By Santiago Carbone |
La Plata (Argentina) (EFE).- Few are the footballers who have won everything and there is no doubt that the Brazilian Nelson Dida is one of them.
The exporter marked an era in his team and was part of a Milan team that conquered Europe with a squad full of stars such as Paolo Maldini, Manuel Rui Costa, Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko.
Along with Cafu and Ronaldinho, he is one of the three footballers who won the FIFA World Cup, the Copa América, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores.
However, Dida also accumulates a title that her two former teammates could not achieve: the U-20 World Cup.
After lifting the trophy in 1983 and 1985, Brazil lost to Portugal in the 1991 final and had their revenge two years later in the tournament in Australia.
Under the orders of Julio César Leal, the goalkeeper born in October 1973 started the 540 minutes that the South Americans played against Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Norway, the United States, Australia and Ghana.
On March 20, 1993, Dida and his teammates celebrated after beating the Africans 1-2 with scores from Yan and Gian.
his trajectory
Olympic medalist in Atlanta 1996, the goalkeeper had already been transferred to Cruzeiro and, a year later, won the Copa Libertadores there after beating Peruvian Sporting Cristal in the final.
The equality without goals in Lima and the victory by minimal difference in Belo Horizonte gave the title to those led by Pablo Autuori. Dida started both games.
That same year, Brazil thrashed Australia in the Confederations Cup final with hat tricks from Ronaldo and Romario and the goalkeeper added another title to his record.
Eight years later he repeated in Germany after beating Argentina 4-1 in the last game with goals from Kaká, Ronaldinho and Adriano on two occasions.
France 1998 showed the goalkeeper his worst face with a heavy defeat in the final against the local team.
However, Korea-Japan 2002 gave him revenge and the title that every footballer dreams of winning: the FIFA World Cup.
Those led by Luiz Felipe Scolari beat Germany 2-0 in the final with two goals from Ronaldo and became five-time world champions.
Dida, figure in Europe
Before, the goalkeeper won the 1999 Copa América after beating Uruguay 3-0 in the final in a match that Rivaldo quickly sealed with two goals and in which Ronaldo put the icing on the cake.
Transferred from Corinthians to Italian Milan, Dida arrived in Europe and marked an era in which goalkeepers such as Iker Casillas, Gianluigi Buffon and Oliver Kahn also shone.
Led by Carlo Ancelotti, the Brazilian won his first Champions League there in 2003 after beating Juventus in a match in which he was a hero.
His team won a penalty shootout 3-2 in which Dida saved the shots of the French-Argentine David Trezeguet and the Uruguayans Marcelo Zalayeta and Paolo Montero.
Before leaving, the goalkeeper won another Champions League in 2007 and two European Super Cups.
Retired from professional activity in 2016, Dida thus became the only footballer to win the FIFA World Cup, the Copa América, the U-20 World Cup, the Copa Libertadores and the UEFA Champions League, something with what surely dreams of each of the footballers who are in Argentina fighting to get their first big cup.