São Paulo’s Copa Sul-Americana semi-final 1st leg tie against Universidad Católica on Thursday night will mark a special moment in the career of on-loan Arsenal midfielder Denílson, as the fixture will see the player complete his 100th game for his boyhood club.
Denílson, 24, left São Paulo in 2006 to join Arsenal, but his time in North London proved to be unsuccessful and has spent the last two season on-loan back in Brazil.
The midfielder has yet to win a trophy with São Paulo, although he was an unused sub when they beat Liverpool 1-0 in the 2005 Fifa Club World Cup final, and he told Lancenet that it is his dream to be a champion this season.
He said: “I always said that my desire was to be a champion. We are closer than ever. We have two games to the final and this could be the first time. We are ready.
“We watched their last two games. They are a team that play’s deep and counter-attacks. Let’s be respectful and try to get out on the break.”
The former Brazil under-17 captain will mark the occasion by wearing a pair of personalised boots with the number ‘100’ stitched to them.
