Dedé (footballer, born 1978) facts for kids
Dedé playing with Eskişehirspor in 2011
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Full name | Leonardo de Deus Santos | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 18 April 1978 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Belo Horizonte, Brazil | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||
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Current team
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Eskişehirspor (assistant) | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Atlético Mineiro | 36 | (3) | ||||||||||
| 1998–2011 | Borussia Dortmund | 322 | (12) | ||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Borussia Dortmund II | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Eskişehirspor | 75 | (4) | ||||||||||
| Total | 436 | (19) | |||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||
| 1999 | Brazil U23 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2004 | Brazil | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||
| 2015 | Eskişehirspor (assistant) | ||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||
Leonardo de Deus Santos (born on April 18, 1978), known as Dedé, is a retired Brazilian football player. He used to play as a left back or a left midfielder. Dedé spent 13 years of his career playing for Borussia Dortmund in Germany. He played over 400 official games for them and helped them win two Bundesliga championships.
Contents
Dedé's Football Journey
Starting at Atlético Mineiro
Dedé was born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He was one of six brothers and started playing football very young. He would play three-a-side games with his brothers in their living room. Their kitchen and bedroom doors were the goals!
Dedé first played for a local club called Clube Atlético Mineiro. In the 1997 season, he played 30 games in Brazil's top league, scoring two goals. His team finished in fourth place that year. Dedé was even given the Bola de Prata award. This award is given by a magazine called Placar to the best player in his position in the national league.
Playing for Borussia Dortmund
In 1998, when Dedé was only 20, he moved to Germany to play for Borussia Dortmund. He played his first game in the Bundesliga on August 14, 1998. Sadly, he had to leave the game early due to an injury. Despite this, he played 29 games in his first year, and his team finished fourth.
In the next season, another Brazilian player, Evanílson, joined Borussia Dortmund. Dedé and Evanílson became a strong team on the field. They helped the club win the Bundesliga league title in 2002. They also reached the final of the UEFA Cup that year. Dedé played in 45 official games during that season and scored one goal. From 2004 to 2008, he played in at least 30 games each season.
Later, Dedé started to have injury problems. He also faced strong competition from a younger player named Marcel Schmelzer for his left-back position. Because of injuries, he only played in 33 league games in his last three seasons combined. This included just four games in the 2010–11 season, when his team won their second national championship with him.
Later Years and Retirement
On July 27, 2011, Dedé, who was 33 years old, signed with a Turkish club called Eskişehirspor. He played for three seasons in the Süper Lig before he retired. After retiring, he became an assistant coach for Eskişehirspor, working with his former boss from Borussia Dortmund, Michael Skibbe.
Dedé's International Games
Dedé played his first and only game for the Brazilian national team in April 2004. It was a friendly game against Hungary, which Brazil won 4–1. Earlier that year, he had wanted to play for the German national team. The Qatar Football Association also offered Dedé a chance to play for their national team in 2004, even though he had no connection to the country. However, FIFA stopped him from changing his nationality and made the rules for playing for a new country much stricter.
Dedé's Achievements
Atlético Mineiro
- Copa CONMEBOL: 1997
Borussia Dortmund
- Bundesliga: 2001–02, 2010–11
- UEFA Cup: Runner-up 2001–02
- DFB-Pokal: Runner-up 2007–08
- DFB-Ligapokal: Runner-up 2003
See also
In Spanish: Dedê para niños
