Rodrigo Junior Paula Silva (born 7 May 1988, in Duque de Caxias), also called Digão, is a Brazilian footballer.[1][2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rodrigo Junior Paula Silva[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 7 May 1988[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Duque de Caxias, Brazil[2] | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back[2] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2013 | Fluminense[2] | 92 | (4) |
| 2014–2016 | Al-Hilal | 45 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Al-Sharjah | 26 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | Cruzeiro | 15 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Fluminense (loan) | 64 | (5) |
| 2020 | Fluminense | 22 | (2) |
| 2020–2022 | Buriram United | 11 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 May 2022 | |||
Club career
Fluminense
Digão played for Fluminense between 2009 and 2013.[3] He made his debut for the club in a draw against Náutico.[3] He started that match and played the whole 90 minutes.[4] In his first season with the club, he featured eight times in league matches but did not score a goal.[3] His first match for the 2010 season was against Ceará.[3] However, Fluminense lost it by a single goal.[5] He played further three times for the club in league, against Atlético Goianiense, Atlético Mineiro and Vitória.[3] He played ten times for the club in the 2011 season, without scoring a goal.[3] During that season, he was ruled out of action for three months for sustaining an injury.[6] On 2 November 2011, he signed a contract extension, keeping him at the club till December 2013.[6]
In the 2012 season, Digão started fourteen matches and played a total of seventeen league matches, scoring two goals.[3] These goals were scored against Figueirense[7] and Grêmio.[3] On the continental level, he played three matches in the Copa Libertadores, which included two matches against Boca Juniors and the third against Arsenal de Sarandi.[3] On 2 June 2013, he scored a brace against Criciúma.[8] In the 2013 season, he played the whole 90 minutes of twelve league matches and also featured four times for the side in Copa Libertadores.[3] On 5 June 2013, he renewed his contract with Fluminense, keeping him at the club till December 2015.[9]
Al-Hilal
In December 2013, Digão signed for Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal for £ 6.5 million, joining former Brazilian teammate Thiago Neves.[10] He made his debut against Al Ahli.[3] In his debut season with the Saudi club, he played eight league matches.[3] In the Asian Champions League, he played fourteen times.[3] His team reached the final but lost 1–0 to Australian club Western Sydney Wanderers in the first leg.[11] In the second leg, the clubs drew as the Australian club was crowned winner.[12]
Return to Brazil with Cruzeiro
In July 2017, Digão was signed by Brazilian giants Cruzeiro, once again joining his former teammate Thiago Neves, who played a part in the negotiations, along with former teammates Dedé and Rafael Sóbis, who were also part of Cruzeiro's squad. Digão signed a three-year deal with the Brazilian team. This marked the defense-man return to the Brazilian Serie A after over four years playing for Middle Eastern clubs.
Club statistics
- As of match played on 4 May 2022
| Club | Season | League | State League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fluminense | 2009[3] | Série A | 8 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5[b] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2010[3] | 4 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||||
| 2011[3] | 10 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||||
| 2012[3] | 17 | 2 | 8[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | ||||
| 2013[3] | 12 | 2 | 9[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | — | 25 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 51 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | — | 95 | 4 | ||||
| Al-Hilal | 2013–14[3] | Saudi Pro League | 8 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 14[d] | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15[3] | 23 | 1 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 9[d] | 1 | 4[e] | 2 | 40 | 4 | ||||
| 2015–16[3] | 14 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 5[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 1 | — | 8 | 0 | — | 28 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 88 | 4 | ||||
| Sharjah | 2016–17[3] | UAE Pro League | 19 | 0 | — | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| Cruzeiro | 2017[3] | Série A | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2[f] | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 2018[3] | 0 | 0 | 3[g] | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |||||
| Fluminense (loan) | 2018[3] | Série A | 24 | 1 | — | — | — | 8[b] | 2 | — | 32 | 3 | ||||
| 2019[3] | 21 | 1 | 5[a] | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 0 | — | 32 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 12 | 2 | — | 64 | 5 | ||||
| Fluminense | 2020[3] | Série A | 10 | 2 | 8[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | — | 32 | 3 | ||
| Buriram United | 2020–21[3] | Thai League 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22[3] | 11 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 11 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 191 | 9 | 42 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 334 | 20 | ||
Honours
Club
- Fluminense
- Al-Hilal
- Buriram United