Diego Souza: Great character of Brazilian football

Diego Souza, one of the great characters of Brazilian football in the 21st century, announced his retirement at the age of 38: “Thank you, football! For changing my life, my family’s life, and for providing me with unique moments of joy.”

Over 20 years, he had a remarkable career, with many goals and titles, being a protagonist for various Brazilian teams, etching his name in history.

Diego Souza defended 13 clubs, 10 of them Brazilian, in addition to serving the national team in 7 matches, scoring 2 goals.

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Early career in Rio de Janeiro

Born in the marvelous city, Diego Souza took his first steps in football with Fluminense. Initially a midfielder, he progressed throughout his career, ending up as a center forward.

He made his first appearance for Fluminense in 2003, started to shine in 2004, being called up for the Brazilian U-20 National Team, and in 2005, he was part of the squad that won the Campeonato Carioca and finished as runners-up in the Copa do Brasil.

Photo: Daryan Dornelles

After his impressive performances, he was signed by Benfica in 2005, but did not play a single game for the Portuguese club. In the first season, he was loaned to Flamengo, where he played 38 games and scored 7 goals.

Diego Souza was part of the team that won the Copa do Brasil in 2006, but he couldn’t play in the final due to his contract ending before the final. He expressed some frustration about it, saying, “I played until the semifinal, but I couldn’t be on the field for the final because of the contract. But despite that, I consider myself a champion, yes.”

Photo: Lance

Diego Souza’s first spell at Grêmio

In December 2006, Benfica loaned him again, this time to Grêmio, where he played more games and scored more goals in his career.

Starting his career at Fluminense as a midfielder, Diego Souza experienced moments of glory in the more offensive areas of the Grêmio team, playing a prominent role in the midfield alongside Tcheco and gaining great prominence in his career. He won the Campeonato Gaúcho and was vital to the runner-up finish in the 2007 Libertadores.

In the Libertadores final against Boca Juniors, Diego could do little as Grêmio lost 5-0 on aggregate. However, in the semifinal, he was crucial in the qualification against Santos. In the first leg, he won the penalty converted by Tcheco in the 2-0 victory, and in the second leg, he scored the opening goal in the 3-1 defeat, securing Grêmio’s place in the final.

Photo: EVARISTO SA/AFP via Getty Images/One Football

Best player in the Brasileirão for Palmeiras

Wanted by Grêmio and São Paulo due to his excellent spell with Grêmio, Diego Souza was signed by Palmeiras with the help of the sports marketing company Traffic in 2008. In the first few months, he won the Campeonato Paulista against Ponte Preta.

In the 2008 Brasileirão, Palmeiras finished fourth, and Diego Souza was part of the championship’s best team.

In the following year, in the Campeonato Paulista, Diego Souza starred in an unforgettable moment for Brazilian football. In the semifinals against Santos, Domingos entered the field solely to mark Diego Souza: “Diego Souza was playing really well in that game, making the difference. [Vagner] Mancini said, ‘Domingos, the only guy to mark Diego Souza is you. But you won’t play as a defender. You will mark Diego Souza,'” recalled the former Santos defender in an interview with a Globo Esporte podcast.

In his first few seconds on the field, the defender followed orders and stuck to Diego Souza, who was on the sidelines receiving instructions from coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo. They started arguing, and the referee sent both off. Shortly after receiving the red card, Domingos approached the Palmeiras player and pretended to have been attacked, rolling on the ground and expressing pain.

At that moment, Diego Souza lost control and went after the defender, being restrained forcefully by his teammates. Almost immobilized, he was taken to the tunnel leading to the dressing room.

When the situation seemed under control, Diego Souza jumped over the advertising board, returned to the field, and approached Domingos, who raised his hands in the air as a sign of not wanting any more trouble. At that moment, Diego Souza tripped him, and then decided to leave the field, satisfied that he had ‘really’ had a reason to be sent off.

The match ended 2-1, and Santos advanced to the final of the Campeonato Paulista.

In 2009, Palmeiras remained at the top of the Brasileirão from the 15th to the 33rd round, but finished the championship only in 5th place, losing the spot for the Libertadores. Despite Palmeiras’ downfall, Diego Souza won the award for the best player in the Brazilian Championship.

In the same year, he scored a memorable goal against Atlético-MG. The goalkeeper collided with Vágner Love, and the ball fell to Diego Souza in midfield, who struck it first-time on the volley, scoring an unforgettable goal.

In 2009, due to his good performances, Diego Souza was called up for the first time for the national team, for the qualifiers.

Diego Souza had a melancholic departure from Verdão. He had a clash with the fans after being substituted against Atlético-GO and was sidelined in May 2010. He played 142 games and scored 38 goals for Palmeiras.

