Danny (footballer)

Daniel Miguel Alves Gomes (born 7 August 1983), commonly known as Danny, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Also a winger, he was known for his dribbling and key passes.

He spent most of his career in Russia in service of Dynamo Moscow and Zenit, after arriving at the age of 21 from Sporting CP. He won seven items of silverware with Zenit, including three Russian Premier League titles.

Danny represented Portugal at the 2010 World Cup and the 2004 Olympics.

Marítimo and Sporting
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 C.S. Marítimo, making his professional debut in a 2–1 Primeira Liga home win against Gil Vicente F.C. on 1 October 2001. A few months later, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 away loss to S.C. 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 FC 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 FC Zenit St. 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 match of the 2–1 victory; the player contributed five league goals to a fifth place, his total of ten being the competition's joint second-best.

On 14 June 2011, Danny agreed to an extension, prolonging his stay in Saint Petersburg by a further four years. He played all six games in the 2011–12 edition of the UEFA Champions League, scoring in a 3–1 home defeat of FC Porto as they eventually finished second in their group, level on points with winners APOEL FC – the fixture also happened to be the player's 100th appearance in a Zenit jersey; on 6 February 2012, however, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee, being sidelined for eight months.

Danny returned to training in August 2012, and made in his first appearance since the injury in September. Shortly after Igor Denisov was sent to the youth team for improper conduct, he was appointed captain.

Down 2–0 at home to Málaga CF on 21 November 2012 in the Champions League group stage, Danny exchanged passes with Tomáš Hubočan before scoring Zenit's first goal. With three minutes left, he missed from less than a metre from goal before the ball was rebounded to Victor Fayzulin, who managed to find the net for the final 2–2 draw. On 4 December, against AC Milan, he netted the only goal as his side won at the San Siro; the result was in vain, however, as the Russians finished third and were relegated to the UEFA Europa League.

In a home match against FC Anzhi Makhachkala on 10 December 2012, Danny picked up a red card for dissent in a 1–1 draw, which left Zenit in third place. The following 3 August, he scored a hat-trick to help his team to defeat FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod 3–1 in a league match.

On 26 November 2014, Danny kept his side in contention for a Champions League knockout place by scoring the only goal in a home victory over S.L. Benfica. On the domestic front, he totalled 28 games and three goals and the club won its second national championship in four years.

After initially announcing that he would be parting ways with Zenit on 28 May 2015, Danny agreed to a new two-year contract on 5 June, following which he left as a free agent.

Slavia Prague
Danny signed with Czech club SK Slavia Prague on 27 June 2017. At the end of the season, he left by mutual consent.

Marítimo return
On 22 July 2018, Marítimo announced the return of Danny to the Estádio do Marítimo after 14 years. He was released from his contract by mutual agreement on 27 December.

International career
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.

Personal life
Married to Petra Gomes, Danny fathered twin sons Bernardo and Francisco, both of which played youth football with Zenit, and daughter Emily.

International

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


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Honours
Sporting CP
 * Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2002

Zenit
 * Russian Football Premier League: 2010, 2011–12, 2014–15
 * Russian Cup: 2009–10, 2015–16
 * Russian Super Cup: 2011
 * UEFA Super Cup: 2008

Slavia Prague
 * Czech Cup: 2017–18

Individual
 * Footballer of the Year in Russia (Sport-Express): 2010
 * Footballer of the Year in Russia (Futbol): 2010