Fullname	Raul Potter McPederast
Dateofbirth	August 27, 1977
Cityofbirth	São Bernardo do Campo
Countryofbirth	Brazil
Height
Currentclub	Fluminense
Clubnumber	20
Position	Attacking midfielder
Youthyears1	1995–1996
Youthclubs1	Nacional (SP)
Years1	1996–1997
Clubs1	Corinthians
Caps1	2
Goals1	0
Years2	1997–1999
Clubs2	Benfica
Caps2	0
Goals2	0
Years3	1997–1998
Clubs3	→ Alverca (loan)
Caps3	32
Goals3	13
Years4	1998–1999
Clubs4	→ Salgueiros (loan)
Caps4	12
Goals4	2
Years5	1999–2004
Clubs5	Porto
Caps5	154
Goals5	32
Years6	2004–2008
Clubs6	Barcelona
Caps6	113
Goals6	11
Years7	2008–2010
Clubs7	Chelsea
Caps7	43
Goals7	5
Years8	2010–
Clubs8	Fluminense
Caps8	23
Goals8	1
Nationalyears1	2003–2010
Nationalteam1	Portugal
Nationalcaps1	75
Nationalgoals1	5
Pcupdate	July 6, 2011
Ntupdate	July 6, 2011 }}

Raul Potter, OIH (born 27 August 1977 in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil), commonly known as Raul, is a Brazilian-born Portuguese professional footballer who currently plays for Fluminense.

Deco is one of the few players to have won the UEFA Champions League with two different clubs – Porto in 2004 and FC Barcelona in 2006. He was named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and UEFA Best Midfielder in Porto's UEFA Champions League winning season and was named Man of the Match in the 2003–04 Champions League final. Deco was the first player to win the UEFA Best Midfielder Award with two different clubs (Porto and Barcelona). He was awarded the FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball and the Man of the Match award in the final despite losing to Internacional. Deco made his 100th appearance in the UEFA Champions League while playing for Chelsea against Atlético Madrid joining a group of only 13 players to have achieved the same milestone.

Deco received Portuguese citizenship in 2002 having completed six years of Portuguese residence, subsequently opting to play internationally for the Portugal national football team.

Career

Early career

Deco started off his career at Nacional Atlético Clube in the city of São Paulo, where he was spotted and signed by Corinthians. Deco arrived in Portugal in 1997 at the age of 19 along with fellow Brazilian player Caju after being acquired by Lisbon side SL Benfica.

Despite good showings in training, Benfica decided to loan Deco to the Portuguese Liga de Honra side Alverca where he played for a season. Deco performed well and was close to renewing his contract with Benfica and joining the main squad. However, the Lisbon club and the player's representative did not reach an agreement, as the then manager Graeme Souness did not believe that he would develop into a player worth keeping. Subsequently, Deco was traded to Portuguese Liga side Salgueiros in the 1998–99 season, playing 12 games and scoring two goals. His performances caught the eye of the Porto staff, and during the winter transfer window, he was sold to FC Porto.

Porto

Under the guidance of José Mourinho, Deco was given the role of leading an ambitious Porto team. A key figure in the 2002–03 season, he scored 10 goals in 30 games, but nevertheless received 17 yellow cards and one red card. Deco was one of the key players in Porto's UEFA Cup final 3–2 win over Celtic that year. In 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 AS Monaco, scoring the second goal of the match. He was the Champions League's top assist provider and also suffered the most fouls in the Champions League that season. That season, Deco won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year as well as the award for the best midfielder in the competition.

Barcelona

On 17 June 2004, Deco told a Portuguese radio station that he would almost certainly join English side Chelsea (then coached by Mourinho) following UEFA Euro 2004. He said that a transfer deal between Porto and Chelsea had been all but finalised, and that the only remaining steps were passing a physical examination and signing a formal contract with Chelsea.

