Anderson Deco and Portugal aim high in World Cup 2006

Anderson Deco, better known as simply Deco began his professional career in Portugal in 1997 after moving from his native Brazil. He quickly made waves in his new found environment as he found success on both defensive and offensive sides of the ball. Despite being born in Brazil, The Brazilian National Soccer team never exercised its right to retrain him as a player and as a result Deco found himself playing for the Portuguese National team beginning in 2003. Despite some initial controversy within Portugal about the move, Deco has silence his critics by becoming one of Portugal most dynamic players. Deco is likely to bring the same intensity of play to the world stage as he and Portugal face off against the world's best in World Cup 2006.

Here are some stats on Deco

Date of birth:  27 August 1977
Height:  176 cm
Weight:  73 kg
Position:  Midfielder
Current Club:  Barcelona (ESP)
Int'l Goals:   3 (as of 25-Jun-2006)
Int'l Caps:  37 (as of 25-Jun-2006)
First Int'l Cap:  Portugal v. Brazil (29-Mar-2003)