Biography of Lucas Leiva

About

Lucas Pezzini Leiva (born 9 January 1987 in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul) is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Liverpool. He is often known solely by his first name, Lucas. The box-to-box midfielder is the nephew of former Brazilian football player Leivinha and holds an Italian passport.

Background

Club Football

Grêmio

Lucas started his career with Grêmio, making his first team debut on 22 October 2005 in a 1–0 win over Náutico in Serie B. Grêmio went on to win the league that season, with only seven players on the field, returning to the top tier of Brazilian football.

2006 was a successful year for Lucas and Grêmio, winning the Rio Grande do Sul state championship (the Campeonato Gaúcho) for the first time since 2001, and also coming third in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Lucas also became the youngest player to ever to receive Placar magazine's Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball), given to the best player in the Campeonato Brasileiro — an honour previously won by the likes of Zico, Falcao, Careca, Alex, Romario, Kaká and Tevez.

His form in 2006 led to reported interest from many major European clubs including offers from top Spanish clubs and Inter. It was Liverpool that proved most attractive to the player, however, and on 13 May 2007 the club confirmed they had signed the player from Grêmio before the start of the 2007–08 season.The transfer fee was in the region of £6 million.Lucas remained with Grêmio until the end of their 2007 Copa Libertadores campaign. They made it to the final where they would meet Boca Juniors. Lucas however, had a niggling injury, causing him to start the first leg on the bench. With Grêmio 1–0 down, Sandro Goiano was sent off. Lucas was brought on to help shore up the midfield, but to no avail as Grêmio lost 3–0. Lucas was back in the starting line-up for the second leg, but again Grêmio were defeated, this time 2–0.

Liverpool

On 26 July he was officially unveiled as a Liverpool player and was given international clearance to compete in the final of the Barclays Asia Trophy.Manager Rafael Benítez was pleased with the acquisition and said: "I am looking forward to seeing him score goals for Liverpool in the future and [we] believe he has the mentality and the character you need to do well in England".The following day he made his debut in the match against Portsmouth, coming on for Mohamed Sissoko in the second half.

By late November, manager Benítez gave Lucas his chance at starting a game in the Liverpool midfield, after easing him into Liverpool in his first few months at the club. He quickly became popular with the fans after putting in some mature displays against Newcastle and Bolton Wanderers in the league. Lucas scored his first goal for Liverpool on 27 January 2008 when he curled a 25-yard shot into the top corner during an FA cup match against Havant and Waterlooville, becoming the first Brazilian to score for Liverpool. The young Brazilian has already started league games against Chelsea and Arsenal, as well as both Champions League games against Inter Milan.

The start of the 2008–09 season signified an important turning point for his career; many critics expected him to step up to the next level after completing his first season with the Reds. The Brazilian got off to a good start with a well taken opening goal in a 2–1 friendly win over Swiss side FC Lucerne in July. He impressed in pre-season games but missed the start of Premier League season as he had been selected for the Brazilian Olympic Team in the Beijing Olympics. He returned with a bronze medal and Benítez had high hopes for the Brazilian's future, stating "this season he will improve because he is a very, very good professional and has experience of the Olympic Games".Lucas noted that Liverpool's squad had much improved since the previous season and relished the opportunity to compete for trophies, despite the increased difficulty of getting a first team place.However, after a number of disappointing performances,both critics and fans voiced concerns about Lucas' quality and his confidence was further lowered when Liverpool fans booed him after a lacklustre draw against Fulham. The criticism irked Benítez and he responded with a passionate defence of the player, saying that "people just don't know how good Lucas is. He is a fantastic player." Furthermore, he underlined Lucas' credentials, stating that he had been captain for both Grêmio and his national youth team, and that competing for place against Mascherano, Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso was inherently difficult. Lucas' performances in December 2008 for Liverpool drew him much praise from pundits, the highlight being his performance in the 5-1 thrashing of Newcastle, where he provided an assist for Steven Gerrard..Lucas was sent off in a cup tie against Mersey rivals Everton, which Liverpool lost. This compounded his growing unpopularity amongst Liverpool's supporters.

International Football

Lucas is the former captain of the Brazilian Under-20 team. He helped the team to victory in the 2007 South American Youth Championship, scoring 4 goals in the process. He was expected to lead the team again in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup which was contested in Canada in July 2007 and was named in their squad. However an injury in training kept him from playing for 3 weeks, leading to his withdrawal from the squad.

In October 2006 Lucas was brought into the senior Brazilian squad for friendlies against Kuwaiti club Al-Kuwait and Ecuador. Lucas was both the youngest member and one of only two non-Europe-based players in a strong squad. He made his debut for Brazil on October 7, 2006 coming on as a second half substitute against Al-Kuwait. Brazil won the match 4-0. However, this appearance does not count as his first cap as the match was not considered an official friendly match by FIFA.

Lucas gained his first official Brazil international cap on August 22, 2007, coming on as a substitute in a friendly against Algeria.

In June 2008, Lucas was named in the Brazil squad for an Olympics warm-up match later in the month.

On 19 August, Lucas was shown a red card in the Olympic Semi-Final encounter between Brazil and Argentina after a challenge on Liverpool team mate Javier Mascherano, as Argentina ran out 3-0 winners.

International Goals

Awards and Honours

Personal Awards

Career Statistics

M = Matches, G = Goals, A = Assists

Personal Info

Wife / Girlfriend

Sponsors

Important Links

References