Brazil emang gudang pemain2 jempolan. Blom habis masa2 Ronaldo, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Robinho, dll, sudah muncul bintang muda baru yg ga kalah oke.
Lucas Leiva salah satunya. Mantan Kapten Brazil U-20 yg memimpin Brazil dapetin Copa America U- 20 th. 2007 juga penerima Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball) TERMUDA, dibanding bintang besar penerima gelar itu sebelumnya macam Zico, Falcao, Careca, Romario, Kaká and Tevez. Menarik klo Lucas kita bandingin ama "calon bintang" Brazil lainnya seperti Pato, misalnya. Pemain Milan yg baru akan merumput Januari th.depan ini memang sangat diharapkan dapat mengangkat performa buruk Milan di Seri A. So, hebat mana Lucas dibandingkan Pato ? Lucas Pezzini Leiva Date of birth 9 January 1987 (1987-01-09) (age 20) Lucas Pezzini Leiva (born 9 January 1987 in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul) is a Brazilian midfielder, who currently plays for Liverpool FC. In Brazil he has been publicly known solely by his first name, Lucas. He is the nephew of former Brazilian football player Leivinha and holds an Italian passport. [edit] Career Lucas started his career with Grêmio, making his first team debut on October 22, 2005 in a 1-0 win over Náutico in Serie B.[1] Grêmio went on to win the league that season, with only seven players on the field, gaining promotion to the top tier of Brazilian football. 2006 was a successful year for Lucas and Grêmio, winning the Rio Grande do Sul state championship (the Campeonato Gaúcho) for the first time since 2001, and also coming third in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Lucas also became the youngest player to ever to receive Placar magazine's Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball), given to the best player in the Campeonato Brasileiro an honour previously won by the likes of Zico, Falcao, Careca, Romario, Kaká and Tevez.[2] In October 2006 Lucas was brought into the senior Brazilian squad for friendlies against Kuwaiti club Al-Kuwait and Ecuador. Lucas was both the youngest member and one of only two non-Europe-based players in a strong squad. He made his debut for Brazil on October 7, 2006 coming on as a second half substitute against Al-Kuwait. Brazil won the match 4-0. However, this appearance does not count as his first cap as the match was not considered an official friendly match by FIFA. [citation needed] His form in 2006 led to reported interest from many major European clubs including Milan, Palermo, Inter, Juventus, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona.[3] Lucas is the former captain of the Brazilian Under-20 team. He helped the team to victory in the 2007 South American Youth Championship, scoring 4 goals in the process. He was expected to lead the team again in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup which was contested in Canada in July 2007 and was named in their squad. However an injury in training kept him from playing for 3 weeks, leading to his withdrawal from the squad.[4] On May 13, 2007 Liverpool confirmed the acquisition of Lucas and he joined the club from Grêmio before the start of the 2007-08 season. [5] The transfer fee is rumoured to be worth in the region of 8 million.[6] Lucas remained with Grêmio until the end of their 2007 Copa Libertadores campaign. They made it to the final where they would meet Boca Juniors. Lucas however, had a niggling injury, causing him to start the first leg on the bench. With Grêmio 1-0 down, Sandro Goiano was sent off. Lucas was brought on to help shore up the midfield, but to no avail as Grêmio finished 3-0 losers. Lucas was back in the starting line-up for the second leg, but again Grêmio were defeated, this time 2-0. On July 26 he was officially unveiled as a Liverpool player and was given international clearance to compete in the final of the Barclays Asia Trophy[7]. On July 27, he made his debut in the match against Portsmouth by substituting Sissoko on the second half. Lucas gained his first official Brazil international cap on August 22, 2007, coming on as a substitute in a friendly against Algeria.[8] He made his debut at Anfield on the 28th of August in a Champions League Qualifier against Toulouse. He made his Premier League debut on 20 October against Everton FC, coming on as a substitute for Steven Gerrard and was denied his first goal for the club by Phil Neville's handball, however the resultant penalty was scored and led to a Liverpool victory.
