuguese). Archived fromthe original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved14 July 2017.
^abRodrigues, Fernando; Magalhāes, Mário (7 July 1995)."Dida desafia mito do goleiro negro na seleção" [Dida challenges the myth of black goalkeepers for theSeleção].Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). Retrieved1 August 2016.
^abEduardo Arruba; et al. (11 June 2006)."Dida quebra tabus na seleção" [Dida breaks taboos for Seleção].Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese).Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved13 August 2016.
^Placar #1296 (July 2006), p. 18 ("Dida fulfilled his discreet role in the World Cup and ended up escaping the flood of criticism that fell on Parreira's team").
^Canônico, Leandro (22 April 2008)."Avesso à fama, Aranha vive 'à la Dida'" [Averse to fame, Aranha lives 'à la Dida'].GloboEsporte (in Portuguese). Retrieved24 August 2016.
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