A huge figure in Werder’s history has turned away from the football stage. After just about 60 minutes during the Flamengo’s Brazilian Serie A league game on Sunday, Diego Ribas da Cunha (Diego for short) left the pitch one final time. During his time at Werder Bremen, the midfielder was one of the best players in the Bundesliga.
He took his first steps in professional football as a midfielder for his hometown team, FC Santos. Then after two years, the then 19-year-old was on the move to Europa, joining FC Porto. Following nearly 50 appearances in the Portuguese top division, as well as another 10 games in the Champions League, SVW’s interest piqued. The young Brazilian hadn’t been utterly convinced by Porto and that’s when Werder were able to lure him across to Bremen.
On the July 1st 2006, Diego made the switch to the Green-Whites. Diego replaced Werder legend Johan Micoud as the chief playmaker. It wasn’t exactly small shoes to fill a 19-year-old who had just one season of European top flight football under his belt, but Diego put in a host of convincing performances across his first season.
On 13.08.2006, the new signing marked his first Bundesliga appearance with a goal and two assist against Hannover 96. To top it all off, he was named as the Bundesliga player of the month in his first month at the club. It was an award that he would go on to win a further four times. His statistics after his first season were more than impressive: 13 goals and 14 assists. Only one teammate, Miroslav Klose, scored more goals that season for Werder. Amongst the host of Diego’s goal was the unforgettable goal of the season against Alemannia Aachen in 2007. In the closing stages of the game, the visitor’s goalkeeper had headed into the Bremen penalty area for a free kick. After a weak free kick, Diego collected the ball from his own half and made the snap decision to go for goal. The Brazilian struck the ball and found the empty net from 63.8 meters out. Largely thanks to Diego’s exploits over the season, Werder secured a third-place finish that season in the league.
The success carried on right away in the following season, as Diego continued to deliver. His goal tally remained the same and he once again registered a double digit assist figure, his 11 not being topped by any of his teammates. The Green-Whites continued to improve and had a great season, finishing only behind Bayern München on 66 points.
In his third and final season at Werder, Diego made just 13 Bundesliga appearances due to injuries and suspensions, the latter meaning he missed out on the UEFA Cup final. Nevertheless, he still had a strong campaign, finishing with 12 goals and seven assists. Werder came out with silverware, winning the DFB-Pokal, as Diego scored twice and provided three assists during the tournament. One of them, however was particularly important: In a hard-fought final, on 30th May 2009, Diego set up the match-winning goal from a young Mesut Özil to beat Bayer Leverkusen. In the UEFA Cup final, his absence was notable, and Werder missed the Brazilian’s playmaking abilities. The game ended in a painful 2-1 loss against Shakhtar Donetsk in extra time, meaning Diego’s Werder career was not to be capped off with one more trophy. The following Bundesliga campaign was rather disappointing too in comparison to the successful seasons, with head coach Thomas Schaaf’s side finishing in 10th.
Diego’s transfer was announced before the season ended, with Italian outfit Juventus buying the playmaker out of his contract with the Green-Whites. After 132 games with 54 goals and 32 assists, Diego left Werder and continued his journey in Serie A.
After various other stints in the European game, including one with VfL Wolfsburg, Diego returned to his home country in 2016. Since transferring to top Brazilian side Flamengo six years ago, the now 37-year-old has enjoyed a whole host of success, adding 12 titles to his already impressive collection. Diego therefore won a total of 22 club honours, as well as the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games – but his retirement brings this success to a close.
