Brazilians in the Premier League - Part 2: Liverpool

Lucas Leiva

The 24-year-old midfielder (right) was Liverpool's Player of the Season for the last campaign, and has established himself as a key player in the side after a difficult start to life in the Premier League.

Lucas signed from Gremio in July 2007 for a fee of around £5 million, with then-Reds manager Rafa Benitez commenting: "We believe he has the character and mentality to do well in England."

Initially, Lucas was criticised by the Liverpool fans, with many believing that he was not good enough to play for the club. This may have been down to his change of position, as when he was at Gremio he played as an attacking midfielder, but at Anfield he has usually featured as a holding player. 

After Xabi Alonso left to join Real Madrid in the summer of 2009, Lucas became a regular in the side, and began to demonstrate his true ability to the Kop faithful. He has now become a regular for both club and country, and was rewarded with a new long term contract in March of this year. 

He has been linked with a potential move away from Liverpool, but this has been dismissed as mere speculation, and despite the large number of centre midfielders are the club, he is likely to be a key player again this term. Lucas has battled on through the early criticism, and looks to have proven his former boss Benitez correct.

Fabio Aurelio

Having joined Liverpool in 2006, Aurelio is the longest serving Brazilian player in the Premier League. Constant injury problems have somewhat limited his time on the field, but on his day he has shown he can be a solid performer. 

Rafa Benitez signed the left-back on a free transfer, having previously worked with him at Valencia. Aurelio showed some glimpses of his ability during the 2006-07 campaign, but picked up an injury in April 2007 that kept him out until the following September.

He was only able to make 33 league appearances during his first two seasons with the club, but in 2008-09 he was a key part of the Liverpool side that challenged for the league title. He scored memorable free-kicks, against Manchester United in the league and against Chelsea in the Champions League.

The following pre-season, he picked up yet another injury, and missed the start of the campaign. He only managed 23 appearances in all competitions in 2010-11, and after rejecting a pay-as-you-play contract offer from Benitez, he left the club in the summer of 2010.

However, he made a surprise return when Benitez left the club, being re-signed by Roy Hodgson. He suffered from more injuries, but when fit has been a regular in the first team under new current Reds manager Kenny Dalglish. He is the only senior left-back in the squad at the moment, and looks like beginning the season as first choice in the position.

Doni

Goalkeeper Doni is the newest Brazilian in the Premier League, having signed for Liverpool from Roma last month. He started his career in his homeland with Botafogo, and also played for Corinthians, Santos, Cruzeiro and Juventude before moving to Italy in 2005.

The 31-year-old started life at Roma as back-up, but after impressing in a cup game, he became first choice, and made 28 league appearances in his first season. He continued to be a regular between the sticks for the next two seasons, in which time he endured a miserable night at Old Trafford when Roma lost 7-1 to Manchester United in the Champions League in 2007.

In March 2009, he lost his place in the first team to Artur, and then the following season was also overtaken by Julio Sergio. Doni made just Serie A appearances in 2009-10, and at the start of 2010-11 was still a reserve player.

He finally returned to the first team in February of this year, under new coach Vincenzo Montella. In total, he played 16 league games last season, and 149 during his six year spell in Rome.

Doni turned down a contract offer from Liverpool in June after learning he would have to take a pay-cut. However, last month he finally signed on the dotted line, and will initially provide back-up for Pepe Reina. He is the second Brazilian ‘keeper to play for Liverpool after Diego Cavalieri, and one of two currently in the Premier League, along with Tottenham’s Heurelho Gomes.