Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Luciana Maria Dionizio[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 24 July 1987 | ||||||||||||||||
Place of birth |
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||
Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Ferroviária | ||||||||||||||||
Number | 1[2] | ||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
Corinthians | |||||||||||||||||
Atlético Mineiro | |||||||||||||||||
2007–2012 | Francana | ||||||||||||||||
2013– | Ferroviária | 82 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
2013– | Brazil | 37 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:27, 23 June 2015 (UTC) |
Luciana Maria Dionizio (born 24 July 1987), commonly known as Luciana, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ferroviária and the Brazilian national team. She participated at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Luciana was born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.[3] She began playing football as a child with her brothers, but became a goalkeeper because she did not enjoy running. She admired the calmness and serenity displayed by her football role model, male Brazilian goalkeeper Dida.[4]
In the early part of her career Luciana had spells with Corinthians and Atlético Mineiro.[5] She played for Francana from 2007 until 2012, then joined local rivals Ferroviária ahead of the 2013 season.[6] In April 2014, Luciana saved three penalties in Ferroviária's shootout win over São José in the 2014 Copa do Brasil final.[7]
At the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship, Atlético Mineiro player Luciana was part of the Brazilian squad which finished third.[8] After appearing in the senior Brazil squad in 2009, Luciana was not selected again until May 2013 when good form with her club led to a recall for a friendly in Sweden.[9]
She made her senior international debut in December 2013, starting Brazil's 2–0 win over Chile at the 2013 Torneio Internacional de Brasília de Futebol Feminino. After getting a second chance in the national team, Luciana was keen to become the number one goalkeeper ahead of experienced rivals Bárbara and Andréia Suntaque.[10]
At the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Luciana kept clean sheets in all three matches as Brazil qualified from their group without conceding a goal. In the second round match against Australia, Luciana took responsibility for Brazil's defeat when she spilled a shot to Kyah Simon, who scored Australia's winning goal.[11]
Luciana remained in Canada as part of the Brazilian selection for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.