THE BEGINNING OF A GREAT GENERATION I

The origin of Football in Brazil. Charles Miller, a Brazilian who studied in England and had contact with football there and, in 1894, brought a ball and a set of rules to Brazil. The first soccer game in Brazil was held in São Paulo, on April 14, 1895. We are here showing how it all started when full capacity sprang from great enthusiasm among a relationship of young people that stems from an era in 1894 , brought a ball and a set of rules to Brazil where an initiative began between beautiful and strong athletes who simply improved themselves to a training space in which everything started with the history of a football formation. The participating teams were the São Paulo Railway and Companhia de Gás and were formed by Englishmen who lived in the capital of São Paulo. The first team had the participation of Charles Miller, considered the father of Brazilian football, as he brought the first two footballs to the country on June 9, 1894. The match was won by the first team by 4x2. In 1901, the Paulista Football League was created, which subsequently held the first Paulista Championship. Charles Miller's team was a sensation and was three times champion of São Paulo. The clubs that were emerging were getting organized and, until 1919, almost all Brazilian states already had a regional championship and its federation. In 1914, the Brazilian Sports Confederation (CDB) was created, which administered other sports besides football. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) was created in 1979, after the dissolution of the CBD. It is the entity that manages Brazilian football and has 27 linked state federations. Its headquarters is in Rio de Janeiro and organizes the main national championships. Football Day is celebrated on the 19th of July. The biggest fans in Brazil are concentrated in the southeast region. Internacional (RS) occupies the 7th position and is the team that has more fans in the southern region. Cruzeiro (MG) is in 6th place, with about 3% of Brazilians. Vasco da Gama (RJ), founded in 1898, has the support of 4% of Brazilians. Palmeiras (SP) has 6% of the national fans, with 2% more and in the 3rd place is São Paulo (SP), which was created in 1930. Known for its passionate fans, Corinthians (SP) was founded in 1910 and occupies the 2nd place in the ranking of fans, with 14% of the Brazilian fans. The first place is occupied by Flamengo (RJ), with 17% of fans and with great preference of the Northeastern population.

Brazil has three championships: the most important is the Brazilian Championship, divided between series A, B, C and D, the Brazilian Cup and the Brazilian Women's Football Cup. Brazilian championship:

The first Brazilian championship took place on August 7, 1971 and had Atlético Mineiro as champion. The idea came from the Brazilian Sports Confederation, currently the Brazilian Football Confederation. The Brasileirão, as the competition is known, has had several types of regulations and has always had its games involved in disorganization and scandals. The main tournament in Brazil was created in place of the Robertão tournaments and the Brazil Cup to define the classification of Brazilian representatives in South American tournaments. One of the biggest initial problems of the championship was the lack of standardization of the games, since the rules were changed annually, which harmed not only the clubs but also fans and players. Currently, the championship follows the Supporter's Statute that establishes that the competition must have the same regulation for three consecutive years. Series A is disputed by 20 teams in a turn and return system, with the club that has the most points in the course of the championship being sacred champion, the last four falling to the second division and the other classifications guarantee places in the south championships American and national (Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and Copa do Brasil). This competition model was implemented in 2003 and at the beginning it was received with fear by the teams, but nowadays they have become unanimous, because this formula brought excitement and transformed the Brazilian championship into one of the most competitive national championships in the world. Series B is played by 20 teams in the turn and return model and the last four placed down to series C, which has the participation of 20 clubs and is not played in the form of running points. The series D was created in 2009 and has the participation of 40 clubs nominated by state championships. Brazil's Cup:

In 1989, the Copa do Brasil was created, a competition in an eliminatory format, which has 64 teams from state championships or tournaments and also from the entity's ranking, with each state, having at least one representative. The champion of the Copa do Brasil qualifies for the Copa Libertadora. State Championships:

