Dani (footballer, born 1976)

For other people named "Dani", See Dani.
For other "Daniel Carvalho", See Daniel da Silva Carvalho.

Dani
Dani in 2011
Personal information
Full name Daniel da Cruz Carvalho
Date of birth (1976-11-02) 2 November 1976
Place of birth Lisbon, Portugal
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
1985–1995 Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Sporting CP 10 (0)
1996 → West Ham (loan) 9 (2)
1996–2000 Ajax 72 (12)
2000 Benfica 5 (0)
2000–2003 Atlético Madrid 64 (10)
Total 160 (24)
National team
1995 Portugal U20 15 (6)
1995–1998 Portugal U21 11 (7)
1995–2000 Portugal 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Daniel da Cruz Carvalho (born 2 November 1976), commonly known as Dani, is a retired Portuguese footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder.

He spent most of his eight-year professional career with Ajax after starting out at Sporting, appearing in nearly 100 official games and winning three major titles. He also competed abroad in Spain, with Atlético Madrid.

Club career

A skilled attacking player whose career was cut short by poor professional judgment, Dani was born in Lisbon and began his career with local Sporting Clube de Portugal, making his first-team debuts during 1994–95, aged just 17, in a team which also included Luís Figo, Ricardo Sá Pinto and Bulgarian Krassimir Balakov, and helped the capital side to the season's Portuguese Cup.

In January 1996, Dani served a small stint in the Premier League with West Ham United, scoring at Tottenham Hotspur[1] and at home against Manchester City.[2] Despite playing a decent role in his nine-game career, his season ended when he was sacked by manager Harry Redknapp, when he missed training after being spotted in a nightclub. Subsequently, he represented AFC Ajax, appearing regularly for the Amsterdam club but almost never as an undisputed starter, although he netted an important goal in the 1996–97 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal clash against Atlético Madrid, in a 3–2 away win (4–3 aggregate).[3]

In December 2000, after a brief spell with S.L. Benfica, Dani signed for Atlético Madrid in the Spanish second division, teaming up with compatriot Hugo Leal.[4] After the Colchoneros returned to La Liga, he was pretty much absent for the majority of the 2002–03 campaign and, after failing to find a new team, definitively retired from football in early 2004 at only 27.

International career

Dani earned nine caps for Portugal, the first coming on 12 December 1995 in a 1–1 friendly with England, and the last on 29 March 2000 in a 2–1 success against Denmark (also friendly).

Previously, he appeared for the nation at the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship in Qatar, being awarded the second place in both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards, and also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics where the team reached a final fourth place.[5]

Personal life

Still during his playing career, Dani worked regularly as a model. After retiring, he worked on television.[6]

Honours

Club

Sporting

Ajax

Atlético Madrid

International

Portugal U-20

References

  1. ↑ Moore, Glen (12 February 1996). "Dani buoys West Ham on debut". The Independent. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  2. ↑ Jones, Ken (23 March 1996). "City refuse to employ crisis tactics". The Independent. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  3. ↑ "Babangida thrills Ajax". The Independent. 20 March 1997. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Gil, a vueltas con la persecución política" [Gil, going crazy with political persecution]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 31 December 2000. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Dani – FIFA competition record (archive)
  6. ↑ "Qué fue de… Daniel da Cruz Carvalho 'Dani': era tan guapo que decidió retirarse" [Whatever happened to… Daniel da Cruz Carvalho ‘Dani': he was so good-looking he decided to retire] (in Spanish). 20 Minutos. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
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