Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa

Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, better known as Alex, (born 17 June 1982 in Niterói) is a Brazilian professional football player. Alex plays as a centre back currently for Chelsea and the Brazil national football team.

Having been bought by the Premier League club Chelsea in 2004, Alex finally joined the Chelsea squad in the summer of 2007 after three years on loan to PSV in the Netherlands. Alex is famously known among PSV fans for his great strength, his imposing appearance and his cannonball-like freekicks which earned him the nickname "The Tank".

Club career

Santos

Alex began his career with Santos of Brazil, making his first team debut in 2002. He was signed by English club Chelsea in 2004 on the recommendation of famed PSV and Chelsea scout Piet de Visser, but because of potential problems in attaining a work permit, he was loaned out to Dutch club PSV.

PSV

 The joint contract of Chelsea and PSV loaned Alex to PSV for three years, with Chelsea having a €1 buy-out clause. Alex eventually played three years at PSV, donning the number 4 jersey for the Dutch club.

He formally joined PSV in the 2004–05 season, helping the club win a domestic double of both the Dutch Eredivisie championship and Dutch Cup that year. In the UEFA Champions League 2004-05, Alex played a key role in the PSV team that was eliminated in the semi-finals against Milan on away goals (PSV won their home game 3–1 but had previously lost 0–2 in San Siro). The team eliminated Monaco and Lyon on their way to the semis.

Alex won a second straight Dutch league championship in the 2005–06 season with PSV. Chelsea did not recall Alex, even though Abramovich adviser Piet de Visser and Chelsea head of scouting Frank Arnesen recommended that Alex be brought over from PSV to solve the club's defensive problems. Instead, Chelsea manager José Mourinho insisted on the signing of Khalid Boulahrouz instead. Therefore, Alex stayed a third season at PSV on loan in 2006–07. He won a third straight Eredivisie title with PSV, after a dramatic final-day finish to the season in which PSV sensationally trumped both Ajax and AZ. Alex scored in a UEFA Champions League first knockout round against Arsenal for both teams in the second half, turning in an own goal past his own goalkeeper Gomes, but compensating for it with a storming headed goal with eight minutes left to play to redeem himself and in the process ensure PSV a place in the quarter finals. However, he was later injured and played no part in PSV's UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool, which PSV lost 4–0 on aggregate.

Chelsea

 In an interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Alex confirmed that Chelsea were in the process of getting him a work permit and that the possibilities of him joining Chelsea next season were very high. Alex later confirmed that Chelsea had almost completed the process of acquiring him a work permit and that he would start next season as a Chelsea player.

Alex was granted a work permit on 2 August 2007, and completed his transfer to Chelsea after agreeing personal terms and passing a medical, signing a three year deal, and adding to Chelsea's options at centre-back, along with team captain John Terry, Portuguese international Ricardo Carvalho, and Israeli international Tal Ben Haim.

On 14 August 2007, Alex was presented to the English media, in a press conference with manager José Mourinho, and was given shirt number 33. He made his debut on 19 August 2007 when he came on as a substitute for Florent Malouda against Liverpool in the 85th minute, with the teams tied at 1–1. He also played in the 2–0 defeat away at Aston Villa and the 4–0 victory over Hull City in the Carling Cup.

Alex scored his first goal for Chelsea on 20 October 2007, bulging the net from a free kick 30 yards out against Middlesbrough. He scored another goal from a free kick on 28 November 2007 in a Champions League game against Rosenborg. He then scored in Chelsea's 4-4 draw with Aston Villa, scoring his first goal at Stamford Bridge from an Andriy Shevchenko pass, taking his tally for the season to 3.

Alex again wasn't a first team starter for the 2008/09 season, however he has been playing regularly at centreback due to frequent injuries to Ricardo Carvalho.

He scored Chelsea's 1000th Premier League goal against Sunderland on 1 November 2008. Alex has so far started every game for Chelsea after the arrival of Guus Hiddink, who managed Alex at PSV. He also scored in an FA Cup quarter-final against Coventry.

In the 2009 Champions League Quarter-finals (second leg at Stamford Bridge) against Liverpool, Alex scored a sensational canonball freekick from 30 yards to level the score 2-2. Chelsea would eventually draw the game 4-4 with Liverpool and move on to the Champions League Semi-finals against Barcelona on aggregates (7-5).

Chelsea fans have begun to sing a song for Alex to the Tune of Oh Paokara the lyrics are:

"Oh Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, he's from Brazil he plays alongside Terry and he's just a bit hard give him the ball outside the box he'll score from 30 yards"

On 10 May, Alex scored a header in Chelsea's 4-1 win over Arsenal in the Premier League from a Didier Drogba free-kick. The goal was his second against the Gunners in his career.

International career

Alex made his debut for Brazil on July 17, 2003 against Mexico in 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Although he played under Brazil U-23 team at the tournament, the tournament was a full international tournament, hence the international cap gained was fully recognized by FIFA.

He was overlooked for the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. However, after the World Cup, he earned regular call-ups with the new head coach, Dunga. He was a member of the Brazil squad that won the Copa América 2007 with a 3–0 victory over arch-rivals Argentina in the final.