Diego Cavalieri (born 1 December 1982) is a Brazilian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. Cavalieri is of Italian ancestry and holds both Italian and Brazilian passports. He has earned three caps for the Brazil national team between 2012 and 2013 and was part of the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourn ...

winning team.

Club career

Palmeiras

Born in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Cavalieri started his career at

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

, where he made his debut on 24 June 2002 in a 4–0 away win over Rio Claro. Cavalieri played 33 times in the Brazilian Championship.

Liverpool

On 11 July 2008, he signed a four-year contract with

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £3 million. Cavalieri became the third Brazilian player at the club, following the signings of

Fábio Aurélio Fábio Aurélio Rodrigues (born 24 September 1979) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played for Grêmio, São Paulo, Valencia and Liverpool. He played as either a left back or left winger and represented Brazil at under-17 and ...

and

Lucas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, or the Lucas, a 19th-century African-American singing group * Lucas, a 1960s Swedish pop group formed by Janne Lucas Perss ...

. Upon his arrival, he was handed the number 1 shirt, last worn by

Jerzy Dudek Jerzy Henryk Dudek (born 23 March 1973) is a Polish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. After beginning his career in his home country, he went on to have successful ...

. Cavalieri made his competitive debut on 23 September 2008 against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

in the third round of the League Cup. He made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut on 9 December against PSV and his

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

debut against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

almost a month later. Cavalieri appeared four times during the 2009–10 season, taking his total of appearances to eight for the club, though he never made an appearance in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. On 29 July, Cavalieri played the full 90 minutes in Liverpool's first leg of their

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

third qualifying round tie against Macedonian side Rabotnički. Liverpool won 2–0 thanks to a David Ngog header and a

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstad in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to t ...

confirmed Cavalieri would join

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

after the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

tie against

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

. Cavalieri had been unable to dislodge Pepe Reina at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

since the Brazilian keeper joined Liverpool from Palmeiras in 2008. The deal was confirmed on 23 August 2010, with Brad Jones taking the vacated number 1 shirt. He left Anfield for an undisclosed fee, having played ten games in two years for Liverpool, none in the Premier League. Cavalieri did not feature in a

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

game during his six-month stint with Cesena, with head coach

Massimo Ficcadenti Massimo Ficcadenti (born 6 November 1967) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Playing career Ficcadenti was born in Fermo. He started his playing career with Sambenedettese, where he played from 1985 to ...

preferring 41-year-old veteran Francesco Antonioli to him. However, he did play a game in the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

, with Cesena losing to

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

by 3 goals to 1.

Fluminense

On 29 December 2010, Cavalieri returned to Brazil, signing with

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...

. After securing his place in the starting XI during 2011, he was an essential part on Fluminense's title campaign in 2012 First Division, and his displays earned him his debut on

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

and the Best Goalkeeper award in that year.

Crystal Palace

On 2 March 2018, Cavalieri was signed by

club

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

on a short-term contract. He was released by the club in June on expiry of his contract.

Botafogo

In December 2018, Cavalieri signed a contract with

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

, becoming an immediate reserve for Paraguayan goalkeeper

Gatito Fernández Roberto Júnior Fernández Torres (born 29 March 1988), better known as Gatito Fernández, is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Paraguayan Primera División club Cerro Porteño and the Paraguay national team. ...

. In the 2020–21 season Cavalieri took over the team's starting line-up after the injury to Gatito, Botafogo's main goalkeeper. At the end of the same season Cavalieri was injured and lost his starting position to Diego Loureiro. In September 2021, Botafogo announced the termination of Diego Cavalieri's contract.

International career

On 13 November 2012, Cavalieri was called up by

Mano Menezes Luiz Antônio Venker Menezes (born 11 June 1962), known as Mano Menezes, is a Brazilian professional football Coach (sport), coach, currently the head coach of Grêmio FBPA, Grêmio. Menezes managed the Brazil national football team, Brazil na ...

for the Brazil squad that will play

Superclásico de las Américas The Superclassic of the Americas (, ), was an annual Exhibition game, friendly association football, football match between the national teams of Argentina national football team, Argentina and Brazil national football team, Brazil. Established ...

. Playing 90 minutes, Cavalieri, in his debut, won the title.

Club

Honours

Palmeiras *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (commonly referred to as the Brasileirão Série B, the Série B or the Brazilian Série B to distinguish it from the Italian and the Ecuadorian Serie B), and currently officially called Brasileirão Série B ...

: 2003 *

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Fluminense *

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

Brazil *

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Individual * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavalieri, Diego 1982 births Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian people of Italian descent Men's association football goalkeepers 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players SE Palmeiras players São Paulo state football team players Liverpool F.C. players AC Cesena players Fluminense FC players Crystal Palace F.C. players Living people Footballers from São Paulo Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy