Danny

Marítimo and Sporting CP

Born to Portuguese parents in Caracas, Venezuela, Danny moved to the island of Madeira when he was 15. There, he developed his football skills in the youth teams of Marítimo, making his professional debut in a 2–1 Primeira Liga home win against Gil Vicente on 1 October 2001. A few months later, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 away loss to Salgueiros, also being sent off in the 60th minute; he finished his first season with five goals in 20 games. Having signed with Sporting CP for €2.1 million in summer 2002, Danny was immediately loaned back to Marítimo, returning in June 2004 and going on to appear in 12 official matches for the Lions.

Dynamo Moscow

In February 2005, Danny joined Russia's Dynamo Moscow in a deal worth €2 million. The club was also involved in other transfer deals of Portuguese and Portugal-based players at the time, including Derlei and Maniche. Danny would eventually be the one with the most success in the country, being awarded the "Player of the Year" award and leading the team to a third-place finish in 2008.

Zenit

On 24 August 2008, Danny was bought by Zenit Saint Petersburg for a fee of €30 million, which made him the most expensive player of the Russian Premier League; upon his arrival, manager Dick Advocaat hailed him as "the best midfielder in Russia", and he made his debut in the UEFA Super Cup game against Manchester United where he scored the winning goal, later being named Player of the…

Danny made his debut for Portugal in a friendly against the Faroe Islands, a 5–0 home victory on 20 August 2008. He scored his first goal for the national side on 19 November, opening the score against Brazil; however, it turned out to be a sour one, as the hosts came from behind to win 6–2. After having played with Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, a group-stage exit in Athens, while also appearing regularly for the under-21s, Danny was picked for the squad that appeared at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He played three games in the tournament in an eventual round-of-16 exit, including the full 90 minutes in the 0–0 group stage draw with Brazil. Danny was regularly used by managers Carlos Queiroz and Paulo Bento during the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. On 3 September 2010, he netted in a 4–4 draw against minnows Cyprus at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães after the national team led 4–2. He missed the finals in Poland and Ukraine however, due to a serious injury; also due to physical ailments, he was ruled out of the 2016 edition. In total, Danny won 38 full caps.

Club

International

Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Danny goal.

Married to Petra Gomes, Danny fathered twin sons Bernardo and Francisco, both of which played youth football with Zenit, and daughter Emily. The first two joined Marítimo's academy after he returned to the club in 2018, going on to represent it at the professional level.