Mineiro

Carlos Luciano da Silva, nicknamed Mineiro (born on 2 August 1975, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul) is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for English Premier League team Chelsea. He usually plays as a Defensive Midfielder and is best known for his dribbling skills.

His nickname "Mineiro" means somebody from the state of Minas Gerais, even though he is actually from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. This nickname was given to him because he resembles a former player of Corinthians called Mineiro.

Club career

Mineiro scored a famous goal against Liverpool in the final of the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship in Yokohama, Japan, which eventually decided the title in favour São Paulo.

He won the Campeonato Paulista in 2004 and 2005, playing for São Caetano and São Paulo, respectively, and also won, playing for São Paulo, the Copa Libertadores de América and the FIFA Club World Championship in 2005.

On 3 February 2007, he had his Bundesliga debut for Hertha in a game against Hamburger SV.[2] He was brought on for the last 20 minutes and scored his first goal for Berlin, a spectacular game-winning goal (2–1), shooting from more than 25 yards, in the last seconds of injury time.

On 24 September 2008, it was announced that Mineiro had signed for Chelsea as a back up for the injured Michael Essien until the end of the 2008–09 season.

Mineiro made his Chelsea debut on 1 November 2008 against Sunderland in a league match. He came on for Nicolas Anelka who had already scored a hat-trick leading Chelsea to a 5-0 victory.

Despite already having played for Chelsea he was not formally revealed to the press until 7 November during a press conference at Chelsea's training ground in Cobham, Surrey. During the press conference it was confirmed Mineiro was on a contract of £30,000 per week to play as Chelsea's third choice defensive midfielder.

International career

Mineiro made his international debut in April 2001 against Peru.

Mineiro was a late call-up for Brazil's 2006 World Cup squad. A knee injury sustained by Barcelona midfielder Edmílson in the run-up to the tournament forced him to withdraw, resulting in a call-up for Mineiro, but he did not receive any playing time in Germany.