Lucas Leiva
Lucas Leiva in 2012
Lucas Pezzini Leiva ( born January 9, 1987 in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul ) is a Brazilian football player who is predominantly used in central midfield and is under contract at Liverpool since 2007. He is the nephew of former Brazilian football player Leivinha.
Career
Grêmio
Lucas started his career with the Brazilian club Gremio. His first game he played on 22 October 2005 against Náutico Capibaribe and was a 1-0 victory master of Série B. The next year he won with his club the state championship of Rio Grande do Sul and was third in the Series A. He also became the youngest player to Bola de Ouro, the award for the best player of the championship. Due to its impressive performance, many European top clubs were aware of Lucas. On 13 May 2007, the Lucas eventually became known 'll switch on the end of the season for Liverpool FC. In the Copa Libertadores Grêmio penetrated to the finals. Due to an injury he was sitting in the first leg at first only on the bench. After the residue Lucas came on, but you still defeated 3-0. In the return match Lucas played again from the beginning, but the team also lost the game 2-0.
Liverpool
In the first few games he usually came on as a substitute for use. Only towards the end of November was coach Benítez him the opportunity to play from the beginning. On January 27, 2008 Lucas with a shot from 25 yards against Havant & Waterlooville in the FA Cup scored his first goal for Liverpool. Thus he became the first Brazilian player to score a goal for Liverpool. In the next few games against Chelsea and Arsenal, as well as in the two Champions League games against Inter Milan Lucas was also in the starting lineup. After an average season an increase in performance was expected for the 2008/09 season by the fans and the media. The preparation was also such an idea. So he scored among others in the test match against FC Luzern 1-0 lead ( the game ended 2-1 ). However, due to the participation in the Olympic Games with the Brazilian national team, he missed the first game in the championship.
Despite the strong competition at his position, he was frequently employed by Benítez. After a series of disappointing games criticism of the holding Lucas, however, was getting louder. Especially after the lackluster 0-0 draw against Fulham. Benítez however turned vehemently against his players, claiming that people do not know how good Lucas is, and reiterated his achievements at Gremio and the national team.
In the superior phase of the Liverpool Team 2009 Lucas had a big part in the success. In the 4-1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford he slipped due to injury of Xabi Alonso in the short term to the team and delivered from a good game. On April 14, Lucas came as a substitute for Steven Gerrard in the Champions League against Chelsea used. Here he scored among other things in the 81st minute to score to 3:3. A few minutes later Liverpool Kuyt even went through the lead, but Lampard was like a little later from the 4:4 and Liverpool missed after the first leg defeat the semi-finals. On 3 May 2009 Lucas scored against Newcastle United his first Premier League goal.
In the 2009/10 season Lucas had his place in the team after the change of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid secure. In the first six games of the season Lucas was used in each case. It was the first time that he played six consecutive games for Liverpool. In preparation for the 2010/11 season Lucas was wearing in the games against Grasshoppers and 1.FC Kaiserslautern in the absence of numerous other key players for the first time the captain's armband.
National
Lucas National team career began in 2006 in Brazil's U -20 team. In the U-20 South American Championship 2007 Lucas led the team as captain and scored four goals in the tournament, which he had a large share in the subsequent victory of the Brazilian. Also in the U -20 World Cup in Canada Lucas should lead the team. However, an injury prevented his participation.
In October 2006, Lucas was named in the squad for the friendly against Al Kuwait Kaifan and Ecuador. Lucas was the youngest player in the squad and only one of two that were not in a European club under contract. In the match against Al- Kuwait on October 7, he came off the bench for the second half. However, this game could not be counted as international debut, because it concerned not an official FIFA match. Finally to his international debut he came on August 22, 2007, when he came off the bench in a friendly against Algeria.
For the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 Lucas was also in the squad of Brazilians. In the semifinals of the Olympic tournament between Brazil and Argentina on August 19, he was placed in the 81st minute after a confrontation with his team-mate Javier Mascherano from the square. Brazil lost the game 3-0. In the match for third place, the team was able to beat Belgium 3-0. In August 2009, he was again the senior national squad when he nachrückte for the injured Kléberson. For the World Cup in South Africa however, he was not nominated. After the Brazilian national disappointing running WM, Lucas came increasingly under new coach Mano Menezes to inserts in this team. In the summer of 2011, he was nominated for the Copa America in Argentina.
Achievements and titles
In the club
- Série B: 2005
- State championship of Rio Grande do Sul: 2006, 2007
- Copa Libertadores finalist: 2007
- Carling Cup: 2012
National
- U-20 South American Championship: 2007
- Olympic Games 2008: Bronze Medal
- Sendai Cup ( U -17): 2004
Awards
- Brazilian Footballer of the Year: 2006