Alexander Doni
Birthdate: 22.10.1979
Birthplace: Jundiaí, São Paulo Brazil
Other clubs: Corinthians, Santos, Cruzeiro, Juventude, AS Roma
Bought from: AS Roma
Signed for LFC: 0 15.07.2011
International debut: 5 June 2007 against Turkey
International caps: 11/0
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Liverpool debut: 07.04.2012
Last appearance: 13.05.2012
Contract expiry: 2013
LFC league games/goals: 4 / 0
Total LFC games/goals: 4 / 0
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Player profile
The 31-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper became a Liverpool player on 15th July 2011 after signing from Italian club AS Roma. He arrived at an Anfield already well stocked with goalkeepers in Reina, Gulacsi, Jones and Hansen. His experience might place him above the three others as Reina’s immediate understudy.
Born in São Paulo in October 1979, Doni … or to give him his full name Doniéber Alexander Marangon … had been on the books of five different clubs in his homeland before moving to Europe in 2005. He had, however, only played competitive matches for three of those clubs so was relatively inexperienced when he joined Roma at the age of twenty-five.
In Italy his career really began to flourish. In the 2005-06 season Doni played in 28 of Roma’s 38 Serie A matches as the club from the capital finished runners-up to Internazionale. He missed only 7 league matches over the next two seasons as he established himself firmly as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper. Although Roma could not break Inter’s stranglehold on the Italian championship, they did win the Coppa Italia in both 2007 and 2008 plus the Italian Supercup in 2007.
Internationally, Doni was first capped in 2007 and later in the same year won the Copa America with Brazil where he played a big part in the semi-finals saving two penalties in the penalty shoot-out against Uruguay.
Reds director of football Damien Comolli said of his capture: "I spoke to Lucas about Doni and he was very complimentary about him as a person and as a goalkeeper, so I think it's a great deal for us. He is suited to English football. He is big and good in the air and his distribution is quick as well. When you play for Roma for years and years, the pressure at that club in that city is tremendous, so the fact he can handle that shows he can take anything."
Although Doni was on the substitute's bench when Pepe Reina was sent off at Newcastle early in April 2012, manager Kenny Dalglish had already made his three changes at the time of the dismissal. With Reina's suspension being for three matches, the Brazilian was expected to play in League matches against Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers as well as the Wembley F.A. cup semi-final against Everton. However, he was himself dismissed in the second of those matches (at Blackburn) and that ruled him out of the important cup-tie the following weekend. Dalglish gave him two further starts in the end-of-season matches against Fulham and Swansea.