How ONE Decision Killed The Career Of "The Perfect Player" 

Diego was the kind of player who makes you fall in love with football as a kid.

As a Werder Bremen fan I cannot see him as anything less than one of the greatest players to ever play in germany

Still got his autograph from the dfb pokal final. What an overlooked legend. A true brazilian magician, a touch of gold, free kicks...... He had it! Very humble aswell.

His 2011-2012 season at Atleti was amazing. He and Arda Turan were magical in the midfield feeding Falcao.

"Zico said Diego reminded him of his younger self" Quite poetic, then, that, years later, Diego was instrumental in helping Flamengo win the Libertadores - a trophy it hadn't won since the days of Zico himself

Diego Ribas in seiner Werder-Zeit war der beste Spieler der Bundesliga. Einfach atemberaubend, was der Junge mit dem Ball machen konnte. Kein Bremen-Fan aber Diego Ribas ist einfach einer meiner Kindheits-Helden. So ein fantastischer Fussballer damals.

Diego also had his redemption at Flamengo, where he won loads of titles, such as 2 copa libertadores!!! It's such a pleasure to have a player of his caliber on my club's history.

Ah i remember this guy. If you play any football manager during 2004 season. Diego is the top target.

So many Brazilian legends... (Petition for a video about Cafu: Week 11/Day 77)

You said it right, the fact that Klaus Allofs was able to replace Micoud (the greatest that ever played for Werder) with Diego is still unbelievable. Diego was the kind of player where you knew from the first game on that the season will be amazing. He was also known to be party animal and dated Sarah Connor (German popstar). All the girls loved him. Since you mentioned Micoud, you should make a portrait about him as well. At Cannes, Bordeaux and the French national team he played together with Zidane, being the exact same age and position, hence why he never made it to world star fame. But he had it all and was very similar to Zidane. Werder bought him from the bench of Parma and it was the same thing - the first game made clear that something special is abou to happen. 2 years later Werder won the double, he made everyone around him better. His nickname wsa Le Chef (Chef being Boss in German) and to this day fans worship him. There are many funny stories, like him never giving interview because he claimed he doesn't speak German (which he did and people just found out years later). And if you need more ideas, look into Pizarro or Ailton (two more Werder legends). Love your videos

I'm a Santos fan, and I was 8 in 2002. That was incredible to see how we won, after many decades, an important tournament. Here in Brazil, the media as a whole was all about Kaka. Robinho had more attention from the media than Diego, also. For me, Diego was the best. Cerebral and skilled, he could be THE playmaker and also the scorer. My older sister is a São Paulo fan and she hated him so much for all he did to her team... He had a pretty decent career end playing for Flamengo (unfortunately Santos could not afford his return), firstly as a technical reference and after a couple of seasons as a mature leader. Even when he was not a part of the starting 11, he was still considered the main leader of the squad.

Diego's season 06/07 at Werder Bremen was 🔥🔥🔥 I still remember his 60 meters goal against my Home town club Alemannia

Diego in his Werder Times made me watch football . It was a pleasure to watch this video ty for making incredible stuff for the fans

That werder bremen team was a very underrated squad. I loved watching diego and ozil dominate the midfield with Pizarro waiting to score every game. Love these type of videos

As a German who watched the Bundesliga for more than 25 years I can undoubtedly say Diego in his prime at Werder Bremen was the 2nd best midfielder I have seen in the league in all these years. The only one I rate higher than him is Ribery. Diego was pure magic on the pitch, so incredibly talented. He just had that special flair and made everything look so easy, kind of like Ronaldinho. Unfortunately his transfers to Juve and Wolfsburg were really bad decisions and ruined his career to a degree. He had the potential to be one of the greatest players in history. It's sad that nowadays he's forgotten by many people.

As a kid I played so much FIFA 07 and boy do I remember Diego fondly from that era. Dude was silky smooth, like butter to play eith

I never hear enough people talk about Eiður Guðjohnsen, a video on him would be class

I remember the Diego hype when he was 16. It was Freddy Adu hype. When he signed for Porto I thought he was going to go on to become one of the best players in the world. He kind of reminded me of Van der Vaart when he moved to Germany because I was thinking why is he going there? Unless it's Bayern why aren't you going to one of the best teams in the world? Then him and VDV both also did a similar thing when they got their huge moves to Real and Juve and never reached the heights they should have reached.

