UPFRONT
Cruzeiro 3-1 Sao Paulo
September 4, 2002
Brazilian Serie A
“Like many Brazilians of my generation, I grew up wanting to be like Romario, but when I was 17 years old I became a goalkeeper. From that moment on, I looked up to Dida. He’d been a star at Cruzeiro when I went to watch them as a young fan. I eventually made my debut in 2002 against Sao Paulo, who had Kaka in their team. I was told I’d be playing the day before, and was so nervous I could hardly sleep that night. I felt massive pressure as the stadium was sold out. I played a good first half, but had to be substituted after an hour because of all the tension in my body. I’m probably the only goalkeeper ever to be taken off due to cramp! [Laughs] Thankfully we won 3-1 and my family, including 11 siblings, were there to see it – they were really proud of me.”
PSV 1-1 Lyon
April 13, 2005
Champions League
“In my first year at PSV we had a great team, featuring Phillip Cocu, Alex and Mark van Bommel, and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League before falling agonisingly short against Milan. In the last eight we played two tight games with Lyon. During the first leg in France, I distinguished myself by denying Florent Malouda what should have been a definite goal, one on one. I’ll never forget the return tie back in Eindhoven, either. That ended 1-1 too, meaning penalties. I managed to save a couple, from Michael Essien and Eric Abidal, then my compatriot and friend Robert converted the decisive penalty for PSV. It was a magical night, taking us through to the semis against Milan. With a tiny bit more luck we could have gone on to face Liverpool in Istanbul.”
Brazil 3-0 Argentina
September 3, 2006
Friendly
“I made my Brazil debut in the summer of 2003, although that was at the Gold Cup and only an under-23 squad went to the tournament. For me, the friendly with Norway in 2006, after the World Cup, was my proper senior debut. The legendary Dunga was in