Photo: Alexandro Auler/STR / Getty Images

Two months later, he was signed by Atlético-MG, but didn’t perform as expected, staying only 8 months in the club and scoring 5 goals in 34 games.

Idol at Vasco

Signed by Vasco in March 2011, Diego Souza wore the number 10 shirt and won the fans’ affection. He debuted against Botafogo in the Campeonato Carioca and scored one of the goals in the 2-0 victory.

A few months later, he won the Copa do Brasil, his second in his career. He was instrumental throughout the campaign, but it was in the semifinal against Avaí that Diego was more impactful. He scored the goal for Vasco in the first leg at São Januário and in the second leg, at Ressacada, scored a goal and had a stellar performance, one of the best in his entire career.

In the 2011 Campeonato Brasileiro, Cruz-Maltino also had a great campaign, with Diego Souza as one of the main highlights, scoring 11 goals and providing 5 assists, as well as being part of the championship’s best team. They stayed at the top for several rounds but finished in 2nd place, just 2 points behind Corinthians.

In the quarterfinals of the 2012 Libertadores, Diego Souza was involved in the iconic save by Cássio, a milestone for Corinthians’ only Libertadores victory.

After a Corinthians free-kick, the Vasco defense cleared, Alessandro attempted a long pass, and Diego Souza managed to intercept. He ran more than half the field without being marked and when facing the goalkeeper, Cássio made one of the most memorable saves in Brazilian football.

For Cássio, the intervention on Diego’s shot was the most important of his career, not only because of the degree of difficulty but also for what it represented for the faithful.

Photo: Ari Ferreira/Lancepress!

Diego ended his spell at Vasco recognized as an idol. He played 87 games and scored 30 goals for Cruz-Maltino.

Photo: Marcelo Sadio / Site Oficial do Vasco da Gama

He was sold to Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia in 2012, however, just three months after his arrival, the player terminated his contract with the Arabs due to unpaid salaries.

As a free agent, Diego signed with Cruzeiro and arrived as the big signing for the 2013 season. Despite being part of the Brasileirão-winning squad, he didn’t stand out much for Raposa and was sold to Metalist in July, in a deal involving forward Willian.

Legend at Sport

Sport signed Diego Souza from Metalist on loan in August 2014. He wore the number 87 shirt, in reference to the year 1987, a clear nod from the Pernambuco Rubro-Negro to highlight being the only Brazilian champion that year, something secured by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) after a lengthy dispute with Flamengo.

In a match between Flamengo and Sport in the 2nd round of the 2015 Brasileirão, Diego Souza scored Sport’s first goal, from a penalty in the 46th minute of the first half, and while celebrating, pointed to the number 87 shirt, provoking the Flamengo fans, saying that the champion of 1987 was Sport. “87 is ours,” Diego Souza said at halftime.

In the same match, goalkeeper Magrão got injured, and Sport had already made three substitutions, so Diego Souza went to goal. Sport was winning 2-1, but couldn’t hold on to the victory and ended up drawing with Flamengo.

Years later, Diego Souza revealed: “I never trembled to play, but when I put on the glove…”

Photo: Ide Gomes / Agência Estado

In the same year, Diego Souza led his team, and Sport achieved its best placement in Brasileirão history. The team led by Eduardo Baptista and later Paulo Roberto Falcão finished in 6th place, with 59 points.

In December of the same year, Diego returned to his youth club, Fluminense. He signed a 3-year contract but had an extremely short stint with the Tricolor, playing 9 games and scoring 4 goals. Despite a good start, including scoring a hat-trick and providing an assist in the 4-3 victory against Cruzeiro at Mineirão in the Primeira Liga, coach Eduardo Baptista, who had requested Diego’s signing, was fired after losses to Flamengo and Botafogo. Thus, Diego Souza agreed to return to Sport.

In 2016, Sport had a discreet campaign in the Brasileirão, narrowly avoiding relegation on the final day when they defeated Figueirense 2-0 at Ilha do Retiro, with Diego Souza scoring a goal. He was, for the second consecutive year, Sport’s best player and, playing as a midfielder, managed the feat of being the top scorer of Brasileirão 2016, with 14 goals alongside Fred and William Pottker.

Diego Souza began his process to become a center-forward due to the Brazilian National Team. On January 25, 2017, Brazil and Colombia played the so-called ‘Friendship Match’ at the Nilton Santos Stadium in Rio de Janeiro to celebrate the life and solidarity of the Colombian people in the tragedy of the Chapecoense flight the previous year.

