Dante

Early career

Dante joined Juventude's youth system in 2001 and by 2002 became a part of the club's first team setup. In 2004, he made his move to European football, signing for Lille in France. After two seasons with the club where he only featured in 12 league games, Dante moved to Belgium, signing for Charleroi in 2006. After a successful campaign in the Belgian Pro League for Charleroi where he made 27 appearances and helped the club to a respectable fifth-place finish, he moved across the country to Standard Liège. Dante had a successful debut season with the Belgian giants, as Standard were crowned league champions; the Brazilian defender proving to be an integral member, missing just one league match. In his second season with Standard, he featured in the first 15 league matches of the campaign before interest from Germany sent the player to the Bundesliga.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Dante joined German side Borussia Mönchengladbach on 27 December 2008 for an undisclosed transfer fee, signing a contract with the club until summer 2013. He made his debut for the club on 20 March 2009, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 loss to fellow strugglers VfL Bochum. His first goal for the club came against eventual champions VfL Wolfsburg on 11 April but it came in a losing effort as 'Gladbach fell 2–1 thanks to a late strike by defender Sascha Riether. The Brazilian scored a dramatic late winner against Energie Cottbus on 13 May, heading in a cross…

Dante received his first call-up to the Brazil national team on 21 January 2013 by returning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to be part of the squad for a friendly against England, on 6 February at Wembley Stadium. He started the game, which England won 2–1 after goals from Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard. On 22 June 2013, he scored his first international goal in the final group match of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, against Italy at the stroke of half-time, after coming on as a substitute for David Luiz on the 33rd minute. Dante was a member of Brazil's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, making his only appearance in the semi-final as a replacement for the suspended captain Thiago Silva, as the Seleção were defeated by Germany in a record 7–1 scoreline. In a comment regarding the defeat, Dante said he had "been treated with 'less respect'". The match would prove to be his final appearance for Brazil.

Just after retiring, on 2 June 2026, Dante returned to Bayern Munich, this time as head coach of its reserve team, Regionalliga Bayern club Bayern Munich II ahead of the 2026–27 season, replacing Holger Seitz and becoming the first Brazilian head coach in the club's history.

Dante is married and has two children. His uncle, Jonilson Veloso, is a football manager.