Lucas Leiva

First Name	Lucas
Surname	Leiva
Squad Number	21
Position	Central Midfield
Height	1.79m
Weight	73 kg
D.O.B.	9 Jan 1987
Town of Birth	Dourados
Country of Birth	Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian
Total Appearances	183
Total Goals	6

Lucas, a Brazilian, plays as a holding mid-fielder for both Liverpool FC and Brazil.

This South American, during his initial days found it very difficult to win over the Anfield loyals, but as the saying goes ‘Class is permanent, form is temporary’, his class has shown now that only a certain Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez appear more often in the back of the fan wear than himself.

He arrived at Anfield in 2007 from Gremio during the days when Rafael Benitez was at charge. It was quite a coup, with a large number of European clubs apparently circling the Brazilian.

Lucas broke into the scene in 2005 and soon became the youngest player to win the Bola de Ouro, an award that was previously won by the likes of Zico, Romario, Kaka and Carlos Tevez. This award is given to the best player in Campeonato Brasileiro.

The Brazilian notched up more than 30 appearances in his debut season, breaking his Anfield duck in style with a 25-yard curler in the FA Cup against Havant and Waterlooville.

The No.21 tallied a further 39 appearances during his second season at Anfield despite stiff competition from established stars Mascherano and Xabi Alonso. The highlight came when he stood in for the latter as Liverpool thrashed title rivals Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford in March 2009.

Alonso's departure to Real Madrid a few months later meant Lucas was now an integral part of the team - and he seemed to relish his new found responsibility. The Brazilian was voted our Young Player of the Season for 2009-10, proof of how far he'd come in the eyes of Kopites.

The following season, with Kenny Dalglish now at the helm, the likeable anchor-man signed a new long-term contract before going one better than the previous year by winning the fans' Player of the Season.

Now one of the first names on the teamsheet for Brazil, he featured in the Copa America 2011 - but it ended miserably for the Liverpool man when he earned a red card during a quarter-final defeat to Paraguay.

Back in England, Lucas's performances just kept getting better in 2011-12 and he was now regarded as one of the Premier League's finest midfielders, but his campaign ended cruelly in November when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his knee during a Carling Cup victory at Stamford Bridge.

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