After beginning his career with Nacional in 1999, he joined Plaza Colonia and then Brazilian giants Sao Paulo in 2002. There he spent four years, before being snapped up by Turkish side Fenerbahce in 2006.
Diego Alfredo Lugano Moreno is a Uruguayan international football central defender who currently plays for Fenerbahçe in the Turkish Super League. He has previously played for Plaza Colonia, Nacional and São Paulo. He is also captain of the Uruguayan national football team.
Lugano started playing for São Paulo in May 11th, 2003, in a 1-1 draw against Atlético Mineiro. The beginning of his first season at that club was soaked in politics and gossiping, due to his contract being signed directly by the then São Paulo’s president, Marcelo Portugal Gouvêa, without a previous consent from the team manager Oswaldo de Oliveira. In the first few months, Oliveira would not line Lugano up in the main team – and sometimes he would not even make it to the bench.
After Oswaldo de Oliveira left the team in late 2003, Lugano has started playing matches more frequently. In 2005, while playing for São Paulo as a centre-back, he led his team to titles in the Campeonato Paulista, the Libertadores Cup, and the FIFA Club World Championship in Tokyo. That same year, Lugano was awarded a prize as South America’s best defender. His leadership skills and his willingness to fight for ball possession have raised his profile highly amongst São Paulo’s supporters, where he is still regarded as an idol. Lugano has also mentioned that he still maintains a good relationship with that club.
In 2006, he carried his squad to the runner-up stage in the Libertadores Cup, but did not win the title just that year.