Player Profile

With so many quality players on show during Inter Milan’s Champions League semi-final with Barcelona, it was easy to overlook an intriguing personal duel between the two rivals for Brazil’s number two shirt.

Inter’s Maicon emerged triumphant over Alves’ Barca side and on a personal level, Maicon’s disciplined displays over the two legs showed exactly why coach Dunga favours him in the right-back position for the national side.

He has been at Inter since 2006 and has won the title in each of his four seasons at the club and the Champions League this season.

His first club was Cruzeiro and after winning the Brazilian league in 2003 he was reportedly set to join Manchester United but was denied a work permit so moved to Monaco instead.

He looks likely to snub any approaches from Manchester City this summer and seems certain to follow coach Jose Mourinho from Inter Milan to Real Madrid: “I m going to say it very clearly so there are no misunderstandings. I want to play at Madrid, I don't want to go to Manchester City,” he said.

He will be looking to make up for lost time having been overlooked for the 2006 World Cup. His debut came at the 2003 Gold Cup and he has since won two Copa America and two Confederations Cup titles.

His marauding runs up the right flank regularly bring him goals and he famously scored a wonder goal against Paraguay at the 2004 Olympic Games.

His full name is Maicon Douglas Sisenando. According to legend, he was supposed to be named after the actor Michael Douglas, only for his father to be misunderstood when registering the birth.

He lost a tooth in an accidental clash with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi this season and required a dental operation.