Position: Midfielder
Born: 02.05.81
Club: Lyon

Tiago has been so successful since moving to Lyon that he is already more popular than Michael Essien ever was at Stade de Gerland.

The midfielder moved to Lyon from Chelsea as a £6.82million deadline-day replacement for the Ghanaian (who went the other way) and hasn't disappointed.

His clever positioning, tactical awareness and ability to keep the ball have helped him slot into the Lyon team with ease.

Tiago began his career at Portuguese club Braga in 1999 and moved to Benfica two years later with his international debut coming in 2002.

In 2004 he led Benfica to victory over Jose Mourinho's Porto in the Portuguese cup final yet while he was largely overlooked at Euro 2004, Mourinho had seen enough to take him to Chelsea for £8.2 million.

He played in over 40 games in his solitary season at Chelsea including all but one of their Champions League campaign.