Name: Dida (full name: Nelson de Jesus Silva)

Nationality: Brazil

Position: Goalkeeper

Date of Birth: October 7, 1973

Place of Birth: Irará, Bahia, Brazil

Club Career (highlights):

• Vitória (Brazil) — where he began his professional career in the early 1990s.
• Cruzeiro (Brazil) — Dida joined Cruzeiro in 1995 and played there until 1998; he won the Copa do Brasil (1996) and contributed to the club’s domestic success before moving to Europe.
• AC Milan (Italy) — his most prominent spell (2000–2010, with a 2002–2006 period as first-choice), where he won Serie A and two UEFA Champions League titles (2002–03, 2006–07).
• Other clubs — he also had spells at Corinthians and Internacional in Brazil, as well as earlier loan moves and later short-term contracts before retiring.

International Career:

• Brazil national team goalkeeper, earned over 90 caps.
• Member of Brazil squads that won the FIFA Confederations Cup (1997, 1999) and the Copa América (1999). He was part of the 2002 World Cup-winning squad (as backup goalkeeper).

Style and legacy: Dida was known for his height, penalty-saving ability, remarkable reflexes, and composure in big matches. He gained a reputation for decisive saves in European competition and is regarded as one of Brazil’s most successful goalkeepers of his generation.

Honours (selected):

• Copa do Brasil (with Cruzeiro): 1996
• UEFA Champions League (with AC Milan): 2002–03, 2006–07
• Serie A (with AC Milan): 2003–04
• FIFA World Cup: 2002 (squad member)
• Copa América: 1999
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997, 1999

Retirement: Dida retired from professional football in the 2010s after a long career at club and international level and remains celebrated particularly for his time at AC Milan and his contributions to Brazilian football.