Donato (footballer)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Gama and the second or paternal family name is Da Silva.

Donato
Donato in 2022
Personal information
Full name Donato Gama da Silva
Date of birth (1962-12-30) 30 December 1962 (age 61)
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Centre-back, midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1982 America (RJ) 36 (1)
1983–1988 Vasco da Gama 49 (0)
1988–1993 Atlético Madrid 163 (11)
1993–2003 Deportivo La Coruña 303 (38)
Total 551 (50)
International career
1994–1996 Spain 12 (3)
Managerial career
2015–2016 Viveiro
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Donato Gama da Silva (born 30 December 1962), known simply as Donato, is a Spanish-Brazilian football manager and former player who played from the 1980s to early 2000s.

He spent most of his professional career in Spain – 15 years and more than 500 official games – most notably with Deportivo de La Coruña, being part of the Super Depor squads that won several major titles, including the 2000 La Liga championship. Having started his career as a central midfielder, he finished it as a central defender at almost 41. He also held the record for the most appearances in La Liga by a player born outside of Spain, with 466.[1] He was a strong but technical player, who was able both to destroy the opposition's attacks and to help generate his own team's.[2]

Born in Brazil, Donato represented the Spain national team at Euro 1996.[3][4]

  1. ^ "Paso a la historia a través del Athletic" [Step into history through Athletic]. www.laopinioncoruna.es (in Spanish). 16 October 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  2. ^ "¿Quién jubila al abuelo?" [Who retires grandpa?]. El País (in Spanish). 30 December 2002.
  3. ^ "El fútbol y la 'españolía'" [Football and ‘Spanishness’] (in Spanish). El País. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Los 11 jugadores nacidos fuera de España con más partidos" [The 11 players born outside of Spain with the most matches] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.