Lúcio

Early career

Lúcio started playing football for his hometown club Planaltina as a forward. In 1997, now playing as a defender, he was loaned to Guará, then current Campeonato Brasiliense champions, for their match against Internacional for 1997 Copa do Brasil. Despite a 0–7 home loss, he impressed the Porto Alegre club and was purchased.

Internacional

At Internacional, Lúcio later became a starting centre-back and had his best year in 2000, receiving his first call-up to the Brazil national team and being awarded the Bola de Prata as one of the two best centre-backs of the 2000 Campeonato Brasileiro.

Bayer Leverkusen

In January 2001, he moved to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. He starred as Leverkusen's best defender, helping them finish just behind Bayern in 2002. The following season was bittersweet for Leverkusen, as the club surrendered a five-point lead atop the Bundesliga by losing two of its last three matches while Borussia Dortmund swept ahead with three consecutive victories in the final matches to finish a point ahead of Leverkusen. They also experienced defeat in the 2002 DFB-Pokal Final, losing 4–2 to Schalke 04, and in the 2002 UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid, in which Lúcio cancelled out Raúl's eighth-minute goal just five minutes later with a header, only for Zinedine Zidane to give Real a 2–1 win with a sublime volley just before half-time. Despite the disappointing end to the season, Lúcio's impressive…

2000 Olympics

At junior level, he played for Brazil in the football tournament in the 2000 Olympics.

2002 World Cup

In the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match against England, Lúcio made a mistake that allowed Michael Owen to score the opening goal. Luiz Felipe Scolari defended him, stating that he had made no other mistakes. In the final against Germany, Lúcio bore the full brunt of a free-kick, but managed to stay on his feet to complete playing all 630 minutes of the tournament. He was one of four players to do so along with goalkeeper Marcos, right-back captain Cafu, and midfielder Gilberto Silva.

2006 World Cup

In the 2006 World Cup, Lúcio set a FIFA record by playing 386 consecutive minutes without committing a foul, a streak which was finally broken in Brazil's 1–0 quarter-final loss to France. In August 2006, Lúcio was appointed as captain by Brazil manager Dunga.

2009 Confederations Cup

Lúcio's next international tournament was 2009 Confederations Cup. On 28 June 2009, the Brazilian captain scored the game-winning goal in the 84th minute for Brazil in the final of the Confederations Cup against the United States. Lúcio converted on a header from an Elano corner-kick, which beat American goalkeeper Tim Howard.

2010 World Cup

The 2010 World Cup was Lúcio's third World Cup. He played in the Seleção's first match against North Korea on 15 June 2010, leading his team to a narrow 2–1 win. In the tournament, he partnered…

Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, Lúcio was a tall, physically strong defender known for his heavy marking of opponents, hard-tackling play style, and leadership. He was also noted for his positioning, ability to read the game, and effectiveness at winning possession in one-on-one situations. Having technical skills and accurate distribution, he was usually deployed as a centre-back, but was also used as a defensive midfielder, where he demonstrated his skills in possession and ability to play the ball out of defence. While primarily a defensive player, his pace, stamina and dribbling allowed him to move into attacking positions. His long runs on the ball earned him the nickname O Cavalo ("The Horse", in Portuguese). These attributes, combined with his long-range striking and set piece ability with his right foot, made him an additional offensive threat.

Lúcio is married to Dione, with whom he has three children: Victoria, João Vítor, and Valentinna. He is an Evangelical Christian, and frequently talks about the way his faith sustains his life in professional football.