When the Brazilian championship ends, the country will be out of its main competition for five months. Teams go through a vacation and preparation period and state championships begin. They happen in all states and have different characteristics and regulations. The main state championships in the country are: São Paulo Championship, Rio de Janeiro Championship, Rio Grande do Sul Championship and Minas Gerais Championship. Perhaps we can go back in time to show how a formation of players originated that simply today can be the educational medium for many young people who are starting a career of football to be taken in the future to great olympics that today we call great heroes because many do not have the sustenance and the easy life in which the young Brazilian dreamer is looking for work in which in the socialist environment they are almost all discriminated against for a lack of humanity in which almost all are victims of racism and few manage to enter a soccer field when the social classes are going through an insecure financial crisis in which the lives of many Brazilians are on the street and unemployment reaches a premature rate that they are all absorbed to compete and enter to have an educational understanding in which schools simply do not has managed to fully obtain funds from the government that tries to consolidate all political demands while there is always a socialized dictatorship to capitalism in which they are always assuring and exploiting the social classes while the government tries to establish a reconstitution among the country that we can see that does not go well with people who want to see a constitutional improvement over the other labor capacities that are contained in front of the socialized raw iron and almost deceived about various functions in which the citizen cannot exercise his functions on his pretexts to live and learn and give more value to his life in how much today we are working to see a better country and we try to show the world our best value that is devaluing with every bookshelf that a young man tries to enter a professionalized career in various attributes in which society is manipulating various aspects related to labor control because maybe you are in need of funds or try to hide the sun uction of all the problems that could highlight the security and happiness of someone who wants to see and make their future better and we opened schools of arts, athletics, education that basically will be proposing the career of several young people in our country and that 50% percent manage to adapt less often, perhaps due to the lack of more firmness and education from the government, and everything is prescribed about a multitude of things related to the socialist milieu that is always deviating without much security the idea of many young people getting social support and we witness that our The country is still looking for ways to transform a dream into truths that actually pull poor young people from slums to establish a more affective commitment to our country. Here we speak fully of great beasts that marked a good time or an era in which football has always shown that there is a behavior in each of us in which mathematics is reflected on a basis that we can put into practice as many examples from the past that have remained guarded as great football heroes. Manuel Francisco dos Santos, Mané Garrincha or simply Garrincha (Magé, October 28, 1933 - Rio de Janeiro, January 20, 1983) was a Brazilian footballer who stood out for his disconcerting dribbling. He is considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time and the most famous right-back in the history of football. At the height of his career, he started signing Manuel dos Santos, in honor of a homonymous uncle, who helped him a lot. Garrincha is also widely regarded as the greatest dribbler in the history of football. Garrincha, "O Anjo de Pernas Tortas", was one of the main players of the 1958 World Cup conquests and, mainly, of the 1962 World Cup when, after Pelé's injury, he became the main player of the Brazilian team. He died in 1983, at the age of 49, due to alcoholism. Garrincha: the bird that gave rise to the nickname "Garrincha". Childhood: the nickname "Garrincha".

Of humble origin, with fifteen brothers in the family, Manuel dos Santos was born in Pau Grande, a district of Magé, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. His sister would have nicknamed him Garrincha, making an association with the bird of the same name, very common in the region.

ion. Crooked legs:

One of the striking features that involve the figure of Garrincha is related to a physical dystrophy: legs askew. His right leg, six centimeters shorter than the left, was flexed to the left side, and the left leg had the same design. Both legs were therefore crooked to his left side. Garrincha was right-handed. Ruy Castro says in his book that he would have been born that way, but there are several testimonies in the sense that this characteristic was a sequel to polio. Beginning in football:

At the age of fourteen, he started to play amateurly, dividing his time in América Fabril, a textile factory, with matches in the Esporte Clube Pau Grande field. But he had no chance to play soon because, in addition to his young age, coach Carlos Pinto feared exposing the boy to the strong defenders of the opposing teams. Tired of not having a chance to play, Mané registered with the Serrano Football Club team, from the neighboring city of Petrópolis and played for almost a year. It was at Serrano that coach Carlos Pinto decided to give Mané a chance on the right wing. His performances caught Arati's attention: a former Botafogo player. It is not known with certainty who took him to test at Botafogo, but in the opening minutes of the first training session, he would have given several dribbles in Nílton Santos, who was already a renowned player. Nílton would have demanded the signing of the forward in the interval of this first training. Thus in 1953 it was acquired by Botafogo for two thousand cruzeiros. Before, it had been rejected by Vasco and São Cristóvão. Personal life, Garrincha (1960).

