Background and career
Lucimar Ferreira da Silva (born 8 May 1978), commonly known as Lúcio (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈlusju]), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. A tall and physically strong defender who excelled in the air, he is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. His long, surging, galloping runs on the ball earned him the nickname O Cavalo ("The Horse").
Lúcio began his professional career in 1998 with Internacional. After three years in the club, he moved to Bayer Leverkusen, where he reached the 2002 UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid, in which he scored the equaliser but lost 2–1. In 2004, he arrived at Bayern Munich, where he won three cups and three Bundesliga titles. Since coach Louis van Gaal did not have a place for him at Bayern, he decided to search for a new team, moving to Inter Milan in the summer of 2009. He won the treble with Inter in 2010, helped them win the 2010 Champions League against his former club Bayern Munich.
With Brazil, Lúcio has accumulated a number of significant accomplishments, winning the 2002 World Cup, 2005 Confederations Cup and 2009 Confederations Cup. After the retirement of Kaká, he was the last active player of the 2002 winning team.