Diego started the match as a starter in attack: “There I played up front already. But I played behind a center-forward or on the sides. I hadn’t become a center-forward yet.” Tite, the coach of the Brazilian National Team at the time, gave an interview shortly after Gabriel Jesus’ injury [who had twisted his ankle] and said that for the center-forward position, he had Firmino and Diego Souza as options.

Very happy and hopeful, Diego Souza said: “I thought to myself and decided that I would prepare. If Tite said that, he would call me up. So I started training at Sport to improve on things that a forward needs.”

In May 2017, Diego was called up by Tite for the friendlies against Argentina and Australia. Replacing Gabriel Jesus, who had been cut for taking an elbow from Otamendi in the game against Argentina, Diego Souza, as a center-forward, started and scored 2 goals, his only ones with the Yellow Jersey.

Photo: Pedro Martins/ MoWa Press

The sequence in the Brazilian National Team did not come, but the transformation kept Diego Souza as a valued player in the market and the boy who started his career as a midfielder ended it as a high-level and high-performance center-forward.

Despite winning the Pernambuco Championship against Salgueiro, Sport managed to avoid relegation in the Brasileirão, again, only on the final day.

During the Brazilian Championship, Sport occupied the fifth position at one point, but their performance dropped drastically, so from October 12 to November 19, Leão took the field ten times and couldn’t win a single match. There were three draws and five losses in the Brasileirão and one draw and one loss in the Copa Sudamericana. The drought led to the dismissal of coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo and the return of Daniel Paulista, so only in the victory against Corinthians on the last day, could the Sport fan breathe a sigh of relief.

Diego Souza ended the year with 21 goals and 5 assists and shared the spotlight with André, who scored 27 goals in the season.

With an offer from Palmeiras in July, the number 87 asked to be transferred, but Sport’s board played hardball and did not accept the offer from São Paulo. The player, who was about to play the seventh game in the Brasileirão and could no longer be transferred, ended up missing a training session and being withdrawn from the following game. In the end, Diego did not go to Palmeiras and stayed at Ilha do Retiro, but visibly upset with the board’s stance.

Photo: Carlos Ezequiel Vannoni/Eleven/Lancepress!

Highs and Lows at São Paulo

In early 2018, Diego Souza was signed for 10 million reais by São Paulo and signed a contract until the end of 2019, with the possibility of extending for another season. He received the number 9 shirt and since then always played as a center-forward.

During the Paulista Championship, he scored in his debut as a starter, in the 2-0 victory against Mirassol. After nine games without scoring, even being on the bench in some matches, he scored the goal that qualified São Paulo for the Paulista Championship semifinals, in the 2-0 victory over São Caetano.

In the second leg of the semifinal against Corinthians, he entered the game, took the first penalty for São Paulo but missed it, and Tricolor was eliminated. In the following game, against Rosário Central for the Sudamericana, he wasn’t even included by Diego Aguirre.

Shortly after, with the elimination in the Copa do Brasil against Athletico-PR, Diego Souza was on the verge of leaving São Paulo to return to Vasco. However, the Tricolor wanted to give the player another chance and did not reach an agreement with Cruz-Maltino. A conversation with the football executive director Raí and Diego Aguirre helped him to react in the club.

Diego Souza quickly improved his performance. Upon his return, he started scoring goals again and helped lead the Tricolor to the top of the Campeonato Brasileiro, with a spectacular first round, with twelve wins, five draws, and only two losses, almost a 72% success rate. However, the Tricolor only ended up with the symbolic title of the first round, as they finished the competition only in 5th place and saw their rival Palmeiras become champions.

The good campaign in the first round was guided by the trio formed by Nenê, Everton, and Diego Souza. The center forward was São Paulo’s top scorer in the championship, with 12 goals, and reached the significant mark of 100 goals in the Brasileirão.

However, losing the Brazilian title to rival Palmeiras put Diego Souza under pressure again. To make matters worse, the player started the 2019 season poorly, especially due to discreet performances in decisive matches against Talleres-ARG in the Copa Libertadores. With his physical form questioned by part of the fans, he scored only one goal in ten games played.

At 33 years old, Diego Souza was not in the plans of coach Cuca. The assessment was that the striker did not fit into the team the coach wanted to assemble, and furthermore, the Tricolor needed to ease its payroll to seek specific reinforcements.

Diego Souza left São Paulo in March 2019 with 59 games and 17 goals, heading to Botafogo on loan.

Photo: Thiago Ribeiro/AGIF /Lancepress!

At Glorioso, he was received with celebration and a full house at General Severiano, on a sunny and hot Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, and received the historic number 7 shirt from idol Mané Garrincha. His debut against Fluminense, in the Campeonato Carioca, was promising, he was participative, provided assistance, and endured the full 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw at Maracanã.

