Deco has claimed the first EPL player of the month.
Why? 2 Goals and 2 assists and as a writer in dailymail describe "Deco has breathed life into Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have been waiting five years for Zola's replacement, for a player who can capture the imagination of the supporters and satisfy the owner's yearning for fantasy football."
'Deco has everything,' said Terry. 'He makes things look easy and he's a class act. We love having him at Chelsea. He's made for us.'
A nice article on dailymail says:
"At 31, Deco has rediscovered the verve that once saw this gifted Brazilian compete with Kaka, Andriy Shevchenko and Ronaldinho for the right to be recognised as the best player in the world and the zest for life that he lost in the dark days of his last season at Barcelona.
At times they were matched by darker nights, when he would pain the town red with Ronaldinho and turned on Barca coach Frank Rijkaard for his one-dimensional tactics. Out until 3am and turning up late for training at 10am, Deco puffed his way through 40 cigarettes a day.
Rijkaard kept his cool, but others were openly critical. Xavier Sala Martin, a high-ranking Barcelona official, said: 'It is unjust that some players are "on holiday". Of 60 training sessions, they only go to 21.
'For many weeks they have been exiled and we disguise them as injuries, but these players have been ostracised and there is an effort to keep them away from the rest of the team.'
Disciplined by the club when he was arrested for drink driving, Deco was in a downward spiral. He was clinging on to the glory days when Porto, led by Jose Mourinho, beat Celtic in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final and then the 3-0 destruction of Monaco in the Champions League Final the following year.
Awards were arriving by the bus load but he was pipped to the prestigious Ballon d'Or by Milan striker Shevchenko. He claimed he lost out because he came 'from a little Portuguese club. He turned down the chance to join Mourinho at Chelsea in 2004 and, instead, followed the path of Romario and Rivaldo, his heroes as a child growing up in Sao Bernardo do Campo, to join one of the biggest clubs in the world.
He thrived in La Liga, scoring wonderful free-kicks or picking his spot from the edge of the area as Barcelona began the journey that took them to their first title in five years. His partnership with Ronaldinho, masterfully described by Luiz Felipe Scolari as a pairing that 'could make rain fall', blossomed as Rijkaard skilfully assembled one of the best club sides in the history of European football.
In 2006 he joined an elite band of players - Clarence Seedorf, Didier Deschamps, Marcel Desailly and Rijkaard among them - to win the Champions League with two different clubs, but the moment Rijkaard allowed the team to run on autopilot, Deco succumbed to temptation. Dovetailing with Ronaldinho on the pitch, they deviated off it.
With two children and a failed marriage back in Brazil, he allowed his relationship with Jacaira, his second wife, to deteriorate. The days dragged and Deco's career was in steep decline.
Despite a brief renaissance at Barca, making an appearance in last season's Champions League semi-final against Manchester United, he was one of three star turns who were told to leave the Nou Camp in the summer.
Former team-mate Eidur Gudjohnsen said: 'He had his problems with injuries last season but he is such a great player, a pleasure to play with. In training he was awesome, always trying new things, and then he would replicate them on the pitch. He'll be a hit at Chelsea.'
As Ronaldinho made plans to join AC Milan and Samuel Eto'o scoured Europe for another club, Deco was indecisive. Italy was an option and there was also the allure of a return to Porto. He was with the Portugal squad preparing for Euro 2008 when Scolari announced he would be joining Chelsea as manager on July 1 and that was the motivation for Deco's move to England.
Scolari wanted this flash of Brazilian brilliance alongside Frank Lampard in midfield, and his Portugal team-mate Ricardo Carvalho convinced Deco that Stamford Bridge should be the next stop in his colourful career.
He wanted to know more; the history, the trophies, the team, the area and the players. He was into it and he was into Scolari, the manager who made his international career.
It was he who had persuaded Deco, overlooked by Brazil, to switch international allegiance.
Luis Figo was critical of the decision, prompting Scolari to declare: 'Anyone who does not want to play with Deco need not turn up.'
Deco marked his debut with a goal which helped Portugal to their first win over Brazil in 37 years and his relationship with Scolari has been rock solid ever since.
He was Scolari's first signing at Chelsea. Expect him to be the most significant. "
Didier Drogba
