Djalminha

Template:Football player infobox2 Djalminha, full name Djalma Feitosa Dias (born December 9, 1970 in São Paulo), is a former Brazilian football player. He was a talented attacking midfielder who played with, among others, Flamengo and Deportivo de La Coruña. He was also a Brazil international.

Blessed with outrageous natural ability, Djalminha had a full catalogue of independently created tricks which made him a fan favorite throughout most of his career.^[1]

Club career

Still a teenager, São Paulo-born Djalminha began impressing at Rio de Janeiro-based Clube de Regatas do Flamengo. Afterwards, he would have short stints with Guarani Futebol Clube and Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (where he received the Bola de Ouro (Brazilian Golden Ball) award in 1996), with a Japanese adventure with Shimizu S-Pulse in between.

In July 1997, he joined Deportivo de La Coruña in the Spanish first division, and proceeded to score 26 league goals in 87 appearances in his first three seasons, largely contributing to the team's first-ever league conquest, in 2000. After that, the emergence of Juan Carlos Valerón, signed upon Atlético Madrid's relegation, and a May 2002 bust-up during training with Depor manager Javier Irureta,^[2]^[3]prompted his loan in 2002-03 to Austrian Bundesliga side FK Austria Wien.

After just 11 appearances for Deportivo in 2003-04, Djalminha finished his career with Mexico's Club América, retiring at 34.

International career

The stiff competition in Brazil in Djalminha's position, combined with his somewhat difficult temperament, limited him to just 14 full international caps in 6 years, the vast majority coming while at Deportivo. He was part of the squad the won the 1997 Copa América.

Personal

Djalminha is the son of Djalma Dias, a former Brazilian footballer who played during the 60's.
He was quoted as classing football as a "...gladiatorial bout; my role is to entertain".