Denílson de Oliveira Araújo, known as Denilson, was born on the 24th of August 1977 in Diadema, Brazil. He made his senior debut as a fresh-faced and gangly 17 year old for São Paulo in the 1994 Copa CONMEBOL, coming away with a winners medal from the competition which also contained names such as Huracan of Argentina, Danubio of Uruguay and Peru's Sporting Cristal, former club of famed trumpet expert Nolberto Solano. Despite playing barely 50 matches for the club, he is still regarded as a legend. His promise was so much that his name was even muttered amongst true Brazilian wing masters such as Jairzinho and Garrinca. During his time in the most populous city in the southern hemisphere, he had an enviable goalscoring record, better than one every two games, and also shone brightly during a budding international career, first for the under-17s in France and then for the Brazil national team as they danced their way to victory in 1997 to both the Copa América and Confederations Cup. He made exactly fifty appearances for São Paulo before his performances in these competitions brought his name to a wider audience, and went a long way to prompting Real Betis, to put in a £21.5m bid in front of of the São Paulo president. The fee for the left winger made him the most expensive transfer in the history of the game, overtaking compatriot, Ronaldo, who had commanded a fee of £19.5m when moving from Barcelona to Internazionale of Milan a year earlier. He was a key member of a new generation of exciting Brazilian footballers and was referred to as the Canhoteiro, which means the 'left-footed one'. Very well known for his dribbling technique, and being left-footed brought him a fortune. With Cruyff turns and rollovers all part of the artillery stored in his locker, he could physically deceive his opponents using his fast-moving-foot skills, or so-called step-over, so that the opponent could not predict where to go. Flying down the wing with the ball at the end of his toe and the movement in his hips, he was the quintessential Brazilian winger. Those who had the pleasure to see him perform his wizardry in the flesh could have easily been fooled into thinking that he would go down as one of the greats, however he remains one of the ultimate talents that got away.
At just 20 years of age, he had the world at his feet, or at least balanced on the end of his left foot. With the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid all gunning for his signature, it came as somewhat of a shock when it was announced that Betis had won the race. With the footballing world’s jaw agape, Denílson was supposed to mark the start of a new era for Betis spearheaded by club president Manuel Ruiz de Lopera. However, it wouldn’t be a period he or the club envisioned prior to signing as he constantly struggled to find consistent form and rekindle his youthful, free-playing style. He struggled from the off and, despite adoration from the fans, he couldn't get off the mark and agonisingly had to wait until Valentine’s Day to score his first goal. His struggle for consistency was reflected by Betis as well, as the second year turned out far more disastrous, with the club dropping down to the Segunda División. After the drop, Denílson was temporarily offloaded to Flamengo in an attempt to reduce his hefty portion of the wage bill and due to his desire to put himself contention for the Seleção with the 2002 World Cup just around the corner. However, due to his lofty wage demands, Flamengo could not keep up the payments and he was recalled back to Betis in January 2001 where he helped the club gain promotion back to La Liga but he would spend the next five years as a bit part player for Betis. After appearing for Brazil in the 1998 World Cup in France, where he earned a runners' up medal, he was indeed picked again for Brazil’s national team for the FIFA World Cup 2002 in Korea and Japan and played a crucial role in Brazil's victory.
He would go on to make almost 200 appearances for Real Betis before, in the 2005 off-season, he was sold to French club Bordeaux for an undisclosed amount, four years before his Betis contract was due to expire. After appearing regularly to help to a second-place finish, the club failed to match Denílson's wage demands and he left and signed for Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr, where he played for a couple of months. Despite being just 27, in what should have been his prime years, he became the ultimate nomadic journeyman, playing for six clubs in four years in no less than five countries. His next move was on the 24th of August 2007, when he joined FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, but with head coach Steve Morrow saying the player would need to "earn a spot in the starting lineup like everybody else", it was unsurprising that at the end of the season the club decided not to pick up its option on him but stated they would resign the winger on a lower salary. In February 2008, he signed a one-year performance-based contract with Palmeiras, hoping the club structure and former Real Madrid manager, Wanderlei Luxemburgo would help him recover his best football. However he lasted for 30 games before jetting to Vietnam to sign for Xi Mang Hai Phong, becoming the league’s highest-paid player on £4m a year in the meantime. This time he managed just three weeks and one game before picking up an injury and then signing for Greek side Kavala, where he wasn’t to play a single game. It was here, in the northern city, where Denílson hung his boots up on a 16-year career without even touching a ball with his former majestic left foot.
Due to his lack of tactical discipline and his tendency to relent to his instinct to dribble, some teams had eventually avoided hiring him in later days. His supreme talent as a youngster was squandered due to a combination of pressure, greed and too much too soon – a problem which is becoming more prevalent for today’s young footballers. Brazilian correspondent for World Soccer Daily Tim Vickery suggested that Denilson might have lost his touch because "he believed all the hype about himself, thought that he was well on the way to being crowned the world’s best player, and when he saw that it wasn’t going to happen he lost momentum." The later days of his footballing career might have been in a slump, but the footballer always has a place in the hearts of football lovers. He has always been an entertaining skillful footballer for the spectators. People loved witnessing his tricks as he was crowned the step-over king.
see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/06/footballs-nearly-men-adnan-januzaj.html
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