Please do one of abedi Pele 😢

I still remember Diego fondly, considering how much he brought to my favorite team for three years. Filling the immense void that was there when my favorite player, Micoud, moved on from the club and absolutely living up to it. In a way, like many players that Bremen had during that time, he greatly benefitted from the guidance of Thomas Schaaf, who was great in just getting the most out of players like him, Micoud, Ailton, Klasnic and the likes. He knew how to handle players like them, how to get them into the system just right and had a clear vision on what he wanted them to do, even if it meant being a bit more lenient with some players from time to time. And yeah, so the moment I heard about the Juventus transfer and what the coach there was like, I pretty much knew how this would end. Honestly, it was a big shame, and that made him one of the bigger 'What if' scenarios in the sport that I can think of. I still miss that time when he, Özil and Pizarro got us to the UEFA cup final in 2009 a lot - I wish that time could have lasted longer, especially considering where Bremen stands nowadays. But that doesn't take away the fond memories either.

Damn, that Diego and Robinho Combination 🔥🔥, still remember when Real Madrid signed Robinho, and rumours about Diego..

Diego is one of the greatest leaders I've seen on Flamengo. We went from a Copa do Brasil+Libertadores winning season with him to zero titles and fourth place in the league after he retired

Being almost 40 and growing up watching players, like this, who never got their proper chance, thank you very much for bringing insight to players like Diego! The 90s and early 2000s were full of so many amazing players that still play that beautiful physical game! That being said, Kaka was always my favorite player when I was young!

A few months ago I was casually watching some old Werder Bremen games to see a young Ozil playing and I was shocked when I saw a player I didnt know completely outshining him, that's the moment I discovered Diego and I´ve been watching a lot of his games and became a good fan of him. So it's very cool to see you making a video about this amazing player.

I know Diego boss extremely so much and he was a wonderful player to watch,mainly during his time with Santos and Werder Bremen but that debacle happened,good friends!!!

Damnnn... We learn new things everyday... Such an entertaining and informative video ❤🎉

So many times now ive seen a video from you thinking "oh yeah, what happened to that guy?", pressed play, heard the magic words "so, listen to this" and enjoyed a fantastic story. Thank you for bringing all of these

they were calling Ozil "the next Diego". Today, I know who Ozil and am still currently learning who Diego is. Edit: If you're mad about the fact that I don't know him, I'll let you know I think he's absolute shit. No ball skill.

I always bought this guy in Fifa 08 Career Mode to pair with Kaka....what a duo

Every time I hear so 'listen to this' my whole week just gets better

Diego was my favorite player as a 9-year old. Despite being a Bayern München fan, I watched and liked Werder Bremen back then bc of him. He was a big reason that I fell in love with football. I had posters of him, I printed stuff from the internet and played with Werder Bremen on FIFA.

Great idea making a video about him❤

The world may have forgotten but Bremen hasn’t. I was a child, the perfect age to fanboy over stars and Diego was the one player who made me do this. Everything here is pretty focused on Bayern all the time, of course it is the strongest club with the best players but during those three years, if someone tried a fancy trick on the pitch, people of all club affiliation would jokingly compare him to Diego, not any Bayern player. I am blessed to have witnessed the probably last time, there was such an idol at my club. Small note: We didn’t win all four encounters with Hamburg during the series of derbies. We won the cup semifinal on penalties, the league match-up and the UEAF-Cup tie overall, they did win the first leg tho. Doesn’t matter much, since we turned it around in the second leg (thanks paper ball) but I want to be fair.

Great video about a wonderful player. Would love to watch one about Diego's compatriot and teammate (twice) Filipe Luis. Keep it up!

Muito obrigado bro, great video, maybe when you get to 500K followers you could do a video talking about your story and how you started doing videos about the beautiful game ⚽️

I don't get football as much as i should have. But when i listen to you speak about these great men, I get goosebumps.

Thank you for the video - great work! Just a small correction: HSV won one of the 4 derbys. It was the first of 2 games in the UEFA cup semi finals. Didn't matter in the end as Werder won the second match and advanced to the finals. But just to be correct...

