Digão
Personal information
Full name Rodrigo Junior Paula Silva[1]
Date of birth (1988-05-07) 7 May 1988[2]
Place of birth Duque de Caxias, Brazil[2]
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre back[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2013 Fluminense[2] 92 (4)
2014–2016 Al-Hilal 45 (1)
2016–2017 Al-Sharjah 26 (1)
2017–2019 Cruzeiro 15 (0)
2018–2019 → Fluminense (loan) 64 (5)
2020 Fluminense 22 (2)
2020–2022 Buriram United 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 May 2022

Rodrigo Junior Paula Silva (born 7 May 1988, in Duque de Caxias), also called Digão, is a Brazilian footballer.[1][2]

Club career

Fluminense

Digão played for Fluminense between 2009 and 2013.[3] He made his debut for the club in a draw against Náutico.[3] He started that match and played the whole 90 minutes.[4] In his first season with the club, he featured eight times in league matches but did not score a goal.[3] His first match for the 2010 season was against Ceará.[3] However, Fluminense lost it by a single goal.[5] He played further three times for the club in league, against Atlético Goianiense, Atlético Mineiro and Vitória.[3] He played ten times for the club in the 2011 season, without scoring a goal.[3] During that season, he was ruled out of action for three months for sustaining an injury.[6] On 2 November 2011, he signed a contract extension, keeping him at the club till December 2013.[6]

In the 2012 season, Digão started fourteen matches and played a total of seventeen league matches, scoring two goals.[3] These goals were scored against Figueirense[7] and Grêmio.[3] On the continental level, he played three matches in the Copa Libertadores, which included two matches against Boca Juniors and the third against Arsenal de Sarandi.[3] On 2 June 2013, he scored a brace against Criciúma.[8] In the 2013 season, he played the whole 90 minutes of twelve league matches and also featured four times for the side in Copa Libertadores.[3] On 5 June 2013, he renewed his contract with Fluminense, keeping him at the club till December 2015.[9]

Al-Hilal

In December 2013, Digão signed for Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal for £ 6.5 million, joining former Brazilian teammate Thiago Neves.[10] He made his debut against Al Ahli.[3] In his debut season with the Saudi club, he played eight league matches.[3] In the Asian Champions League, he played fourteen times.[3] His team reached the final but lost 1–0 to Australian club Western Sydney Wanderers in the first leg.[11] In the second leg, the clubs drew as the Australian club was crowned winner.[12]

Return to Brazil with Cruzeiro

In July 2017, Digão was signed by Brazilian giants Cruzeiro, once again joining his former teammate Thiago Neves, who played a part in the negotiations, along with former teammates Dedé and Rafael Sóbis, who were also part of Cruzeiro's squad. Digão signed a three-year deal with the Brazilian team. This marked the defense-man return to the Brazilian Serie A after over four years playing for Middle Eastern clubs.

Club statistics

As of match played on 24 May 2016
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Fluminense 2009[3] Série A 80005[lower-alpha 1]02[lower-alpha 2]0150
2010[3] Série A 4030—4[lower-alpha 2]0110
2011[3] Série A 100003[lower-alpha 3]03[lower-alpha 2]0160
2012[3] Série A 172003[lower-alpha 3]08[lower-alpha 2]0282
2013[3] Série A 122004[lower-alpha 3]09[lower-alpha 2]0252
Total 51430150260954
Al-Hilal 2013–14[3] Saudi Pro League 802014[lower-alpha 4]02[lower-alpha 5]0260
2014–15[3] Saudi Pro League 231409[lower-alpha 4]14[lower-alpha 5]2404
2015–16[3] Saudi Pro League 140205[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 5]0220
Total 4518028172884
Career total 96511043133218311

Honours

Club

Fluminense
Al-Hilal
Buriram United

References

  1. 1 2 "Futebol - Elenco Profissional" (in Portuguese). Fluminense Football Club. Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Digão Facts". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Soccerway profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Nautico vs Fluminense". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Ceara vs Fluminense". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Fluminense renova o contrato de zagueiro Digão até dezembro de 2013" (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Figueirense vs Fluminense" (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Fluminense vs Cricuma" (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Digão renova contrato com o Fluminense" (in Portuguese). Netflu. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Fluminense acerta a venda de Digão para o Al Hilal por R$ 6,5 milhões" (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Western Sydney Wanderers grab 1-0 Asian Champions League final advantage over Al-Hilal in first leg". ABC. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Wanderers make history with ACL win". Football Australia. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
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