About Eduardo

Eduardo Was Born In The Capital Of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro On The 25th Of February 1983.

Growing Up Was Tough For Eduardo, It Quickly Became Apparent He Was A Talented Footballer And Had Trials With His Local Teams.

In 1998 Aged Just 15 Dudu’s Father Got A Job In The Croatian Capital Zagreb, Eduardo Struggled To Adapt To The Cold Weather And Not Being Able To Speak The Language Was An Issue For Him.

Being Left Out Was Not A Problem For Eduardo And He Turned To His Love Of Football To Pass The Time And His Talents Were Spotted By A Zagreb Scout, Shortly After Being Signed, He Returned To Brazil On Loan With Bangu Athletico Clube.

He Returned To Zagreb And Showed Promise For The Reserves. The Coaching Staff At Zagreb Wanted Eduardo To Get Experience In Croatia And He Spent The Whole Of The 2002-2003 Season On Loan With NK Inter Zapresic.
Starting 15 Games And Scoring 10 Goals, He Caught The Eye Of The Zapresic Coaching Staff, Who Tried To Buy Him, But Dinamo Were Keen For Him To Return.

2003-2004 Was All About Eduardo Breaking Into The First Team, And He Claimed Croatian Nationality And At The End Of Season Won The Croatian Player Of The Year Award, Eduardo Won More Trophies The Croatian Super Cup, And The Award For Being The Best Player In The Competition.

2006-2007 Was The Year Eduardo Really Hit Top Form, In The Summer He Was Named Club Captain And Got The First Ever European Goal At The Emirates Stadium For Dianmo In The Champions League Qualification Rounds, In Front Of A Watching Arsene Wenger.
18 Goals In 18 Games Took Zagreb To The Top Of The Croatian League, (Which They Were Already The Holders) He Finished The Season With 34 Goals In 32 Games, And Zagreb Were Again Champions.

For Croatia, He Scored Against England, And Finished The Campaign With 10 Goals In 12 Games, Croatia Qualified For Euro 2008 With a 3-2 Over England At New Wembley.

Dispite Eduardo Claiming He Would Be Interested In A Move If A Bigger Club Came In For Him, Zagreb Tied Him Down To A 10 Year Contract.

But, On The 3rd Of July Arsenal Announced On There Official Website (Arsenal.com) That Terms Had Been Agreed With Zagreb For His Transfer, Subject To A Work Permit Being Granted And A Medical Being Completed. The Fee Was Thought To Be £7.5 Million Pounds, Eduardo Was Seen As A Direct Replacement For Theirry Henry To Moved To Barcelona In The Same Transfer Window.

The Next Day Eduardo Flew To London, And Spent The Morning Having A Medical And Was Shown Around Arsenal’s Training Ground And Briefly Met His New Team Mates, In The Afternoon He Was Introduced To The Media, After Confirmation His Medical Examinations Were Successful,

Eduardo Was Asked What It Was Like To Become An Arsenal Player, And He Said:

“Well for me it is a great honour. Not only for me but for any football player it is an honour to play for Arsenal. I was lucky it was me that they chose to sign. So I am ever so happy and I hope to fulfil their expectations.”