Garrincha married Nair, a teenage girlfriend, with whom he had nine daughters. His daughters Tereza and Nadir are already deceased. He left Nair in 1963, and in that same year he publicly took up his relationship with Elza Soares, with whom he had been in relationship since 1962, while he was married, deciding to leave his wife to be with the singer. They moved in together in 1966, the same year they were officially married. The marriage lasted 16 years, until 1982, ending the union due to jealousy, betrayal, aggression and humiliation, due to the alcoholism that Garrincha suffered. The two had a single son, Manuel Francisco dos Santos Júnior, nicknamed Garrinchinha (July 9, 1976 - January 11, 1986), who died at the age of 9 in an automobile accident, which the footballer never saw, as he was deceased. Neném, his son with his ex-girlfriend Iraci, with whom he had a brief relationship while he was still married, before meeting Elza, also died in a car accident in Portugal, on January 20, 1992, at the age of 28. Garrincha is also the father of a Swedish son: Ulf Lindberg, the result of an extramarital affair that he kept for a few months with a young Swedish woman from the city of Umeå, during a tour of Botafogo to Europe in 1959. Edson Arantes do Nascimento KBE (Três Corações, October 23, 1940), better known as Pelé, is a former Brazilian footballer who served as a striker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. In 1999, he was elected Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of two joint winners of the FIFA Best Player of the Century award. That same year, Pelé was elected Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee. According to the IFFHS, Pelé is the top scorer in the history of football, scoring 650 goals in 694 league matches, and a total of 1281 goals in 1363 games, which include unofficial friendlies, a Guinness world record. During his career, he became the highest paid athlete in the world for a period. Pelé started playing for Santos Futebol Clube at 15 and for the Brazilian National Football Team at 16. During his career in the national team, he won three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970, being the only player to do so. He is also the best scorer in the history of the Brazilian team, with 77 goals in 92 games. In clubs, he is Santos' greatest scorer and led them to the Copa Libertadores da América in 1962 and 1963. Known for connecting the phrase "Nice Game" to football, Pelé's "electrifying action and propensity for spectacular goals" quickly made him a star, and his team toured internationally to make the most of his popularity. Since he retired in 1977, he is a world football ambassador and has done a lot of acting and commercial work. In January 1995 he was appointed minister of sport under the Fernando Henrique Cardoso government. In 2010, he was named Honorary President of the New York Cosmos. With an average of almost one goal per game throughout his career, Pelé was an expert at kicking the ball with either foot, as well as anticipating the movements of his opponents on the field. Although predominantly attacking, he could also go deeper and assume a role as a playmaker, providing assists with his vision and skill and pass; he also used his dribbling skills to overtake opponents. In Brazil, he is hailed as a national hero for his achievements in football and for his open support for policies that improve the social conditions of the poor. Throughout his career and retirement, Pelé received several individual and team awards for his performance on the field, his record achievements and his legacy in the sport. First years:

Born in Três Corações in 1940, Pelé had a street named after him in the city - Rua Edson Arantes do Nascimento. A statue of Pelé is also located in a square in the center of the city. Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born on October 23, 1940 in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil, being the son of Fluminense player João Ramos do Nascimento, better known as Dondinho, and Celeste Arantes. He is the eldest of two brothers. Pele received his first name in honor of the American inventor Thomas Edison. His parents decided to remove the "i" and called it "Edson", but there was an error on the birth certificate, causing many documents to show his name as "Edison", not "Edson", as it is called. He was originally nicknamed "Dico" by his family. Edson received the nickname "Pelé" during his school days because of the way he pronounced the name of his favorite player, goalkeeper Bilé do Vasco da Gama, who spoke in a wrong way and the more he complained, the more the name stuck . In his autobiography, Pelé stated that he had no idea what the name meant, nor his old friends. Besides the claim that the name is derived from Bilé, and that it means "miracle" in Hebrew, the word has no meaning in Portuguese. . Pelé grew up in poverty, in Bauru, in the state of São Paulo. He earned extra money working in tea shops. Taught to play football by his father, he had no money to buy a suitable football, and he usually played with a sock stuffed with newspaper and tied with a rope or even played with a grapefruit. He played for several amateur teams in his youth, including Sete de Setembro, Canto do Rio, São Paulinho and Amériquinha. Pelé took Bauru Atlético Clube juniors (whose coach was Waldemar de Brito) to two youth championships in São Paulo. In his mid-teens, he played for an indoor soccer team called Radium. Indoor soccer had just become popular in Bauru when Pelé started playing. He was part of the first futsal competition in the region. Pelé and his team won the first championship and several others. According to Pelé, futsal presented difficult challenges; he said it was much faster than football on the grass and that players were forced to think faster, since everyone is close to everyone on the pitch. Pelé credited indoor soccer for helping him to think better and faster. In addition, indoor football allowed him to play with adults when he was about 14 years old. In one of the tournaments in which he participated, he was initially considered too young to play, but finally he became the competition's top scorer with fourteen or fifteen goals; "it gave me a lot of confidence," he said later. Club career, Santos:

