- Denílson de Oliveira Araújo
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This article is about the Brazilian footballer who played in the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup. For other footballers named Denilson, see Denilson (disambiguation).
Denílson 
Denilson (right) and Túlio Costa (left)Personal information Full name Denílson de Oliveira Araújo Date of birth 24 August 1977 Place of birth Diadema, Brazil Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) Playing position Winger Club information Current club Retired Youth career São Paulo Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1994–1998 São Paulo 50 (4) 1998–2005 Betis 186 (13) 2000–2001 → Flamengo (loan) 11 (3) 2005–2006 Bordeaux 31 (3) 2006–2007 Al-Nasr 15 (3) 2007 FC Dallas 8 (1) 2008 Palmeiras 30 (3) 2009 Itumbiara 0 (0) 2009 Xi Măng Hải Phòng 1 (1) 2010 AO Kavala 0 (0) Total 332 (31) National team‡ 1996–2003 Brazil 68 (10) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 August 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 9 August 2011Denílson de Oliveira Araújo (born 24 August 1977 in Diadema), commonly known as Denílson, is a Brazilian former footballer, who played mostly as a left winger. He played the 1998 and the 2002 FIFA World Cups with Brazil, finishing in second place and as a champion respectively in them.
Denílson began his career at São Paulo FC, before becoming the world's most expensive footballer when he moved to Real Betis for £21.5.million in 1998.[1] After being sold by Betis in 2005, he has played for numerous clubs worldwide.
He has been capped 68 times for the Brazilian national team, scoring ten goals. His most recent international match was in 2003.
Currently, Denílson is a football commentator for Rede Bandeirantes.
Contents
Biography
Club career
Denílson broke the world record transfer fee when Real Betis paid São Paulo FC £21.5 million for his services. Denílson had been with São Paulo since 1995. Real Betis had been impressed by Denílson's performance at the Copa América 1997.
In 1999—2000, after Real Betis had remarkably been relegated to the Segunda División, Denílson went on a brief loan to Flamengo. After Denílson became a World Cup winner in 2002, Real Betis sold the Brazilian in 2005 to French club Girondins de Bordeaux for an undisclosed amount, four seasons before his contract was due to expire.[2] His performance for the Seville club had been disappointing and most fans considered him a liability at this stage. At the time of the transfer, he was no longer included in the Betis squad.[3]
Despite a slow start at Bordeaux, Denílson managed to find his form in the second part of the season, but his excessively high wage demands prevented the French club from extending his contract. His contract expired in 2006, and he had been linked with free transfers to Tottenham Hotspur, Manisaspor and Celtic. Even with UEFA Champions League football next season, Bordeaux struggled to match the winger's wage demands, and he left to sign for Saudi Arabia's Al-Nasr. After making only 15 appearances with the club, Denílson negotiated a move to FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, becoming FC Dallas' designated player.
On 1 September, Denílson made his MLS debut, entering in the 55th minute against D.C. United. On 8 September, Denílson made his first MLS start as FC Dallas hosted Toronto FC at Pizza Hut Park. Denílson scored his first MLS goal from the penalty spot in the 36th minute of the match; that goal stood up to be the winner as FC Dallas defeated TFC by a 2—0 score line.
After scoring only one goal with no assists in 7 matches, Denílson was excluded from Dallas' squad for their appearance in the final of the US Open Cup, raising questions of whether he would remain with the club following the season (even though Open Cup regulations allow no more than five foreign players on the game-day roster).[4] Further fueling speculation, head coach Steve Morrow said Denílson would need to earn a spot in the starting lineup like everybody else. Dallas goalkeeper Darío Sala said the team was having problems adjusting to a change in scheme to accommodate Denílson.[5]
Following the MLS season, FC Dallas decided not to pick up its option on Denílson for the 2008 season, but stated their desire to resign the winger at a lower salary.[6] In February 2008, Denílson signed a 1-year performance-based contract with Palmeiras, hoping the club structure and experienced coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo would help him recover his best football as well as win titles. He was unable to make the starting squad, spending most of the season as a bench option. However, Denílson helped Palmeiras to win the São Paulo State Championship and take a Libertadores Cup seat by finishing 4th in the Brazilian Série A.
