Background and career
Tiago Cardoso Mendes (Portuguese pronunciation: [tiˈaɣu kɐɾˈðozu ˈmẽdɨʃ]; born 2 May 1981), known simply as Tiago, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played in five of Europe's major leagues, Portugal, England, France, Italy and Spain. He notably spent eight seasons with Atlético Madrid, winning five major titles including the 2013–14 La Liga and the 2012 Europa League. A Portugal international on 66 occasions, Tiago represented the nation in two World Cups and Euro 2004. He later worked briefly as a manager.
Born in Viana do Castelo, Tiago first came to prominence at Braga (having started out at Vianense, he also played handball for one year as a youth), being cast into the Minho side's starting XI at the age of just 18 and helping with 27 games as they finished in fourth place in 2001, thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In late December 2001, solid displays earned Tiago – and Braga teammates Armando Sá and Ricardo Rocha – a move to giants Benfica. In his first full season he scored a career-best 13 goals to help to a runner-up position in the Primeira Liga and, the following year, won the Taça de Portugal against Porto.
Tiago signed for Chelsea on 20 July 2004 for a €15 million fee, becoming José Mourinho's sixth signing that season (this included three other Portuguese players). Having missed the first Premier League game, he soon became an important member of his new team, scoring on his away debut against Crystal Palace on 24 August; he also scored a long-range goal in a 3–1 win over Manchester United on 10 May 2005, after already having won the title. Tiago was a regular for Chelsea, having only missed four games in the league. He ended the season successfully as a firm fixture in the Blues' midfield three, making 51 appearances in all competitions and scoring four goals as the club also added the Football League Cup. However, despite his initial success, the following campaign saw the arrival of Michael Essien from Lyon, which limited his first-team chances; during his time at Stamford Bridge, his loss percentage in the league was 2.94%, just once in 34 appearances – 1–0 at Manchester City on 16 October 2004 – which was the lowest in history for any player having appeared at least 20 times.
In late August 2005, Tiago signed for Lyon on a four-year contract, for a €10.1 million transfer fee. Usually playing in a defensive midfield role alongside Juninho Pernambucano, Mahamadou Diarra and Florent Malouda, he excelled for his team, scoring seven goals in 37 appearances. The highlights of his first season in France were a pair of goals against PSV Eindhoven that took them into the quarter-finals in the UEFA Champions League, and the winning goal against Troyes on 1 April 2006; the club finished top of Ligue 1, winning a fifth consecutive accolade. After the departure of Diarra to Real Madrid the following campaign, Tiago began to play a more significant role in Lyon's midfield with his former teammate's replacement Jérémy Toulalan. He won his second league title and helped reach the final of the Coupe de la Ligue, lost to Bordeaux after a last-minute strike; overall, he netted six times in 38 matches.
On 17 June 2007, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas confirmed that Tiago's departure from Lyon was imminent with both Juventus and AC Milan reportedly after his signature; he officially signed for the former five days later, for a €13 million fee. His performance in 2007–08 was criticised, however, with Goal.com describing him as the third biggest flop of the season.
The start of the following campaign gave Tiago an opportunity to return to the Premier League in the form of year-long loan offer from Everton, with the Italians agreeing to the deal but with the player refusing to terms. The negotiations had a violent end when he forcibly locked Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli inside a toilet stall – the chairman was finally rescued by captain Alessandro Del Piero, more than an hour later. He eventually established himself in Claudio Ranieri's side but, in November 2008, against Inter Milan, he was stretchered off the pitch with a serious knee injury just several minutes into the match, and was sidelined for almost two months. Tiago returned to the bench for the January match against Lazio, but found himself down the pecking order as Cristiano Zanetti, Mohamed Sissoko, and emerging youngster Claudio Marchisio were Ranieri's preferred centre midfield pairing. Following injuries to Sissoko and later Marchisio he was back in the starting XI, but his return was soured by a straight red card in the Derby d'Italia fixture in April (1–1 home draw). The first half of 2009–10 was one to forget for Tiago. With the arrivals of midfielders Diego and Felipe Melo, coupled by his slight dip in form, his appearances were again limited; under Ciro Ferrara he was relegated to the bench once again, only making seven Serie A appearances.