In 1956, Brito took Pelé to the city of Santos to try out for the Santos Futebol Clube professional team, telling the Santos administration that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world." Pelé impressed Santos coach Luís Alonso Pérez (Lula) at Estádio Urbano Caldeira, and signed a professional contract with the club in June 1956. Pelé was highly publicized in the local media as a future star. He made his debut on September 7, 1956, aged 15, against Corinthians de Santo André and had a good performance in a 7 to 1 victory, scoring the first goal of his professional career during the match. When the 1957 season began, Pelé was placed as a starter and, at the age of 16, became the league's top scorer. Ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up for the Brazilian Football Team. After the 1962 World Cup, European clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United tried to sign him, but the government of Brazil, during the presidency of Jânio Quadros, declared Pelé "an official national treasure" in the previous year to avoid that he be transferred out of the country. In 1958 Inter Milan had already tried to sign him, but Angelo Moratti was forced to withdraw from the deal at the request of a Santos representative due to the revolt of the fans. Pelé in Holland with the Santos team, in October 1962 Pelé won his first major title with Santos, in 1958, the Paulista Championship; Pelé would finish the tournament as the competition's top scorer with 58 goals, a record that remains today. A year later, he would help the team to win their first victory in the Rio – São Paulo Tournament with a 3 to 3 win 0 about Vasco da Gama. However, Santos failed to maintain the São Paulo title. In 1960, Pelé scored 33 goals to help his team recover the Paulista Championship trophy, but lost at the Rio – São Paulo Tournament after finishing in 8th place. In 1960, Pelé scored 47 goals and helped Santos to recover the Campeonato Paulista. The club ended up winning the Brazil Cup, that same year, by beating Bahia in the final; Pelé ended as the tournament's top scorer with 9 goals. The victory allowed Santos to participate in the Copa Libertadores da América, the most prestigious club competition in the Western Hemisphere. I arrived in the hope of stopping a great man, but I left convinced that I had been undone by someone who was not born on the same planet as the rest of us. Benfica goalkeeper Alberto da Costa Pereira, after the 5-2 defeat by Santos. Santos' most successful season in the Copa Libertadores began in 1962; the team was drawn to Group One, alongside Cerro Porteño, Deportivo Municipal Bolivia, winning all the matches in their group, except for one (a 1-1 draw away from home against Cerro). Santos defeated Universidad Católica in the semifinals and faced the 1961 champion Peñarol in the final. Pelé scored two goals in the playoff match, to guarantee the first title of a Brazilian club. Pelé finished as the second best scorer of the competition, with four goals. That same year, Santos would successfully defend the Brazilian Championship (with 37 goals from Pelé) and the Brazil Cup (Pelé scored four goals in the final series against Botafogo). Santos would also win the 1962 Intercontinental Cup, against Benfica. Wearing his 10 shirt, Pelé produced one of the best performances of his career, scoring a hat-trick in Lisbon in Santos' 5–2 victory. As a champion, Santos automatically qualified for the semifinal stage of the Copa Libertadores da America of 1963. The white ballet, nickname given to Santos by Pelé, managed to keep the title after victories over Botafogo and Boca Juniors. Pelé helped Santos to overcome a Botafogo team that contained players considered as stars like Garrincha and Jairzinho, with a goal in the last minute, in the first phase of the semifinals, transforming into a 1 to 1. In the second phase, Pelé scored a hat-trick at Maracanã Stadium in Santos' 4-0 victory. Santos started the final series by winning 3-2 in the first phase and defeated Boca Juniors 2-1 at La Bombonera. It was a rare feat in official competitions, with another goal by Pelé. Santos became the first Brazilian team to win the Copa Libertadores on Argentine soil. Pelé ended the tournament with 5 goals. Santos lost the Campeonato Paulista after finishing third, but won the Rio-São Paulo Tournament after a 0-3 victory over Flamengo in the final, with Pelé scoring a goal. Pelé would also help Santos retain the Intercontinental Cup and the Brazil Cup against Milan and Bahia, respectively. Pelé is the greatest scorer in Santos history:

In the 1964 Copa Libertadores da America, Santos was defeated in both semi-final matches by Independiente. The club won the Campeonato Paulista, with Pelé scoring 34 goals. Santos also shared the Rio-São Paulo title with Botafogo and won the Brazil Cup for the fourth consecutive year. In the 1965 Copa Libertadores da America, Santos reached the semi-finals and faced Peñarol in a rematch of the 1962 final. After two games, a playoff was necessary to break the tie. Unlike 1962, Peñarol came out on top and eliminated Santos 2-1. Pelé would, however, be the tournament's top scorer, with eight goals. This proved to be the beginning of a decline with Santos failing to retain the Rio-São Paulo Tournament. In 1966, Pelé and Santos also failed to retain the Brazil Cup with Pelé's goals, not being enough to prevent a 9 to 4 loss to Cruzeiro (led by Tostão) in the final series. The club, however, wins the Campeonato Paulista in 1967, 1968 and 1969. On November 19, 1969, Pelé scored the 1000th goal in all competitions, in what was a long-awaited moment in Brazil. The goal, popularly nicknamed O Milésimo, occurred in a match against Vasco da Gama, when Pelé scored from a penalty, at Maracanã Stadium. Pelé states that his most memorable goal was scored at the Conde Rodolfo Crespi Stadium in a Paulista Championship, in a match against São Paulo's rival, Clube Atlético Juventus, on August 2, 1959. As there are no video images of the game, Pelé asked that a computer animation was made for this specific purpose. In March 1961, he scored the so-called "goal from plate" against Fluminense, in Maracanã. Pelé received the ball at the entrance to his own area, and ran the length of the field, deluding opposition players with feints, before kicking the ball, in addition to the goalkeeper. A plaque was ordered with a dedication for "the most beautiful goal in the history of Maracanã". In 1967, the two factions involved in the Civil War in Nigeria agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play a friendly in Lagos. During his time at Santos, Pelé played alongside many talented players, including Zito, Pepe and Coutinho; the latter was his partner in numerous plays, attacks and goals.

