The attacking midfielder with a compact and fast physique has excellent technique and vision of play. He is a complete player who is good at dribbling, sudden changes of pace and creating numerical superiority. He is very precise with long balls, has a powerful shot and is particularly skilled at taking free-kicks, capabilities which make him a great finisher.
After ghaving made his debut with Santos in 2002 at 16 years of age he was transferred to Porto after two years during which he won 2 championships. At Porto he spent 2 seasons winning the Intercontinental Cup, a championship and a Portuguese Supercup before being transferred to Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga.
In Germany Diego’s career exploded winning a League Cup and being named best player of the championship in 2007. In the meantime he has been winning himself more and more space in the Brazilian national team with which side he won two Coppa America (in 2004 and 2007) and a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. In the last season Diego played 32 matches and scored 20 goals (Championship: 20 appearances – 12 goals, European Cups: 8 appearances – 6 goals, German Cup: 4 appearances – 2 goals).