Diego Eli
Hong Kong footballer (born 1988)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Diego Eli Moreira (Chinese: 迪高; born 4 September 1988) is a professional footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Hong Kong Premier League club Kowloon City. Born in Brazil, he plays for the Hong Kong national team.
|
Diego with Lee Man in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Eli Moreira | ||
| Date of birth | 4 September 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Santo Antônio da Platina, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kowloon City | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2002 | AABB Santo Antônio da Platina | ||
| 2002–2005 | UPE Clube de Campo | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006 | Associação Ibaiti | ||
| 2006 | Real Brasil | ||
| 2007 | SER Caxias do Sul | ||
| 2008 | Pelotas | ||
| 2009 | Londrina | ||
| 2010–2011 | Avenida | 9 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Goiatuba (loan) | ||
| 2011 | Esportivo | ||
| 2012 | Juventus-RS | ||
| 2012–2013 | Tuen Mun | 17 | (0) |
| 2013–2021 | Eastern | 108 | (14) |
| 2021–2024 | Lee Man | 23 | (1) |
| 2024– | Kowloon City | 21 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021–2022 | Hong Kong | 4 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11 June 2022 | |||
Club career
After playing for several clubs in Brazil, Diego signed for Tuen Mun of Hong Kong First Division in 2012.[1] In the following season, he signed with fellow Hong Kong First Division club Eastern on a free transfer.[2]
On 1 June 2021, after staying at Eastern for 8 years, Diego signed for Lee Man.[3]
On 18 July 2024, Diego joined Kowloon City.[4]
On 1 September 2024, Diego scored against Tai Po on his debut for Kowloon City.
International career
On 22 December 2019, after staying in Hong Kong for seven years, Diego confirmed that he had received his HKSAR passport, making him eligible to represent Hong Kong internationally.[5]
On 17 May 2021, Diego received his first call-up alongside 2 teammates from Eastern to the Hong Kong national football team to play against Iran, Iraq and Bahrain for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.[6] On 3 June 2021, Diego made his international debut for Hong Kong against Iran.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 19 May 2024[7]
| Club | Season | League | Senior Shield | League Cup | FA Cup | AFC Cup | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tuen Mun | 2012–13 | Hong Kong First Division | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 18 | 1 | ||
| Eastern | 2013–14 | Hong Kong First Division | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 24 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15 | Hong Kong Premier League | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 16 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 5 | |||
| 2016–17 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 10 | |||
| 2017–18 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | — | 16 | 4 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 108 | 14 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 150 | 27 | ||
| Lee Man | 2021–22 | Hong Kong Premier League | 3 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |||
| Total | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 148 | 15 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 204 | 29 | ||
International
- As of matches played 11 June 2022
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong | 2021 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 June 2021 | Al Muharraq Stadium, Arad, Bahrain |  Iran |
1–3 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round |
| 2 | 11 June 2021 | Al Muharraq Stadium, Arad, Bahrain |  Iraq |
0–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round |
| 3 | 15 June 2021 | Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain |  Bahrain |
0–4 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round |
| 4 | 11 June 2022 | Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, India |  Cambodia |
3–0 | 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round |
Honours
Club
Eastern
- Hong Kong Premier League: 2015–16
- Hong Kong Senior Shield: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2019–20
- Hong Kong FA Cup: 2013–14, 2019–20
- Hong Kong Sapling Cup: 2020–21
Lee Man