New York Cosmos: Pelé signing a ball for the President of the United States, Richard Nixon, at the White House in 1973, two years before joining the New York Cosmos, After the 1974 season (19th with Santos), Pelé retired from Brazilian clubs, although he has continued to occasionally play for Santos in competitive competitive matches. Two years later, he left his semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos, of the North American Soccer League (from the United States) for the 1975 season. Despite having passed much of his best phase, Pelé was credited with the significant increase in public awareness and interest in sport in the United States. During his first public appearance in Boston, he was injured by a crowd of fans who surrounded him and was evacuated on a stretcher. Pelé debuted at Cosmos on June 15, 1975 against the Dallas Tornado at Downing Stadium, scoring a goal in the 2-2 draw. In 1975, a week before the Lebanese Civil War, Pelé played a friendly match for the Lebanese club Nejmeh SC against a star team of the Lebanese Football League, scoring two goals that were not included in their official count. On match day, 40,000 spectators were at the stadium early in the morning to watch the game. Hoping to create the same kind of awareness in the Dominican Republic, he and the Cosmos team played in an exhibition match against the Haitian team Violette AC, at Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez, on June 3, 1976, where more than 25,000 fans watched him score a goal in the last seconds of the match, leading Cosmos to a 2-1 victory. He led Cosmos to the 1977 US championship, in his third and final season with the club. On October 1, 1977, Pelé ended his career in an exhibition match between Cosmos and Santos. Santos arrived in New York after defeating the Seattle Sounders, in New Jersey, by 2 to 0. The game was played in front of a crowd at the Giants Stadium and was broadcast in the United States by American's Wide World of Sports program. Broadcasting Company, as well as worldwide. Pele's father and wife watched the match, as did Muhammad Ali and Bobby Moore. Career in the Brazilian team Pelé's first game for the Brazilian team was in a 2-1 defeat against Argentina, on July 7, 1957, at Maracanã. In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil at 16 years and nine months, being the youngest player to accomplish that feat. 1958 World Cup:

Pelé (number 10) passes through three Swedish players in a 1958 World Cup match, Pelé arrived in Sweden affected by a knee injury, but upon returning from the treatment room, his colleagues insisted on his call. His first match was against the Soviet Union in the third game of the first round of the Cup, where he assisted Vavá's second goal. He was the youngest player in the tournament and, at the time, the youngest to play a World Cup. Against France in the semifinal, Brazil was already leading 2-1 in the interval before Pelé scored a hat-trick, becoming the youngest in the history of the World Cup to do so. Pelé cries on the shoulder of goalkeeper Gilmar after winning the 1958 World Cup. On June 29, 1958, he became the youngest player to play in the World Cup final at 17 years and 249 days. He scored two goals in that final when Brazil beat Sweden 5-2 in Stockholm. His first goal, in which he passed the ball through a defender before kicking into the corner of the net, was chosen as one of the best goals in the history of the Cups. About this second goal, the Swedish player Sigge Parling would comment later: "When Pelé scored the fifth goal of that final, I have to be sincere and say that I applauded". When the match ended, Pelé passed out on the pitch and was revived by Garrincha. He then recovered and was thrilled for the victory, crying while being congratulated by his teammates. He ended the tournament with six goals in four games, tied for second, behind Just Fontaine, and was voted the best young player in the tournament. It was at this World Cup that Pelé started wearing a shirt with the number 10. This was the result of a disorganization: the leaders of the Brazilian Federation did not send the number of players' shirts and it was up to FIFA to choose which ones would be used in the world cup, with Pelé the number 10. The press proclaimed Pelé the greatest revelation of the Cup and he retroactively received the Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, behind Didi. Copa America:

Pelé also played in the Copa America. In the 1959 competition, he was elected the best player of the tournament, in addition to being the top scorer with 8 goals, with Brazil taking second place. He scored in five of Brazil's six games, including two goals against Chile and a hat-trick against Paraguay.

