John Terry has given his full approval to new Chelsea signing Deco after discovering the Portugal playmaker has the heart to match his genius.
Deco has been reunited with Luiz Felipe Scolari after falling out of favour at Barcelona and completing an £8.3million transfer to Stamford Bridge.
Terry has been exposed to Deco's brilliance in the past but his opinion of the 30-year-old has soared since witnessing his resolve to succeed at Chelsea.
"The manager has made some great signings. I never realised before how good Deco really is," said the Blues skipper.
"I played against him four or five times in the past and he's probably one of the best I've ever trained with or played against.
"He looks awesome. He has a great touch, opens up defences and can pass the ball. He gets stuck in as well, which I like about him.
"He makes it look so easy and is a class act. When you see him day-in day-out you realise how determined he is.
"Things haven't gone too well for him over the last couple of years and he wants to prove himself. There's no better place to do that than at Chelsea."
Terry has also been impressed with Deco's fellow newcomer Jose Bosingwa, the Portugal right-back who has joined from Porto for £16.2million.
"Bosingwa looks good too. He likes to get crosses into the box and you will see more attacking football from us this season," he said.
"Our strength in depth could be the key this season."
Terry's backing for the judgement of Scolari in the transfer window is matched by his respect for the mastermind of Brazil's 2002 World Cup triumph - a man he claims possesses a "fear factor".
"The new boss is very relaxed. He enjoys the banter and a laugh off the pitch, but when you get on the pitch he wants things done properly," he said.
"He's definitely got that fear factor. You don't want to go too far or upset him.
"He has got the respect of the whole team because of what he has achieved in football.
"But when it comes down to it he's a really nice man with good people around him."
Scolari has so far been reluctant to become embroiled in any mind games by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson but Terry believes he is a canny operator.
"The manager is a very experienced man and we spoke about Alex Ferguson's experience," he said.
"I don't know the manager's gameplan, but I'm sure he has a few tricks up his sleeve for along the way.
"He's a quiet man and maybe doesn't want to get involved in that (mind games).
"Hopefully we can stop him getting involved by taking an early lead in the Premier League and leading the way."