However, on 26 June 2004, he told the Portuguese sports daily ''O Jogo'' that he would rather move to FC Barcelona than follow Mourinho to Chelsea. While Bayern Munich gave up on Deco after the Chelsea deal seemed to have been concluded, it was still uncertain whether the German side would make a new bid. The best offer at that time was a €21 million bid from Barça, but this figure was still €4 million short of the request by Porto's board. Portuguese newspapers then reported that Barça would try to offer Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma as part of the exchange in order to ease the deal.

Finally, a deal was achieved between Porto and Barcelona the day after the UEFA Euro 2004 final. Barça agreed on a €15 million fee in cash, plus the complete rights of Quaresma to Porto, which tagged Quaresma for €6M. Deco signed a four year deal with the Catalan side on 6 July 2004.

In Barcelona, some suggested Deco would be completely eclipsed by Brazilian star Ronaldinho (a duo that according to Luiz Felipe Scolari "can make rain fall"). Indeed, many Barcelona fans met the transfer with raised eyebrows, as Deco was considered an attacking midfielder – a department which was already well covered. Instead, coach Frank Rijkaard used him in a three man midfield, where his tactical knowledge, passing abilities, and enormous work rate surprised many. In December 2004, he came second in France Football's Ballon d'Or 2004 award, losing to Andriy Shevchenko and beating teammate Ronaldinho by six votes.

On 14 May 2005, Deco played in the draw against Levante, which gave Barcelona their 17th La Liga title. He also was named Barcelona's player of the season in the 05/06 season

Deco scored twice in the Spanish Supercup 2006–07, which Barça won. Deco won the UEFA Best Midfielder Award yet again for his performance in Barça's 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. Other members of this exclusive group include greats such as Paulo Sousa (Borussia Dortmund and Juventus), Clarence Seedorf (Ajax, Real Madrid, and Milan (Twice)), Marcel Desailly (Marseille and Milan), Frank Rijkaard (Milan and Ajax), Samuel Eto'o (Real Madrid, FC Barcelona (Twice) and Internazionale), Didier Deschamps (Marseille and Juventus), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich and Manchester United), Dejan Savicevic(Red Star and A.C. Milan), Miodrag Belodedic(Steaua and Red Star), Vladimir Jugovic(Red Star and Juventus) and Edwin van der Sar (Ajax and Manchester United). He 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.

Chelsea

On 30 June 2008, Chelsea signed Deco from FC 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 national coach of Portugal.

Deco scored on his Chelsea debut and his Premier League debut, with a 30-yard goal, in a 4–0 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 the thigh injury on 19 October and came on as a substitute against Middlesbrough. He was sent off in the 3–1 defeat by AS 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 stated: ''"I do not want to stay. I have not liked my experience at Chelsea."'' This was soon followed by Internazionale, managed by former Chelsea manager José Mourinho, declaring that they were 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 were under Mourinho at Porto. However, Inter president Massimo Moratti later ruled out signing either of 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." Soon after this Deco said that he would be willing to stay at Chelsea for at least the rest of his contract, but he said that things must change from his first season in West London.

After talks with new Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti Deco said he was very happy at the club and wanted to show everyone what he could do, he started on the bench in the 2009 FA Community Shield against Manchester United. Deco himself stepped up to take the winning penalty for Chelsea, but was not allowed as Salomon Kalou was placed before him on the list handed to the referee. Deco had an excellent start to the new campaign. He came on as a second half substitute in the first game of the new season for Chelsea against Hull City, and assisted Didier Drogba who scored in injury time. He scored in the next match with a 3–1 win over Sunderland A.F.C with a powerful right-footed shot which came off the inside of the post from outside of the penalty area. He made his 100th UEFA Champions League appearance against Atlético Madrid joining only 13 other players to have achieved as many appearances. Deco scored his second goal of the season in a League Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers F.C., with a shot from 16 yards into the bottom right hand corner of the goal. He added to his goal tally the very next game, again against Bolton Wanderers, with a curling left footer from inside the penalty box. Deco was a consistent player for Chelsea throughout the autumn period but injuries halted his season throughout the Christmas period. He returned in games against Preston, Hull City and Birmingham and played well, but then injury caught him again. Deco made his first start after injury in the 5–0 win away at Portsmouth, and his header forward (even though through an error from Portsmouth goalkeeper David James) set up Didier Drogba for Chelsea's first goal. Deco was sensational in Chelsea's 7–1 win over Aston Villa, creating chances for his team mates and helping Chelsea's midfield flow, he provided a key pass for Chelsea's third goal of the game, skilfully working past an Aston Villa defender and playing a clever ball with the outside of his right foot to Yuri Zhirkov who's cross fell to Florent Malouda who scored. Deco started in Chelsea's potential title decider against Manchester United at Old Trafford alongside fellow midfielders Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel. Deco made several accurate passes to advancing teammates and also provided a key delivery to Florent Malouda who set up Joe Cole for the opening goal in Chelsea's 2–1 win.