1962 World Cup:

Passing by Giovanni Trapattoni at San Siro, Milan, in 1963

When the 1962 World Cup started, Pelé was already considered the best player in the world. In the first match of the tournament in Chile, against Mexico, he scored the first goal of the match and then the second, in the 2-0 win. He was injured in the next game while attempting a long shot against Czechoslovakia . This would keep him out of the rest of the competition and forced coach Aymoré Moreira to make his only line-up change in the tournament. The replacement was Amarildo, who performed well. However, it was Garrincha who took the role of leader and led Brazil to its second World Cup title, after beating Czechoslovakia in the final in Santiago. 1966 World Cup:

Pelé was the most famous soccer player in the world during the 1966 World Cup in England, and Brazil brought together some world champions such as Garrincha, Gilmar and Djalma Santos with the addition of other stars such as Jairzinho, Tostão and Gérson, which generated great expectations for them. However, he was eliminated in the first round, playing only three matches. The World Cup was marked, among other things, by serious fouls in Pelé that left him injured by the Bulgarian and Portuguese defenders. Pelé scored the first goal of a foul against Bulgaria, becoming the first player to score in three consecutive FIFA World Cups, but due to his injury, he did not participate in the second game against Hungary. His coach said that after the first game, he felt that "every team will treat him [Pelé] the same way". Brazil lost the game and Pelé, although still recovering, was taken back by Brazilian coach Vicente Feola for the crucial game against Portugal at Goodison Park in Liverpool. Feola changed the entire defense, including the goalkeeper, while in midfield he returned to the formation of the first game. During the game, Portuguese defender João Morais fouled Pelé, but was not sent off by referee George McCabe, a decision later seen as one of the worst refereeing errors in World Cup history. Pelé had to hobble for the rest of the game, as the team had already made all possible substitutions. After this game, he promised that he would never play again at the World Cup, a decision he would later turn back. 1970 World Cup:

Pelé collectible card produced by Panini for the 1970 World Cup

Pelé was called up for the national team in early 1969. He refused at first, but then accepted and played in six World Cup qualifiers, scoring six goals. It was already expected that the World Cup in Mexico would be Pelé's last. The Brazilian team for this tournament showed great changes in relation to the 1966 team. Players like Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Valdir Pereira, Djalma Santos and Gilmar had already retired. Despite this, the Brazilian team of the 1970 World Cup, with players like Pelé, Roberto Rivellino, Jairzinho, Gérson, Carlos Alberto Torres, Tostão and Clodoaldo, is often considered the greatest football team in history. With Mário Zagallo in 2008:

The five offensive players Jairzinho, Pelé, Gérson, Tostão and Rivellino created an exceptional attack, with Pelé taking the lead on the team's path to the final. All of Brazil's games in the tournament (except the final) were played in Guadalajara and, in the first match against Czechoslovakia, Pelé helped Brazil win 2-1, assisting Gérson's goal and then scoring. In this match, he tried to cover goalkeeper Ivo Viktor with a shot close to the midfield, narrowly missing the goal. Such a move entered the history of the World Cups as "the goal that Pelé did not make" and even today it is still frequently remembered by the Brazilian media. Brazil won the match 4-1. In the first half of the match against England, Pelé almost scored with a header that was saved by English goalkeeper Gordon Banks. In the second half, he dominated a Tostão cross before passing the ball to Jairzinho, who scored the only goal. Against Romania, Pelé scored two goals, with Brazil winning by a final score of 3 to 2. In the quarterfinals against Peru, Brazil won by 4 to 2, with him giving the pass to Tostão in the third goal. In the semifinal, Brazil faced Uruguay for the first time since the 1950 FIFA World Cup final. Jairzinho put Brazil in the lead by scoring two goals and Pelé gave the pass to Rivellino to make it third in the 3 to 1 victory. match, he made one of his most famous plays. Tostão passed the ball to Pelé and Uruguay goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz took notice and stepped out of the line to try to catch the ball before it reached the Brazilian striker. However, Pelé arrived first and tricked Mazurkiewicz with a feint for not touching the ball, making it roll to the goalkeeper's left, while he went to the right. He then ran around the goalkeeper to retrieve the ball and kicked. Brazil played against Italy in the final at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Pelé scored the first goal with a header after overtaking Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich. After Brazil's 100th World Cup goal, Pelé's jump of joy in the arms of teammate Jairzinho when celebrating the goal is considered one of the most emblematic moments in the history of the World Cup. He assisted the third goal, scored by Jairzinho, and Carlos Alberto's fourth. The last goal of the game is often considered the best goal of that team, as only two players did not participate in it. The play culminated in Pelé making a blind pass that followed Carlos Alberto's running trajectory. He came running from behind and kicked the ball to score. Brazil won the match 4-1, maintaining the Jules Rimet Cup indefinitely, and Pelé received the Golden Ball as the tournament player. Burgnich, who scored Pelé during the final, was quoted as saying: "I said to myself before the game: 'he is made of skin and bones like everyone' - but I was wrong". Pele's last game with the national team was on July 18, 1971 against Yugoslavia, in Rio de Janeiro. With Pelé on the field, the Brazilian team achieved 67 wins, 14 draws and 11 losses. Brazil never lost a match with Pelé and Garrincha in play. Arthur Antunes Coimbra, better known as Zico (Rio de Janeiro, March 3, 1953), is a coach, former manager and former Brazilian footballer who served as a midfielder. He is currently technical director of Kashima Antlers. He stood out as the leader of Flamengo's victorious trajectory in the 1970s and 1980s, with a peak in the conquests of the Libertadores Cup of America and the Intercontinental Cup (the world club of the time) by the Rio team, in addition to the titles of the Brazilian Championship of 1980, 1982, 1983 and the 1987 Copa União (one of the modules of the Brazilian Championship of that year) and also by the Brazilian team in the Argentina 1978, Spain 1982 and Mexico 1986 cups. He is considered by many specialists, sports professionals and, in particular , by Flamengo fans, the greatest player in the history of the club, and the greatest Brazilian footballer since Pelé, having won the nickname Pelé Branco. With a total of 587 goals scored in his career, Zico is the midfielder who has the most goals in football history. He is also the greatest scorer in the history of the Maracanã stadium, with 333 goals in 435 matches. He scored 135 goals in Brazilian championships. In 1981 and in 1983, he was elected the World's Best Footballer of the Year by World Soccer. He scored 101 foul goals, being the record holder in football history in goals scored in this way. Because of this, in 2001 he was elected by Revista Placar as the greatest free kick taker in Brazilian football in the 20th century. And in 2016, in a poll promoted by GloboEsporte.com, he was elected by players and internet users as the greatest Brazilian hitter in history. But more than an expert hitter of fouls, Zico presented in his football repertoire, easy dribbling, excellent vision of the game and an intelligence above the normal. Therefore, for many sports journalists, such as Celso Unzelte, for example, Zico was the most complete player that Brazil has ever had. He won the Best Player Award in South America 3 times (1977, 1981, and 1982), being the record holder of achievements. He was elected as the third largest Brazilian footballer of the 20th century (after only Pelé and Garrincha), the fifth largest in South America and the third best among all in the world, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). He is one of four Brazilians to appear in the FIFA Hall of Fame (the others are Pelé, Garrincha and Didi). He was elected by the International Football Federation (FIFA), the eighth biggest player of the century, the ninth biggest player of the 20th century by France Football magazine, the ninth Brazilian of the century in sports, according to a survey conducted by IstoÉ magazine, and the tenth largest player of all time by the English magazine World Soccer. In July 2012, he was elected one of the "100 greatest Brazilians of all time" in a contest held by SBT with the BBC in London. Biography:

Arthur Antunes Coimbra, youngest of the six children of the Portuguese immigrant from Tondela, José Antunes Coimbra who was a fervent Flamengo supporter and was an amateur goalkeeper in his youth - with the gem of the carioca, Matilde da Silva Coimbra, he was born at 7 am on March 3 1953. Small and slight, it was not difficult for Arthur to become Arthurzinho and then Arthurzico. Until a cousin, Ermelinda, reduced it affectionately for Zico. Regarding his father's career, Zico said: "He was a goalkeeper and at the time he had amateur and professional football. And he was crowned three times champion by the Municipal Club, from 39 to 41. When his boss was called to train at Flamengo, his boss , Vasco supporter, threatened his job. With that, my father indicated Jurandyr, who was his reserve at Municipal and ended up champion of Flamengo for Flamengo shortly after. " In addition to his father, other Zico brothers even became players. Antunes and Nando, the elders, were not so prominent. The family stars would come later. First with Edu, whose talent was discovered by América-RJ, where he became professional in 1966. Career as a Player, Zico in 1971. National Archives:

The beginning

Zico played in a small indoor soccer team formed by friends and family, Juventude de Quintino, from the Quintino Bocaiúva neighborhood, in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro. In addition to Juventude, he started to practice the sport known today as futsal at the River Football Club, traditional club of Piedade, where one of the teachers was Joaquim Pedro da Luz Filho, Seu Quinzinho. At River, his football as a boy drew attention. But his first field football club was Flamengo, where he moved at the age of fourteen, when in 1967 the radio host Celso Garcia, a family friend, watched Zico play in a tournament in River, where he played with his shirt on. Santos, in which the boy scored ten goals in a 15 x 3 victory for his team. Garcia took him to the club's soccer school.

