BIOGRAPHY AND CAREER
Denílson Pereira Neves, known simply as Denílson born on 16 February 1988 in São Paulo, Brazil is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for English side Arsenal and was the former captain of the Brazil under-17 national team.
Denílson is the second of four sons born to José Neves and Luciene Pereira. His father, José, is a former midfielder at Botafogo in North Brazil. However, he was forced to quit football in order to support his family. Once his family moved to São Paulo, José worked as a security guard for 15 years in order to support his wife and sons, but taught his children the game he loved. When Denílson turned 10, his mother died of a heart condition. Before she died she told Denílson that he would be a great footballer who would "make his dad and her very happy".
Denílson and his family survived extreme poverty as his parents struggled to raise him and his brothers in the dangerous favelas in São Paulo. Many times, he and his brothers could not leave their home because of an ensuing gun fight. Many of Denílson's childhood friends have since died as they were involved in the drug trade
Denílson has played for and captained Brazil at every junior level since he was a member of the under-15 squad. He captained the U17's to a runners-up spot at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship. In November 2006, Denílson was called up to the Brazilian national side for a friendly match against Switzerland to replace his Arsenal team mate Gilberto Silva who pulled out for personal reasons. However, he did not make his debut, as he was an unused substitute in the match.
Denílson is described as "very quiet and polite" and is often compared to Gilberto Silva, his former teammate at Arsenal. Denílson often credits Gilberto with his current success as he acted as a "father" to him when he first moved from Brazil to London.
Denílson is fond of Brazilian music and the samba—he can even be found on YouTube singing and dancing with his former Brazilian Arsenal teammates Gilberto Silva and Júlio Baptista.He typically celebrates his goals by going to the corner flag and dancing a samba in front of fans, which he did when he scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal.
Denílson has played for and captained Brazil at every junior level since he was a member of the under-15 squad.He captained the U17's to a runners-up spot at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship. In November 2006, Denílson was called up to the Brazilian national side for a friendly match against Switzerland to replace his Arsenal team mate Gilberto Silva who pulled out for personal reasons. However, he did not make his debut, as he was an unused substitute in the match.
Denílson is described as "very quiet and polite" and is often compared to Gilberto Silva, his former teammate at Arsenal. Denílson often credits Gilberto with his current success as he acted as a "father" to him when he first moved from Brazil to London.
Denílson is fond of Brazilian music and the samba—he can even be found on YouTube singing and dancing with his former Brazilian Arsenal teammates Gilberto Silva and Júlio Baptista.He typically celebrates his goals by going to the corner flag and dancing a samba in front of fans, which he did when he scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal.
Personal information
Full name: Denílson Pereira Neves
Date of birth: 16 February 1988
Place of birth: São Paulo, Brazil
Height: 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position: Central midfielder
Club information
Current club: Arsenal
Number: 15
Youth career
Sao Paulo
Senior career*
2005–2006 Sao Paulo 12 (0)
2006– Arsenal 94 (11)
National team‡
2005 Brazil U17 6 (1)