Anytime I see a new video uploaded I n your channel, I go so crazy and wild with a “so”😊😊😊

I absolutely love your videos. They teach me something new about football and the players within the sport everytime I watch a new video. Also whats the background music used in these videos? It's so relaxing 😅

amazon prime should give you a lifetime contract!!!! you were meant to do this all your documentaries are really dope and your voice is golden!! keep getting blessed ive watching your videos for years👑

I remember, as a kid in the states in the late 90s / early 2000s trying to find soccer content where i could [thank god for fox soccer Channel] and I still remember when I first saw THAT Diego goal against Aachen [excuse me]. That goal befuddled my young mind. I was like, "you can do that? That's possible for a person to do??" I still love that goal.

Your voice is so good to listen Can u please make a video on lahm ❤

I love your videos

Love your Chanel. Great work. Maybe you can do one off Aritz Aduris

when playing FM in the 2000s, he's my number 1 signing in my squad on any team. Worth every penny.

I remember solely watching Bremen highlights to watch this guy glad he managed to turn it around at the end

Diego was a spark of hope when we were at our lowest. It would have been interesting seeing him in Conte's Juve, but life just takes different turns.

Daily dose of Serotonin🎉

🇧🇷 Diego is one of my fave number 10 of all time! Will never forget that stellar goal he scored against Barcelona at the Camp Nou while playing for AthletiCo Madrid 🥹

As a Brazilian is very pleasant to see your contents talking about our players, is good to see that someone really knows our football history, teams and players... thank you for the video

He is a true legend here in Germany. Great Documentary

Diego in Werder,was something else back in the day. When Juve got him i was hyped,but unfortunately this didn't work. But after Juve move,Diego had a good-decent career in Europe with Wolfsburg,Atletico and Fener he won Europa league and European super cup with Atlectico. And finish his career,with the best possible way for him as a legend with Flamengo winning Libertadores, championships,cups everything. He's was very good and entertaining player,a classic old school number 10.

Man, this made me cry. He got his happy ending at last. I remember as a kid, hyping up a particular Brazil vs Argentina friendly sometime around 2003/4 and both teams, to my surprise, decided to play with absolutely unknown players (ALL the stars were missing and it got me second-guessing if this was a U-22 game). I was expecting Riquelme, Heinze, Crespo etc but got some unknown kid named Messi, while the other team had some kid called Diego, another one called Elano, and Ricardinho. Man who would've thought!! Way to go, son.

Your channel is amazing. I would like you to do a video about Iván De la Peña. He played in Barcelona with Ronaldo, Figo and Giovanni and at some point most people thought he was the best of all, only to... well check it out.

Commenting this as I start the video, I'm really hoping you mention the incredibly funny way Diego got a red card for Porto in the 2004 Intercontinental Cup against Once Caldas. It's always the first thing I think of whenever I think of Diego.

Mano, tenho 19 anos e conheci o Diego pelo flamengo. Não sabia que um dos grandes ídolos do meu clube já havia sido considerado um dos melhores jogadores do mundo. Maior satisfação poder conhecer essa história e ainda rememorar um dos ícones daquele flamengo, uma época mágica.

One of my favorite players as a kid🙌🏾❤️

I've been watching the bundesliga for 17 years and Diego is still the player who has impressed me the most

Diego is one of the best midfielders I've ever seen.

I followed Diego since his youth days in Santos and Brazil. He had an amazing career and was not forgotten at all. He ended his career on top at one of Brazil's top clubs Flamengo and won many titles. He is still very involved with commentator and is widely respected as a very successful former player.

Diego was a joy to watch. Such a great player

I still remember when, in 2009, an Italian newspaper wanted to prove that Serie A wasn't dead yet, because of the arrival of two great stars in Eto'o and Diego that Summer

The cliche RU-vid narration voice killed me about halfway through this.

As a Flamengo fan I have nothing but gratitude, respect and admiration for trusting our project and take us back to the top, where we belong. My captain!

As a brazilian, I can guarantee that this story is a little biased. Diego was the second best player in Santos, behind Robinho. He never corresponded in national team and was not very remembered here during most of his european career. He achieved less than it was expected of him.

Damn I remember those Werder Bremen and Schalke teams during that period, they were really tough to play against. How the mighty have fallen..

I remember when I played FIFA 09 as a kid, with Bremen. I eventually had all the star players (Messi, Ronaldo...) in my squad (and all those with incredible potential in that game, like Anderson etc), but I always played Diego as my #10 and got him up to a 95 rating. Fun times

Im glad I grew up as a german kid watching the bundesliga when he was in his prime. What a joy to watch, I will never forget about him even if it was 20 years ago and I was still a little kid.

