Lucas Leiva

Lucas Leiva is a defensive midfielder of Liverpool F.C. He was born on 9 January 1987 in Dourados, Brazil.

Lucas began his professional career in 2005 by signing his first contract with Grêmio after finishing its academy. From the first season the head coach let Lucas make starts in the main team, where Leiva felt rather comfortable despite lacking pro-football playing experience. During two seasons the midfielder took part in 38 matches of the club and scored four goals.

English side Liverpool took an interest in the footballer after his two seasons with Grêmio and the management of the club sent its scouts to Brazil. The scouts liked the performance of the young midfielder and thought he could get used to the style of ‘The Reds’ quickly. In the spring 2007 Liverpool announced the signing of a contract with Lucas Leiva for £5 million. In 2007/2008 Lucas started to take part in matches without any delay and felt more and more confident each time. During five years from 2007, the footballer has made 123 appearances for the club and netted one goal, which was quite surprising for him as a defensive midfielder.

In 2007 the Brazilian footballer played nine matches and contributed four goals for the Brazil national U-20 team. In 2008 he took part in seven matches of the U-23 team and from 2007 Lucas was capped for 20 matches of ‘Pentacampeões’.