Lúcio sport association football
Club career
Early career
Lúcio started playing football for his hometown club Planaltina as a forward. In 1997, now playing as a defender, he was loaned to Guará, then current Campeonato Brasiliense champions, for their match against Internacional for 1997 Copa do Brasil. Despite a 0–7 home loss, he impressed the Porto Alegre club and was purchased.Internacional
At Internacional, Lúcio later became a starting centre-back and had his best year in 2000, receiving his first call-up to the Brazil national team and being awarded the Bola de Prata as one of the two best centre-backs of the 2000 Campeonato Brasileiro.Bayer Leverkusen
In January 2001, he moved to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. The following season was bittersweet for Leverkusen, as the club surrendered a five-point lead atop the Bundesliga by losing two of its last three matches while Borussia Dortmund swept ahead with three consecutive victories in the final matches to finish a point ahead of Leverkusen. They also experienced defeat in the 2002 DFB-Pokal Final, losing 4–2 to Schalke 04, and in the 2002 UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid, in which Lúcio cancelled out Raúl's eighth-minute goal just five minutes later with a header, only for Zinedine Zidane to give Real a 2–1 win with a sublime volley just before half-time. Despite the disappointing end to the season, Lúcio's impressive individual displays drew the attention of several of Europe's top clubs. In July 2003, Roma made an official bid, but the deal fell through.
athletics competitive physical activity physical competition