Diego wow I even forgot about him. He was very sensational in Germany back in time.

One of my absolute favorite players ever, I will never forget him and I hope the world never does either!

as someone born in Bremen following the club for such a long time I really enjoyed the time Diego was playing for Werder Bremen. Micoud, Diego, Özil, de Bruyne...we really had some great playmakers on our teams. Back in the days when we were challenging Chelsea, Juventus, Bayern and others. Diego out of all of the ones I named might have had the best ball handling and it really looked like he and the ball were one unit.

I am a Werderfan because He played so good .That was in 2007. He was back then and now my favorite player . Still in the Present he is a fan favorite and rated like a micoud . What a Legend he was❤

I started paying attention to the beautiful game in the mid- late 00s after the 06 WC.. but really didnt get into it seriously until Euro 08 and after... And I was still learning the player pool until the 2010s.. so I remember that FIFA 11 was the first club fifa game I had played... (I played Fifa WC 06 a metric ton with my best friend) And as I would look at attacking midfielders during the transfer market I would always think to myself (who is this highly rated guy Deigo on Wolfsburg) lol Now I know the backstory of this.. so thank you for the video ...

still a pretty nice trophy collection dope ending to a great career also great sportmanship on not retiring injured he came back and proved himself respect

i'm a brazilian and grew up with diego. He has magical. Later on he played ofr my team flamengo, became an idol, but he as not the same. Great player

Daily Dose of Football never fails to spread my cheeks ☺️.

As a football manager fan, Diego was class, what a legend

I remember seeing Diego in the fifa 18 world cup mode and I was so happy for him

I will never forget about him!

Didn't exactly 'kill' his career did he? Playing for the likes of Porto, Atletico and Juve, plus Brazil with various trophies is a career many would dream of. Having talent doesn't always equal success.

Can you make a video on Dayro Moreno? Just saw a clip of him scoring a beautiful goal with Talleres and making a quick search of his career realized that his stats are pretty impressive. A video from you would be a treat addition to your channel.

Always bought Diego on FIFA. ..also i watch bundesliga with him at bremen alot. amazing player

A wonderful signing on Championship Manager

I was so happy when Diego joined Juventus ! His 60m goals in Werder Bremen is one of the greatest goals of all time !

One day you on this channel would tell my story too. Love from india brother ❤ you are doing great ❤🇮🇳

This guy was my go to in championship manager and football manager. Special player

I was a kid when my team Juventus signed Diego it was the best day ever because I had seen him play for Werder and he was brilliant. It was sad to see that Diego and later Krasic and Elia were so promising talents but they all failed because the team was in a transitional phase with lots of coaches and players going in and out.

TÁ MALUCO! Ídolo brabo do Flamengo, ninguém esqueceu dele aqui não

That strike, while at Atletico. I still remember. He was a gem there.

The best 10 that Werder has ever had 💚🤍. He came to replace the best and became the best! Diego was the kind of player that made you fell in love with football as a kid. We will probably never see players like that again

Fascinating

I remember this guy. Diego Ribas. Never knew he was that good

I remember using him in fifa 2008 career mode with bale and other players ... time flies 😩😴

i recommend you to make video about the first prototype player Ruud Gullit now we understand about player who can play in any position thanks to football manager game mainly because player like van den borre who had all the position tick in game but imagine back in the day player like gullit who start play his career as central defender for harleem and managed to progress to right back central midfielder defensive midfielder right wing attacking midfielder second striker and striker succesfully palying in all that position truly remarkable player the first prototype player for me who embodied "he can play every where he assigned to"

Fifa made me never forget this goat🙌🏾

a fun fact is that during the pandemic with diego underperfrlormimg as a cam started playing as a cdm improving Flamengo's goal kicks and being a key player to win the Brasileirão 2020. Although that level of performance wasnt kept it was fun to see while it lasted

Used to slide him into my Brazil line-ups in the 60th minute as a striker

I was his sub in Werder 07/08 season , I was playing for the reserves I move from Werder just for him 😮 he was that good . For me he was outstanding player bad agent , if he move to Real ,not Juve if only … still king respect for the video

That rabona assist at Porto 👌

make a video about Andrés D'alessandro!!! greetings from Brazil