[23] His footballing idols were goalkeepers Rinat Dasayev[23] and future Seleção teammate Cláudio Taffarel, who had enjoyed successful runs in Italy and Turkey and whom Dida later considered a pioneer in the growing acceptance of Brazilian keepers into European clubs.

[35] The ensuing legal battle between the player and Cruzeiro lasted for five months,[35] and a FIFA ruling allowed Dida to be loaned to Swiss club FC Lugano in the meantime so he could keep in shape, though he never played a game.

[35][36] Dida was the third goalkeeper on Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni's depth chart behind Christian Abbiati and aging veteran Sebastiano Rossi for the 1999–2000 Serie A season, and he returned to Brazil as he was loaned to Corinthians to receive regular playing time.

His reputation as a penalty stopper came into national renown[37][38] during the 1999 Campeonato Brasileiro after he saved two separate spot kicks — both taken by Raí — in Corinthians' 3–2 victory over intrastate rival São Paulo FC in the semi-final,[39][40] which earned him a 10 rating from Placar.

His Rossoneri debut was a 4–1 group stage victory over Beşiktaş on 13 September 2000, but six days later, against Leeds United at a rain-soaked Elland Road, he accidentally dropped a late Lee Bowyer strike into his own goal, causing Milan to lose the match 1–0.

[49] He made only eight Série A appearances as the deputy to established first-choice Doni, but began a sustained high run of form in winning the Torneio Rio-São Paulo championship and 2002 Copa do Brasil with the Timão.

[44] He made a then-career high 30 starts as Milan finished third in Serie A and exhibited the league's second-best defence that conceded only 30 goals (one behind champion Juventus' 29), while he won his lone Coppa Italia with the Rossoneri.

[55] Juventus coach Marcelo Lippi said after the match that "four or five" of his players had refused to take part in the shootout,[56] while Bianconeri defender Lilian Thuram, who was not a participant, admitted to being affected beforehand by Dida's reputation as a penalty stopper.

After he was sent off in the Rossoneri's season opener against Livorno,[65] he conceded only ten goals as Milan went unbeaten in 17 of their next 18 league matches, among them a 1–0 win over Chievo on 28 November 2004 in which he had performed an acrobatic save on a Roberto Baronio free kick, changing direction after the ball was deflected midflight.

[69][70] With Milan leading 1–0 in the return leg on 12 April, Inter midfielder Esteban Cambiasso's second-half header was disallowed by referee Markus Merk due to a foul on Dida by forward Julio Cruz.

[72] UEFA officially awarded Milan a 3–0 win, resulting in Dida tying a Champions League record, then shared with Edwin van der Sar and Józef Wandzik, with his sixth consecutive shutout.

The Rossoneri lost as many matches (five) in the first half of the season as they had the entire previous year while conceding 22 goals in that 19-game span, with Dida not keeping a clean sheet until the fourth matchday, a 2–0 win over Lazio.

Milan additionally had to qualify for the 2006–07 Champions League, accomplished by defeating Red Star Belgrade on aggregate, and the Rossoneri then proceeded to top their group as Dida kept four clean sheets and conceded only twice in that six-match span.

[99][100] Dida then kept a clean sheet in the second leg as Milan shut out Bayern 2–0 and advanced to the semi-finals against Manchester United, but he again received criticism for errors resulting in goals (from Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney) in a 3–2 defeat.

[102] Dida kept another second-leg clean sheet in Milan's decisive 3–0 home win on 3 May, in addition to becoming the first goalkeeper to register an assist in the Champions League,[103] as the Rossoneri advanced to the 2007 final for a rematch against Liverpool.

[108] McHendry later turned himself in to police and was given a lifetime ban from Celtic Park,[109] but UEFA charged Dida with breaching rules upholding "loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship", as it was deemed that he had feigned injury.

[110] Dida never spoke publicly about the incident, but in Milan's first home game following the Celtic match — a 1–0 loss to Empoli on 21 October — he offered a gesture of apology to the fans in attendance by pausing during warmups to bow to each section of the crowd, receiving a round of applause in response.

[114] The death knell of Dida's campaign came in Milan's 2–1 derby loss to Inter on 23 December, when he inexplicably dived in the opposite direction of Esteban Cambiasso's game-winning goal,[115] for which he was lambasted by fans and the press.

In 2009–10, with Carlo Ancelotti replaced by Leonardo as head coach after nine seasons, Milan finished third behind Internazionale and Juventus in Serie A for the second straight year, and were eliminated by Manchester United on a 7–2 aggregate in the Champions League round of 16.

But I especially want to cite Carlo Ancelotti, the coach who allowed me to play in this fantastic team and with whom I spent the biggest part of my Rossoneri life, and Villiam Vecchi, who endured me for all these years.

Following a poor performance in a 2–0 loss to his former club Vitória on 10 September,[159] Dida was benched in favor of Muriel for Internacional's 2–0 win over Botafogo four days later, but entered as an injury substitute in the second half.

After his contract with Internacional expired in 2015, Dida temporarily remained with the club in an internship role as he studied to earn his coaching badges,[168] and took Brazilian Football Confederation-required courses in December 2015 alongside former Brazil teammates Taffarel and Ricardinho.

[177] After Taffarel was suspended for the first two games of the 1995 Copa América due to a uniform violation,[178] Dida earned his first cap for the senior side at age 21 in a 1–0 defeat of Ecuador,[175][179] and started in Brazil's 2–0 win over Peru.

Dida was excluded from Brazil's 1997 Copa América roster, but returned to the starting lineup for the inaugural FIFA Confederations Cup that year, keeping five clean sheets and allowing just two total goals as the Seleção lifted the trophy with a 6–0 rout of Australia in the final.

[182] He made his second straight Confederations Cup start that year as Brazil allowed no goals in the group stage and thrashed hosts Saudi Arabia 8–2 in the semi-finals, but were again thwarted by champions Mexico, losing 4–3 in the final.

In a 3-0 round-of-sixteen victory over Ghana, Dida performed a point-blank save from John Mensah with his leg,[193] and was 1970 World Cup winner Tostão's personal choice for man of the match.

[209] In his prime, Dida was recognized for his shot-stopping ability[210] and command of the area,[210] and for possessing athleticism and reflexes that belied his imposing size,[203][23][89] which enabled him to perform acrobatic "miracle" saves without resorting to histrionics,[6][15] while former coaches have praised him for keeping his emotions in check after conceding a goal.

[236] On 27 May 2006, during a press conference in Weggis, Switzerland, where the Seleção were holding public training sessions, Dida called for his countrymen to forgive Barbosa,[237] and to instead remember his positive contributions to Brazilian football.

[252][253][254] During the 2000–01 Serie A season, Dida was among multiple players, including Juan Sebastián Verón, Álvaro Recoba, and then-future Milan teammate Cafu, who were implicated in a league scandal involving fraudulent European passports.

[4] In 2014, Dida and then-Internacional teammates Juan and Andrés D'Alessandro filmed public service announcements for the Pan American Health Organization, which stressed the importance of vaccinations in order to prevent the spread of disease.