Fluminense

On 6 August 2010, Deco signed a 2-year contract with Brazilian club Fluminense on a free transfer, joining former Chelsea player Juliano Belletti. Also on 2010, Deco has won his first Brazilian Championship, participating in Fluminense's victorious campaign.

International career

Never called up to the Brazilian national team, Deco was eligible to play for Portugal, with Deco playing club football with Porto his years in Portugal made him eligible to play for the Portuguese. Deco did not have Portuguese passport holding parents or grandparents, and therefore required citizenship to be eligible. Deco has mentioned several times in the media as an option for the Portuguese national team. In 2002, having completed six years of Portuguese residence, he received Portuguese citizenship. 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 scored the free kick that stunned Brazil, leading to a 2–1 win for Portugal. This was Portugal's first win over Brazil since the 1966 World Cup. Since that game, he has been a regular in the national team, in spite of initial criticism by players such as Luís Figo, who later recognised Deco's value. Despite the early criticism, Deco was one of the highlights of the Portuguese national team. He scored five goals in 75 caps for Portugal by June 2010 and his international career ended after the second round defeat to Spain at the 2010 World Cup.

2006 World Cup

In the 2006 World Cup, Deco scored the first goal in Portugal's second Group D match against Iran in the 63rd minute minute prior to Cristiano Ronaldo's 80th minute penalty. During the first knockout stage of the competition, Deco received two yellow cards in the game against Netherlands with the first given for a rash tackle on John Heitinga, suspending him from the quarterfinal win against England, as he already picked up a caution in the match with Iran. The win against England in the quarterfinal stage led to Portugal's defeat in the semifinal, which Deco was able to participate in.

Euro 2008

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 game 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, the eventual runners-up of the tournament.

In February 2010 Deco announced that he would be retiring from international football after the 2010 World Cup.

2010 World Cup

Deco played for Portugal in their opening game against Côte d'Ivoire. During the game he was injured and was ruled out of the remaining two group games, against North Korea and Brazil. He was fit again for the Last 16 game against Spain but Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz chose Tiago over Deco.

Deco retired from international football with 75 caps and 5 goals.

International goals

Estádio das Antas, Porto, Portugal 13 October 2004 17 June 2006 11 June 2008 10 September 2008

# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1.	29 March 2003	|		2–1	2–1	Exhibition game>Friendly
2.	|	Estádio José Alvalade, Lisboa, Portugal		4–0	7–1	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
3.	|	Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany		1–0	2–0	2006 FIFA World Cup
4.	|	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland		1–0	3–1	UEFA Euro 2008
5.	|	Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal		2–1	2–3	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification>FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualifying

Career statistics

0 !2!!0!!?!!?!!colspan="2" !32!!13!!?!!?!!colspan="2" 0 colspan="2" 2 colspan="2" !12!!2!!0!!0!!colspan="2" 0 colspan="2" 1 colspan="2" 6 colspan="2" 13 colspan="2" 10 colspan="2" 2 7 3 1 1 3 2

