- Digão
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Digão Personal information Full name Rodrigo Izecson dos Santos Leite Date of birth 14 August 1985 Place of birth Brasília, Brazil Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in) Playing position Centre back Club information Current club Free agent Youth career 2003–2004 São Paulo 2004–2005 Sampdoria 2004–2005 → Milan (loan) Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2005–2011 Milan 1 (0) 2005–2007 → Rimini (loan) 23 (0) 2008–2009 → Standard Liège (loan) 1 (0) 2009–2010 → Lecce (loan) 2 (0) 2010 → Crotone (loan) 0 (0) 2010–2011 → Penafiel (loan) 10 (1) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 January 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).Rodrigo Izecson dos Santos Leite (born 14 August 1985), commonly known as Digão, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central defender.
After signing with A.C. Milan at the age of 19, he spent several years on loans with various teams, mainly in Italy.
Contents
Club career
Born in Brasília, Digão joined A.C. Milan from São Paulo FC in the summer of 2004,[1] loaned by another club in Italy, U.C. Sampdoria player until the summer of 2005.[2] He went on to spend the following two seasons on loan to Rimini Calcio.
Returning to Milan in the summer of 2007, Digão made his debut for the club in a friendly match against FC Dynamo Kyiv on 6 September, in which he received a yellow card. His first competitive appearance came on 20 December 2007 in Milan's 2–1 home defeat against Calcio Catania, in the first leg of the Italian Cup's round of 16. He eventually made his Serie A debut on 1 March 2008, in a 1–1 home draw against S.S. Lazio, coming on as a half-time substitute for Marek Jankulovski, in his only appearance of the season.
On 13 August 2008, Belgium's Standard Liège secured Digão's services on a one-year loan.[3] He only appeared in a single first division match for the club, coming on as a late substitute in the side's 3–1 win at home against K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot on 5 April 2009, and returned to Milan at the end of the season.
On 11 July 2009, Digão was handed a one-week trial with newly promoted German Bundesliga side SC Freiburg, joining the team in the pre-season training camp in Schruns, Austria, and playing 30 minutes in a friendly match with Slavia Prague, as a substitute.[4][5] On 22 July 2009, however, the club decided not to sign the player, presumably because of his lack of playing time in competitive matches over the last two seasons.[6]
On 31 August 2009, Digão joined Serie B team U.S. Lecce on loan for the 2009–10 season. However, on 1 February 2010 he was called back due to lack of playing time and subsequently sent, on another loan spell, to F.C. Crotone, for the remainder of the season.[7]
In 2010–11, another loan ensued, with Digão moving to F.C. Penafiel in the Portuguese second division.[8]
Personal
Digão's older brother, Kaká, is a footballer too and formerly played for both São Paulo and Milan and his cousin Eduardo Delani are also professional footballers. Digão was responsible for his sibling's nickname: being unable to pronounce 'Ricardo' properly as a child, he used to call his older brother 'Kaká' instead.[9]
References
- ^ Web Archive of Lega Calcio transfer list
- ^ Web Archive of Lega Calcio transfer list
- ^ "Royal Standard de Liège: Nouvelles – Digao [Royal Standard de Liège: News - Digao]" (in French) (online). Standard Liège. 18 August 2008. http://www.standard.be/fr/n_nouvelle.php?id=10527. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ SC Freiburg will Kakás Bruder Digao verpflichten (SC Freiburg wants to acquire Kaká's brother); Transfermarkt (German)
- ^ Remis gegen Slavia Prag; Freiburg's official website (Italian)
- ^ Freiburg entscheidet sich gegen Digão-Transfer (Freiburg decides against Digão transfer); Transfermarkt (German)
- ^ Salvatore Landolina (1 February 2010). "Official: Kaka's brother Digao leaves Milan to join Serie B side Crotone on loan". http://www.goal.com/en/news/11/transfer-zone/2010/02/01/1771233/official-kakas-brother-digao-leaves-milan-to-join-serie-b. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ Jorge Franclim (6 July 2010). "Irmão de Kaká (Real Madrid) emprestado ao Penafiel [Kaká's brother (Real Madrid) loaned to Penafiel]" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Archived from the original on 8 August 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5rodYljKz. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- ^ Guilherme Aquino (28 September 2004). "Digão, o irmão de Kaká, também quer brilhar no Milan [Digão, Kaká's brother, also wants to shine with Milan]" (in Portuguese). BBC Brasil. http://www.bbc.co.uk/portuguese/reporterbbc/story/2004/09/040928_irmaodokakaro.shtml. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
External links
- Lecce official profile (Italian)
- Assocalciatori profile (Italian)
- Emozione Calcio profile (Italian)
- Tutto Calciatori profile (Italian)
- Portuguese League profile (Portuguese)
Categories:- 1985 births
- Living people
- Brazilian footballers
- Association football defenders
- Serie A footballers
- Serie B footballers
- A.C. Milan players
- Rimini Calcio F.C. players
- U.S. Lecce players
- F.C. Crotone players
- Belgian Pro League players
- Standard Liège players
- F.C. Penafiel players
- Brazilian expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Italy
- Expatriate footballers in Belgium
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