Deco - International Career

International Career

Deco was never called up to the Brazilian national team and the Brazil squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup included other attacking midfielders such as Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, and Juninho. Having played six years of club football with Porto allowed Deco to gain Portuguese citizenship that made him eligible to play for Portugal. None of Deco's great grandparents, grandparents or parents were Portuguese and therefore under Fifa's player eligibility rules required Portuguese citizenship to be considered eligible. Deco was 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 was a regular in the national team. Before the 2004 European championship Luís Figo, criticized Deco's inclusion and said "If you're born Chinese, well, you have to play for China." However, Deco commented saying "I was born in Brazil and it would be a lie to say that I'm Portuguese now and not Brazilian. But I love Portugal and I love playing for the national team." 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.