Deco's first season in England eventually became a frustrating one after making the very brightest of starts.

Superb goals in his first two Chelsea appearances quickly made him a favourite with fans, but injury problems took their toll on the Brazilian-born playmaker, limiting him to just 17 league starts.

Things looked bright following a summer arrival from Barcelona, where he had spent the previous four seasons, with Goal of the Month contenders on his debut against Portsmouth and in his second game against Wigan, the only goal in an otherwise forgettable match.

His influence under his former international manager Luiz Felipe Scolari remained high until late September, when a muscle injury in the warm-up ruled him out of the home game with Manchester United.

His return a month later saw a 5-0 win against Middlesbrough, but things were beginning to run less smoothly.

A red card away at Roma, given for two yellow cards (one of which was for taking a free-kick too quickly) was the next setback.

There was one more piece of magic, a dynamic overhead kick away at Bolton, before injuries again set in, again against Manchester United but this time to the hamstring.

The 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford in January was seen as a low point in the season, and the midfielder didn't start another league game until mid-March, when he limped out of the Manchester City home game four minutes before half-time.

By that point Scolari had been replaced by Guus Hiddink, who instructed a lengthy period of rest and rehabilitation, before a final sub appearance of the season in the 4-3 win over Bolton in April.

That left the diminutive midfield man with season stats of 22+8 appearances.

Fit again in the new season, he has been a beneficiary of Carlo Ancelotti's diamond formation, usually at the head of midfield, but he also impressed in pre-season playing in front of the defence, from where he could play a 'quarterback' style role, using his impressive array of passing skills to create chances for others.

Full name Anderson Luis de Souza, Deco joined Chelsea before the start of last season, linking up with Scolari after the pair worked together for the past five years with the Portuguese national team, whom Deco had represented having spent five years as a citizen there.

In his time with Barcelona, Deco won a host of silverware, including two La Liga titles and a second Champions League to follow up the one he won with Porto in 2004.

The Portuguese appeared over 100 times in Barça colours, including each of the six European matches we played against them between 2004 and 2006. He scored the opening goal in the 2-2 draw in Camp Nou in 2006/07.

He joined the Porto exodus after Champions League success in 2004, following Chelsea-bound manager José Mourinho and defenders Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho out of the door.

He had been signed by Porto in the 1998/99 season after impressing for city rivals SC Salgueiros, and over the next five years established himself as one of the most accomplished midfielders in Europe.

Three league titles and a Uefa Cup win against Celtic in 2003, in which he was Man of the Match preceded an unlikely Champions League success a year later.

Deco was again inspirational, stroking home the second goal in his side's 3-0 win over Monaco in the Final.

Born in Sao Bernardo in August 1977, Deco began his professional career with Corinthians before deciding to head to Europe for a brief spell with Benfica in 1997, taking up Portuguese citizenship and making his debut against his native country in March 2003, under Scolari, who had not picked him while coach of Brazil.

Since then he has been a key member of the side, reaching the final of Euro 2004 and the semi-finals of the World Cup two years later.