Dida

Nelson de Jesus Silva (born July 10, 1973 in Irara, Bahia) is a Brazilian football (soccer) goalkeeper. Dida, as he became better known, currently plays for Italian club AC Milan.

Dida's career started with Brazilian clubs Vitória, Cruzeiro, and Corinthians. His European career took shape at Switzerland's FC Lugano. He is often referred to as a penalty kick specialist because of his natural knack of saving penalty kicks in crucial matches, an ability evident in his early days with Cruzeiro. This caught AC Milan's eyes, but he was promptly sent home after a mistake in a Champions League match against Leeds United. Corinthians couldn't be more grateful to receive the 6'6" giant. He came back to Milan next year, and regained his starting job for good.

On 12 April, 2005, during a Champions League game against bitter local rivals Inter Milan, Dida was hit and injured by a flare thrown from the crowd and subsequently received treatment for minor injuries. As a result of this and the generally deteriorating security situation within the San Siro Stadium, Milan, the referee, Markus Merk took the decision to abandon the game.

Dida was part of the winning team in the following championships:

He was voted the world's third best goalkeeper in 2004, behind Italy's Gianluigi Buffon and the Czech Republic's Petr Cech.

Categories: 1973 births | Brazilian footballers | Football (soccer) goalkeepers