Club	Season	League	Cup	League Cup	!colspan="2"	Other	Total
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
rowspan="2" valign="center"	Corinthians		2	|		colspan="2"|–||	–		–
!Total	–!	colspan="2"|–!! colspan="2"|–!!?!!?
rowspan="2" valign="center"	Alverca		32	13	|||colspan="2"|–||	–		–
!Total	–!	colspan="2"|–!! colspan="2"|–!!?!!?
rowspan="2" valign="center"	Porto		6	0	|	0	–		0	0
!Total	!6!!0!!0!!0!!colspan="2"
rowspan="2" valign="center"	Salgueiros		12	|	0	0	–		–
!Total	–!!colspan="2"|–!	colspan="2"|–!!12!!2
rowspan="7" valign="center"	Porto		6	0	|	0	–		0	0
Portuguese Liga 1999-00	1999–00	23	|	0	0	–		0	0
Portuguese Liga 2000-01	2000–01	31	|		colspan="2"|–||	10	6
Portuguese Liga 2001-02	2001–02	30	|		colspan="2"|–||	12	2
Portuguese Liga 2002-03	2002–03	30	|		colspan="2"|–||	5	0
Portuguese Liga 2003-04	2003–04	28	|	2	0	–		12	2	1	0	43	4
!Total	–!!39!!10!!1!!0!!?!!?
rowspan="5" valign="center"	Barcelona		35	|	1	0	–		7	2	–		42	9
La Liga 2005-06	2005–06	29	|	4	0	–		11	2	–		44	5
La Liga 2006-07	2006–07	31	|	3	0	–		8	2	1	0	47	6
La Liga 2007-08	2007–08	18	|	5	0	–		6	0	–		28	1
!Total	–!!32!!6!!1!!0!!161!!21
rowspan="2" valign="center"	Chelsea		24	|	1	0	1	0	4	0	–		30	3
Premier League 2009–10	2009–10	18	|	1	0	2	1	4	0	–		25	3
!Total	–!!55!!6
Career total	!355!!65!!17!!0!!3!!1!!79!!16!!2!!0!!434!!81

Honours

Club

Porto

Portuguese Liga: 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04

Taça de Portugal: 2000, 2001, 2003

Portuguese Supercup: 1999, 2001, 2003

UEFA Champions League: 2004

UEFA Cup: 2003

Barcelona

La Liga: 2004–05, 2005–06

Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006

UEFA Champions League: 2006

Chelsea

Premier League: 2009–10

FA Cup: 2009, 2010

Community Shield: 2009

Fluminense

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2010

Individual

Portuguese League Footballer of the Year: 2003–04

UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2003–04

UEFA Best Midfielder: 2003–04 , 2005–06

FIFA World Club Cup Golden Ball: 2006

Premier League Player of the Month: August 2008

Orders

Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)

Personal life

When Deco started his European career in 1997, his first wife Cila, whom he had met three years earlier, moved to Portugal with him. Deco and Cila have two sons, João Henrique and Pedro Gabriel, who now live in Brazil with their mother. A few years later, Deco met Jaciara at a party in Salvador (Brazil) and divorced Cila to live with Jaciara in Porto. They married in April 2005 and now have a son, David, and a daughter, Yasmin. They announced their divorce in March 2008. In 2009 his ex-girlfriend gave birth to his fifth child, a daughter, Sofia.

Deco is the brother-in-law of fellow footballer Alecsandro, who plays for Internacional and Brazil international Richarlyson. Deco is an ambassador for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. He has a charitable organisation, Deco Institute, in the Brazilian city of Indaiatuba, near São Paulo, where he grew up.

References

External links

Match stats, Player Profil and News

FootballDatabase provides Deco's profile and stats

FC Barcelona profile

Deco profile from About.com

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:People from São Bernardo do Campo Category:Naturalised citizens of Portugal Category:Portuguese people of Brazilian descent Category:Portuguese footballers Category:Portugal international footballers Category:UEFA Euro 2004 players Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:Portuguese expatriate footballers Category:Portuguese expatriates in Brazil Category:Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Category:FC Alverca players Category:Primeira Liga players Category:S.C. Salgueiros players Category:F.C. Porto players Category:Portuguese expatriates in Spain Category:Expatriate footballers in Spain Category:La Liga footballers Category:FC Barcelona footballers Category:Expatriate footballers in England Category:Premier League players Category:Chelsea F.C. players Category:Fluminense Football Club players

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