During the season, however, he experienced long periods without scoring, which proved uncomfortable. Under the guidance of coach Eduardo Barroca, he even had his position altered, playing the role of an organizing midfielder on some occasions. With the arrival of Alberto Valentim, he found himself relegated to the bench in some matches and ended the year with his reputation in decline.

Return to Grêmio

When he arrived at Tricolor in 2020, he had the confidence of coach Renato Gaúcho, however, the fans were skeptical about his signing. Many thought that Diego Souza was heading for a dull end to his career, but they were wrong, as at Grêmio, the veteran lived his most goal-scoring seasons, winning the Campeonato Gaúcho 4 times in a row and becoming the top scorer of Tricolor in the 21st century, with 87 goals.

Always playing as a center forward, he was Grêmio’s top scorer in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 seasons. The first of these was when he scored the most goals, 28.

He was extremely important in the runner-up of the Copa do Brasil, scoring 3 goals in the quarterfinals against Cuiabá, in addition to scoring the only goal in the semifinal against São Paulo. In the final, Grêmio was completely dominated by Palmeiras and lost 3-0 on aggregate.

In the Libertadores, Grêmio fell to finalist Santos in the quarterfinals. Despite being defeated 4-1 in the second leg at Vila Belmiro, Diego Souza showed a lot of composure in the first leg. Peixe was winning 1-0, and after a VAR check, Grêmio was awarded a penalty kick in their favor at the 54th minute of the second half. Diego stepped up to take the shot, hit the angle, and equalized everything in the first leg.

In 2021, Grêmio had a team full of stars, with the flashy signing of Douglas Costa, but in the first months of the season, they lost to Independiente Del Valle in the Libertadores preliminaries and were eliminated from the competition, leading to the departure of coach Renato Gaúcho, who had been at the club since 2016.

The terrible first round in the Brasileirão left Grêmio practically the entire championship in the relegation zone, and surprisingly, the team that was initially considered a contender for the national title, finished the year in 17th place and was relegated to Serie B. Despite Grêmio’s shameful performance, Diego ended the year with 24 goals and 6 assists.

With the relegation, an official statement was issued saying that Diego Souza would not have his contract renewed. However, the club backtracked after market analysis and conversations with the player himself, renewing his contract until the end of 2022.

Renato Gaúcho agreed to return in the final stretch of Serie B and achieved the season’s objective, which was the return to the national elite, finishing the championship in 2nd place. Diego Souza was the 3rd player with the most goals in the competition and 6th with the most assists, directly participating in 30% of Grêmio’s goals in the season.

In December 2022, the striker had his contract extended for another six months, until June 2023. With the arrival of the world star Luis Suárez, Diego Souza did not have space in the Grêmio attack and left the team in July, after not having his contract renewed.

Grêmio was the team where Diego Souza had the most games, goals, and assists. Combining both stints, he played 222 games, scored 87 goals, won five Gauchão titles, and won three Recopas Gaúchas. He is also the top scorer in the history of the Arena do Grêmio, with 55 goals scored at the stadium.

On his departure from the club, Diego said: “I bid farewell to Grêmio, a club I learned to love and will be forever grateful. I end another stint with the feeling of a mission accomplished. Of course, the last few months were difficult and did not end as I would have liked, but nothing erases the beautiful story we wrote. Many battles we won, challenges that only together we were able to overcome.

Photo: Lucas Uebel/Divulgação/Grêmio

The prodigal son returns

In July 2023, Diego Souza agreed to return to Sport for his third stint. He was welcomed with celebration at the airport but had a discreet end to the season.

Sport, which spent much of the year among the top 4 in Serie B, had a melancholic end to the year and failed to secure promotion. Diego ended this third stint with 11 games and only 1 goal.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Diego Souza has always shown a strong connection to the city of Recife and the state of Pernambuco. On October 18, 2023, he received the honorary title of Pernambuco citizen from the Legislative Assembly of Pernambuco (Alepe), one of the highest honors that the legislative power in question can grant.

“I have always been well supported here (…) Today I am a Pernambucan,” said the idol of several shirts across Brazil.

Photo: Igor Cysneiros/Sport

Retirement

Diego Souza did not stay at Sport for the following year, and at the age of 38, after a 20-year career, he announced his retirement on February 10, 2024.

He had a memorable and victorious career, as well as achieving historic feats. Diego Souza is the second-highest scorer in the Brasileirão with 130 goals, behind only Fred. In the entire history of the Brazilian Championship, Diego ranks 6th.

Diego Souza ended his career with 943 games and 275 goals, leaving a great legacy in Brazilian football.

 

Written by Henry Miller.