On 6 January 2009, Denílson was taken on trial by English Premier League side Bolton Wanderers with a chance to sign a contract until the end of the season.[7] According to Bolton Wanderers manager Gary Megson, Denílson's arrival has drawn attention from football clubs around the world, who have been alerted to his status as a free agent, however Bolton have now said they are not interested in signing him.[8] Denílson has recently admitted: "I want to play in Europe, but I am not in a rush. I have received proposals from England, Greece, Turkey, and Germany. And I am studying them. 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."[9]
After terminating his contract with Palmeiras, the 31-year-old forward has signed a three month deal with Itumbiara.[10] He was then linked to the Australian A-League, with Perth Glory.
On 2 June 2009, Denilson signed a six month contract with Vietnamese club Xi Măng Hải Phòng earning $5.5m, a deal that made the Brazilian the V-League's highest paid player in its history. After much speculation about Denílson's anticipated debut for Xi Măng Hải Phòng, on 21 June 2009, he finally played his first game and scored from a free-kick just two minutes into the game against Hoàng Anh Gia Lai. After only three weeks at the club he quit, playing just half a match and scoring one goal for the club, due to injury.
On January 2010, Denilson signed a two-year contract with the Greek club AO Kavala. Kavala released him from his contract in April, after just three months and no matches for the team.[11]
International level
Since his debut in November 1996 against Cameroon and as of 2005, Denílson has been capped 61 times for Brazil, scoring nine goals. Denilson as a member of Seleção, won the 1997 Copa América and the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. After a second place finish at the 1998 World Cup, he made five substitute appearances en route to become a World Cup winner after Brazil won the tournament in Japan and South Korea in 2002. However, he fell out of favour when Carlos Alberto Parreira became the Brazil coach in 2003 and was not included in the 2006 squad.
Honours
- São Paulo
- Copa Conmebol: 1994
- São Paulo State Championship: 1998
- Copa América: 1997
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997
- FIFA World Cup: 2002
- Real Betis
- Ramón de Carranza Trophy: 1999 e 2001
- Copa del Rey: 2005
- Palmeiras
- São Paulo State Championship: 2008
Awards
- FIFA Confederations Cup MVP : 1997
References
- ^ date=6 January 2009 "World beater Denilson on Bolton trial". AFP. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=988593.html date=6 January 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
- ^ www.informativos.telecinco.es
- ^ www.deportes.com
- ^ www.star-telegram.com
- ^ www.dallasnews.com
- ^ "FCD opt not to retain Denílson for '08". MLSnet.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071213203411/http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20071210&content_id=132589&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved 14 December 2007.
- ^ www.skysports.com
- ^ Sky Sports
- ^ http://www.football.co.uk/bolton_wanderers/trotters_to_try_out_denilson_276245.shtml
- ^ http://globoesporte.globo.com/Esportes/Noticias/Futebol/Campeonato_Goiano/0,,MUL987359-15017,00-NA+ESTREIA+DE+DENILSON+ITUMBIARA+GOLEIA+COM+TRES+GOLS+DE+TULIO+MARAVILHA.html
- ^ Denilson cut by Kavala
Preceded by
inauguralFIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball
1997Succeeded by
RonaldinhoCategories:- Brazilian footballers
- Brazilian expatriate footballers
- Brazil international footballers
- Association football wingers
- São Paulo FC players
- Real Betis footballers
- La Liga footballers
- Clube de Regatas do Flamengo players
- FC Girondins de Bordeaux players
- Ligue 1 players
- Expatriate footballers in France
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
- FC Dallas players
- Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players
- Al-Nassr FC players
- 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- 1998 FIFA World Cup players
- 2001 Copa América players
- 2002 FIFA World Cup players
- FIFA World Cup-winning players
- FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players
- People from São Paulo (state)
- Expatriate footballers in Vietnam
- Brazilian people of Black African descent
- Brazilian expatriates in Vietnam
- Naturalised citizens of Spain
- 1977 births
- Living people
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