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Date of Birth: Friday, January 9, 1987
Birth Place: Brazil
Height: 175cm
Position: Midfielder
Former Clubs/Teams: GrĂŞmio

Biography

Lucas Leiva is a midfielder for Brazil and Liverpool in the English Premier League. He is a central midfielder who is adept at both attacking the opposition’s goal, and breaking up the opposition’s play. Often described as a box-to-box midfielder, Leiva has a habit of scoring important goals, although he hasn’t quite managed to find his scoring boots since joining Liverpool. He competes with Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard for a place in the first-team, which has meant some time on the sidelines, but he is starting to make an impact in the Premiership.

Childhood

Lucas Leiva was born on 9th January 1987, in Dourados, in Brazil, near the Paraguayan border. He is the nephew of famous Brazilian footballer Leivinha, who played as a striker for Atletico Madrid and Brazil, so his family always had high hopes for him. As a youngster, Lucas showed extraordinary talent and a determination to win, which was the ideal combination to make a winning footballer.

Early Career

Leiva’s career began at Porto Alegre’s Gremio – the same team that Ronaldinho had started in. He made his debut for the first-team in the 2006 championships, helping Gremio to win the local cup, and perform admirably in the Brazilian Serie A. Midway through his second season at the club, where he was still very much a fringe-player in spite of being capped internationally, he won a big money transfer to Europe.

Current Club

Lucas Leiva arrived in Liverpool at the start of the 2007 season, though only after Gremio’s Copa Libertadores campaign had ended in the semi-finals. He was hailed by Rafa Benitez as a quality midfielder who would be part of Liverpool’s future. Having signed for £6m, great things were expected of Leiva, and in the few games the fans saw him in action, Lucas showed glimpses of brilliance.

His second season (in 2008/09) only got underway after Leiva had been to the Olympics. He is competing for a central midfield spot with Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano, which has limited his appearances, though he is still young and learning the game. He has shown sparks of genius, and is good technically, so it is only a matter of time before he plays regularly for the Reds.

International

Lucas Leiva was given his debut in August 2007, when he was one of the only members of the Selecao squad who played in Brazil. His was tried out in the midfield role in order to find the future Gilberto Silva, and Lucas did enough to earn a second cap. As a former captain of the U-20s, big things are expected of Leiva, not least now he has the added bonus of experience of the European game. He was a key member of the Brazilian Beijing Olympics football team, though he was sent off in the Semi Finals as Brazil were defeated by arch-rivals Argentina.