Diego Alfredo Lugano Morena (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo luˈɣano]; born 2 November 1980) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a central defender.

His leadership skills[9] and his willingness to fight for ball possession[10] have raised his profile amongst São Paulo's supporters, where he is still highly regarded.

Lugano joined Fenerbahçe on 21 August 2006 for a reported transfer fee of €7.5 million,[13] where he signed a 3+1⁄2-year contract with the Turkish club.

Lugano is notorious for his presence in attack, as was shown with his scored goals from headers from dead ball situations and support of the forward line.

Following a red card, he was suspended for five weeks after the derby match against Galatasaray during the 2008–09 season when he clashed with Emre Aşık on 12 April 2009 at Ali Sami Yen Stadium.

[17] On 27 August 2011, Fenerbahçe announced Lugano was leaving the club to join Paris Saint-Germain in the French Ligue 1 for a fee worth €3 million.

As he was not in PSG manager Carlo Ancelotti's plans, Lugano was not inscribed in the Champions League for that season; this way, he was not cup tied for his new club and represented Málaga in their European ambitions.

On 7 July 2015, La Nación reported that Primera División Paraguaya team Cerro Porteño had assured the signing of Lugano.

[42][43] On 5 January 2016, Lugano reached an agreement with Cerro Porteño to leave the club and was available to negotiate a return to Brazilian team São Paulo, who were interested in his services.

[51] Lugano made 95 appearances for the Uruguay national football team[52] after making his debut in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Paraguay.

He captained the team for eight years, beginning in May 2006, when he was given the armband of La Celeste for the first time prior to a 2–1 friendly defeat to England at Old Trafford.

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, Lugano scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw with Venezuela at Montevideo's Estadio Centenario.

In his next call up to the national side, on 7 October 2011, Lugano netted a brace in Uruguay's 4–2 defeat of Bolivia in World Cup qualifying.

[57] On 20 June 2013, Lugano scored his ninth goal for Uruguay against Nigeria in a 2–1 win at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, where the nation eventually finished in fourth place.

He also participated in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, playing in his first and only game of the tournament as the captain against Costa Rica on 14 June 2014, where Uruguay lost 1–3.

A knee injury saw Lugano miss the remainder of Uruguay's World Cup matches, with 19-year-old José Giménez replacing him as Diego Godín's partner in defence.

[58] Lugano was omitted from Óscar Tabárez's first post-World Cup squad for friendly matches against Japan and South Korea in September 2014.

[68] In 2015, Lugano gained international wide media attention when his wife and he travelled on a bus in Asunción after having a problem with his vehicle.