Diego Tardelli Martins (born 10 May 1985), known as Diego Tardelli, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was considered a dynamic player due to his speed on attack and individual skills. Tardelli is not his last name, but his second name: it was chosen by his father after his footballing idol, Italian World Cup winner Marco Tardelli.
Club career
Early career
Born in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, São Paulo, Tardelli began his career at a company club in Curitiba called Partner Football. He was loaned to Santos in 2000, but was released after trying to steal chocolate milk from the club's cafeteria. He subsequently joined hometown side União Barbarense, where he impressed enough to move to São Paulo in 2003. At the latter club, Tardelli was initially known as Dinei, a former forward of Corinthians, as he also painted his hair of a blond color.
São Paulo
Tardelli made his first team debut for São Paulo on 9 July 2003, coming on as a second-half substitute for Rico in a 2–0 Série A away win over Coritiba. He scored his first goal four days later, netting his team's second in a 3–1 win at Fluminense.
Tardelli subsequently established himself as a regular starter, but was separated from the squad in 2004 for 45 days after arriving late on a training session. He returned to the squad after manager Cuca was replaced by Émerson Leão, and started the 2005 season with ten goals in the first ten matches of the club. After Leão left for the Japanese football, Tardelli's form dropped and he was again separated from the squad in October 2005, after arriving drunk on a training session.
Loans to Betis, São Caetano and PSV
On 12 December 2005, Tardelli agreed to a loan move to La Liga side Real Betis for the remainder of the 2005–06 campaign. He made his debut abroad the following 11 January, starting in a 0–0 home draw against RC Celta de Vigo, for the season's Copa del Rey.
After 15 goalless appearances, Tardelli returned to Brazil and joined São Caetano on loan on 12 July 2006. On 30 August, however, he moved to Eredivisie club PSV in a season-long loan deal.
Tardelli also struggled to feature regularly at PSV, and returned to Tricolor in July 2007, where he appeared sparingly for the club and lifted the 2007 Série A.
Flamengo
On 15 January 2008, São Paulo announced the transfer of Tardelli to Flamengo, after the club paid US$ 1 million for his federative rights. After initial controversies with teammate Souza, he was often used as a substitute, but still scored the winning goals in the Taça Guanabara and Campeonato Carioca finals, both against Botafogo.
Tardelli was unable to establish himself as a first-choice, and was mainly a backup option to Souza and Obina. He also saw his playing time limited due to an arm injury in August which left him sidelined for three months.
Atlético Mineiro
Tardelli left Flamengo on 12 January 2009, and subsequently signed for fellow league team Atlético Mineiro. At Galo, he scored a career-best 39 goals in his first campaign, being the nation's top goalscorer overall; highlights included a hat-trick in a 6–0 Campeonato Mineiro home routing of Uberaba on 8 April.
Tardelli continued to score in a prolific manner the following seasons, and scored another hat-trick in a 6–0 thrashing of Ituiutaba on 28 March 2010. He played his 100th match for the club on 30 October 2010, in a match against Botafogo.
On 12 February 2011, Tardelli scored a hat-trick in a 4–3 away win against fierce rivals Cruzeiro, but was sent off late in the match.
Anzhi Makhachkala
On 8 March 2011, Tardelli completed a move to Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala following an in-depth medical examination at the Dagi's pre-season training base. The club reportedly paid €7.5 million for his services on a four-year deal. He started in only seven games during the whole campaign, and failed to find the net in his 13 appearances. He was also strongly linked with a move back to his homeland after struggling to adapt to life in Russia.
Al-Gharafa
On 10 January 2012, Tardelli announced that he had put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal with Qatari side Al-Gharafa. His transfer fee was reported at €7 million.
Tardelli made his debut on 20 January 2012, missing a penalty kick 30 minutes after coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 loss against Al Khor. On his second-ever AFC Champions League match, he scored a brace in order to salvage a draw against Al-Hilal FC on 21 March.