Rodrigo Defendi is a Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian-Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 who plays as a central defender

Defender (football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

.

A young centre-half signed from the Brazilian club Cruzeiro

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube is a Brazilian football team, from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Internacional. Founded on January 2, 1921, they are only one of three clubs to have participated in...

, the appropriately named Defendi is renowned for a deft left foot and a dominance in the air. He was first spotted as a 16-year-old by the then Tottenham Hotspur Director of Sport Frank Arnesen

Frank Arnesen

Frank Arnesen is a former Danish football player and currently sporting director at Hamburger SV. Arnesen was Director of Football at English football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea....

.

He became the first player signed under the ill-fated Frank Arnesen and Jacques Santini era at Spurs from Cruzeiro for a fee of £600,000 on July 3 2004, although he had to wait for his passport to arrive in August for the deal to be officially completed. He failed to make a first team appearance for Tottenham but featured in a number of reserve team matches.

He was deemed surplus to requirements by Tottenham Hotspur manager Martin Jol

Martin Jol

Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder who currently manages Fulham in the Premier League. Jol played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany, and England, as well as earning three caps with the Dutch national team...

, as he was first allowed to travel back to Brazil to seek a contract with a new club which proved unsuccessful, before he was farmed out on loan to Udinese Calcio

Udinese Calcio

Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....

 in January 2006. He made two league appearances before leaving for A.S. Roma

A.S. Roma

Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...

 in August 2006, again on loan. He made an appearance in the Champions League

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 and in the Coppa Italia

Coppa Italia

The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...

 for the capital club, but didn't manage to play a league game in Serie A

Serie A

Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

.

Defendi returned to Tottenham Hotpur from AS Roma after his loan period ended. On August 9 2007 Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

 announced his departure to the Italian Serie B club U.S. Avellino

U.S. Avellino

Associazione Sportiva Avellino 1912 , since summer 2010, is the new name of the Italian football club, based in Avellino, Campania. The club was founded in 1912 and its traditional colours are green and white...

 on a permanent transfer.

Defendi became free agent after the bankruptcy of Avellino

U.S. Avellino

Associazione Sportiva Avellino 1912 , since summer 2010, is the new name of the Italian football club, based in Avellino, Campania. The club was founded in 1912 and its traditional colours are green and white...

 and returned Brazil. He joined Palmeiras reserves

Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras B

Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras B, usually called Palmeiras B, is a Brazilian football team from São Paulo. They are the reserve team of Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, and are currently competing in the Campeonato Paulista Série A2.-Achievements:...

 in March 2010.

18 May 2011, Defendi signed a contract with Portuguese Primeira Liga side Vitória Guimarães.

External links

• http://www.tuttocalciatori.net/Defendi_Rodrigo