„Diego is the best“, was the title from ‚Kicker‘ sport magazine on Tuesday, remarking on their most recent publication of a survey held by the magazine. 268 Bundesliga players were involved in the vote and chose in over a dozen categories, the winners and losers of the 2006/2007 season. Right at the top of the pile was Werder Bremen’s wiry Brazilian. 50,7% of those polled selected Diego as the best outfield player of the last season. A particularly stunning achievement considering the 22 year old was playing his first season in the Bundesliga. The midfield playmaker came second in the listings for scorer points with 13 goals and 14 assists behind his team mate Miroslav Klose (13 goals and 15 assists). Werder.de has put together some more interesting statistics surrounding the impressive performances of the Brazilian international.
You can rely on Diego: Diego played 33 of Werder’s 34 Bundesliga games and was only substituted out ahead of time on four occasions.
A tough nut: The Brazilian was fouled a total of 171 times, more than any other player in the league. Notable – not once was he seriously injured during the season.
Diego the battler: During the course of the previous season, Diego entered into 517 tackle on the ball and won a respectable 53,4%. Only Alemannia Aachen’s Sascha Rösler entered into more challenges with 535. The midfielder was also in first place in his team for dribbling with 133 to his name.
An eye for goal: Diego struck on the opposition goal 88 times – more than any other Werder man. 38 shots were directly on goal, 29 proved off target and 21 were blocked with 13 finding the net – one from the penalty spot, three directly from free-kicks. He scored twelve with his right and just the one with his left. From the nine goals scored from open play, six were from inside the box and three from distance.
Assists in abundance: With 14 assists to his credit, Diego is second only to Miroslav Klose (15) in the Bundesliga rankings. Werder’s number 10 set up a total of 69 shots on goal, made 1,375 passes (270 in the Werder half, 1,105 in the opposition half). To add to that he played in 158 crosses.