

It feels fitting that David Luiz’s story in European knockout matches begins at the moment he set foot on the continent he has played his club football in ever since. So many of his most iconic moments have come in two-legged European ties or finals, but perhaps the most significant for his development was his very first, over 12 years ago now.

Fresh-faced and short-haired, David Luiz joined Benfica from Vitoria in his native Brazil, initially on loan. It was January 2007.

‘I was just a kid living a dream,’ he remembers of his 19-year-old self. ‘When I arrived in Benfica I was looking at the players like, "Wow, they are video game players’". I was so bad in my first month there. I didn’t touch the ball. I was just in a dream.

‘Fernando Santos was the Benfica manager then, a great coach. He won the Euros with Portugal. Anyway, he spoke to me many times and said, "What are you doing?! You’re not a player. Go back to Copacabana!’’