There’s no use beating around the bush: it has been a ca tastrophic season for Associazione Calcio Firenze Fiorentina. After several years of narrowly missing out on their first trophy since 2001, Fiorentina have hit rock bottom and currently occupy the relegation zone, sitting three points above Pisa and Hellas Verona and three points away from Lecce (and safety). With 14 games left, they cannot afford any more slip-ups as they look to avoid dropping down to Serie B for the first time in 2004. And
if they are to avoid a costly relegation, they’ll need Domilson Cordeiro dos Santos, otherwise known as Dodô, to be at his brilliant best.
Born in Taubaté, São Paulo, Brazil, Dodô started off as a forward at hometown club Taubaté before making the move to Coritiba, where he quickly established himself as a starter and guided them to the 2017 Campeonato Paranaense before eventually attracting interest from European heavyweights like Benfica and Schalke 04. However, it was Ukrainian behemoths Shakhtar Donetsk who signed him for €2 million in November 2017, with the 19-year-old just making three appearances over the second half of the season before being loaned out to Portuguese outfit Vitória, where he cut his teeth in the European game and played 12 times in all competitions. Bolstered by this newfound confidence, Dodô returned to Ukraine and linked up with manager Luís Castro and assistant coach Vítor Severino, who had worked with him the previous season at Vitória.
“Dodô has a lot of quality, he’s a really good player,” stated Severino in an exclusive Viola Nation interview. “We already really liked him a lot from a young age: when he was signed by Shakhtar, he was very young and he wasn’t going to have a lot of opportunities, so we signed him on loan at Vítoria. It was a teething process where he split his time, he wasn’t an absolute starter, but then we arrived at Shakhtar, and he delivered a fantastic season. He’s one of those players I’m friends with: when I was in Saudi Arabia, he came to play in the Supercoppa Italiana in Riyadh, and I went to visit him. He’s different now: he’s more mature, and he’s a great player with great potential. One of his best features is definitely his speed – he’s super fast – but while he used to be a player who made mistakes and allowed opponents to capitalize on them, today he’s more mature. He makes better decisions, he positions himself better today, and he’s a player I really like a lot. I think he has a lot of quality and above all, he’s an incredible person. He’s a young man I’ve watched grow up and who I’m very proud of, a reflection of what he has built as a person.”
Dodô cemented himself as one of the best fullbacks in Ukraine, scoring 5 goals and 17 assists in 97 appearances and helping Shakhtar claim the Ukrainian Premier League in 2020 and the Ukrainian Super Cup in 2021. But after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Dodô called it quits on his time with the Miners and made the move to Fiorentina for €14.5 million plus €3.5 million in bonuses. It didn’t take long for him to justify their outlay, registering 1 goal and 4 assists in 50 appearances as Fiorentina finished 8th and reached the final of the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Conference League, narrowly losing both. After suffering an ACL injury during the opening weeks, he was limited to just 19 appearances, but he nevertheless returned to spearhead Fiorentina to the Conference League Final, where they lost to Olympiacos in extra time.
After gradually establishing himself as a vital cog in defense under Vincenzo Italiano, Dodô was able to take his game to another level under Raffaele Palladino, helping La Viola reach the Conference League semifinals and go from eighth to sixth in Serie A. Dodô proved essential both in terms of getting stuck in and winning 1v1 duels as well as orchestrating possession in the attacking areas. Only Yacine Adli (6) provided more assists in Serie A than him (5), whilst no player provided more Expected Assists (4.27) than Dodô, who earned his first and only call-up to the Brazilian national team in November 2024. He ranked second to Rolando Mandragora for big chances created (10 vs 8) and key passes per game (1.1 vs. 1.0), whilst he also ranked atop the squad for 1.5 successful dribbles per game (53% success rate) and 2 penalties won. However, he didn’t neglect his defensive duties either, ranking second behind Pablo Marí for 1.0 interceptions per 90 and joint-second behind Robin Gosens for 1.3 tackles per 90.
It’s been more of the same this season, with the diminutive Brazilian fullback sitting atop the squad for Expected Assists (3.18) and 1.3 successful dribbles per 90 (51%), as well as second for assists (2), big chances created (6), and key passes per 90 (1.6). This tracks for the Conference League as well, with Dodô sitting atop their squad for various metrics like assists (1), Expected Assists (1.37), big chances created (3), key passes per game (2.0), whilst only Jacopo Fazzini (1.3) is registering more successful dribbles per 90 than him (1.2). It doesn’t matter whether he’s been tasked to operate as a right-sided wingback, as was the case with Stefano Pioli’s 3-5-2, or playing in a back four, as is the case with Paolo Vanoli’s 4-3-2-1, Dodô is stepping up and delivering with top-class performances. You get the sense that, if Fiorentina were to suffer relegation, he’d be one of the few players who’d be attracting suitors from all across Europe.
Dodô is far from perfect: he’s a high-risk, high-reward player who’s prone to giving the ball away and conceding fouls, and his lack of physical fortitude has made him vulnerable when going up against bigger wingers. However, his in-game IQ and technical finesse more than compensate for this – he is skilled at inverting to central areas and helping his team navigate out of the press, whilst he’s also adept at overlapping and helping his winger double up on their opposing fullback. It’s little surprise that the likes of Gabriele Marcotti have described him as one of the best right backs in Italy, and it’s only natural that he’s solidified his status as one of the first names on the Fiorentina team sheet.
In contrast to the extinct flightless bird that once roamed the island of Mauritius and that shares his name, Dodô is taking flight and soaring to new heights with Fiorentina, who will host Como before taking on Jagiellonia in the UEFA Conference League knockout round. At 27 years of age, he’s already cemented his status as a vital figure for both Shakhtar and Fiorentina, but now, can he steer Fiorentina to safety and stave off the threat of relegation?