Flamengo

First years

Zico only debuted in the main team in 1971, in a match against Vasco da Gama, whose score ended 2 to 1 for the rubro-negro team, in which the debutante gave the pass to Fio Maravilha to score the winning goal. Zico was only established as a starter in the team in 1974, after undergoing an intense physical preparation that included dedication of a good part of his day, since he arrived at the club, in 1967 (when he was still at school), to a job of muscle strengthening, based mainly on anabolic steroids (from two to three injections, according to Zico himself), due to the previously thin body. In 1969, at the age of 16, Zico was sent to Bahia with a group of players from Rio de Janeiro to carry out an evaluation at Fluminense de Feira, but was disapproved for his physical size and returned to Flamengo shortly thereafter. And due to his thin body at the beginning of his career and his neighborhood (Quintino), he earned the affectionate nickname "Galinho de Quintino". Still working for the youth team, he participated in two matches for the main team of Flamengo in the 1972 Carioca Championship, enough to win his first title as a professional. However, it would still take two years to establish himself in the squad and bury the image of a player of weak physique, who succumbed to the first blow of the opponents. After these two years, in 1974 (when he also received the number 10 shirt), he began to demonstrate exciting football, with dribbling, throwing and sweeping runs towards the goal and also the skill that would characterize him, that of taking his fouls in millimeters. This year, he won his second Carioca for Flamengo, the first as holder and shirt 10, leading a young team in decisions against the most experienced teams from Vasco and America (where his brother Edu played at the time). In the Brazilian Championship, he received his first Golden Ball from Placar Magazine, elected by the publication the best player in the championship. In the following three years, however, Zico saw rivals celebrate the state title: Rivellino's Fluminense won twice in 1975 and 1976 and, more painfully, Vasco de Roberto Dinamite took the cup in 1977 after a penalty shootout against Flamengo in which Zico , having the chance to give the title to his club if he converted his collection, he lost. The series of penalties would continue and end in a Vasco victory.

The "Era Zico

Early career. National Archives.

From 1978, however, Flamengo would enter a golden period under the command of Zico. With an almost perfect football, only possible to be stopped with violence, Zico won a third championship in Rio, the third of the club, in that year's editions with the two held in 1979, the same year that the team would win the prestigious friendly tournament Ramón de Carranza , with emphasis on the victory by 2-1, in which he scored one of the goals, over Barcelona by Johan Neeskens, Allan Simonsen, Hans Krankl and Carles Rexach. In 1979 he also scored his 245th goal, in a match against Goytacaz, surpassing, still at the age of 26, Dida as the greatest scorer in Flamengo's history. In the following year, the unprecedented title in the Brazilian Championship would finally come. The finals were against Atlético Mineiro de Reinaldo, Toninho Cerezo and Éder. Injured, Zico did not play the first game, in which the alvinegros won, in Mineirão, by 1 x 0. He returned to the team in the game back, at Maracanã, having passed the first goal and scoring Flamengo's second in the 3 x 2 victory that gave him the national champion cup for the first time, making up for the disappointment in Carioca, where Zico sees the rivals Vasco and Fluminense decide the title. Still in 1980, Zico would win two other European friendly tournaments with Flamengo: the Asturias and Algarve Tournament, with victories over Real Sociedad and Spartak Sofia; and a double at Ramón de Carranza, passing by Dinamo Tbilisi and Real Betis.

With the national title, the club was accredited for the first time to dispute the Copa Libertadores de América. In the first phase, for having drawn in number of points with Atlético Mineiro, a tiebreaker was scheduled. The clash took place at Serra Dourada Stadium. The match ended at 37 minutes of the first half, as the rival from Minas Gerais had five players sent off by referee José Roberto Wright. Flamengo was declared the winner and advanced to the semifinal phase of the competition, where they overcame Deportivo Cali, from Colombia, and Jorge Wilstermann, from Bolivia. In the decision, he faced the Chileans of Cobreloa. Zico scored both goals in the 2-1 win in the first leg at Maracanã. The return, in Chile, was marked by the enormous violence of the rivals, especially of their defender Mario Soto, who attacked the flamenguistas Andrade and Lico with a sharp ring. The Chileans won 1-0 and, according to the regulations of the season, the trophy would be decided on a neutral field, which was in Montevideo, at the Centenario Stadium. Zico again scored the two winning goals, this time 2-0, the second of them, ten minutes from the end, in one of his most unforgettable free kicks. The continental title was followed by another Carioca, over Vasco's rivals, in a match dedicated to coach Cláudio Coutinho, who died before the first game of the decision. The Campeonato Carioca had already reserved the joy of imposing a 6-0 defeat on Botafogo, returning a defeat of nine years before it still resonated between the two fans. The magical year of 1981 ended in the best possible way: from the state decision, the team went to Tokyo to face Liverpool's Britons in the Intercontinental Cup.

The English team was widely favorite: in the past eight years, they had won the English league five times, a UEFA Cup and three UEFA Champions Cups, with a roster of respected players from the English and Scottish national teams, who did not cease to look at superiority to Brazilians in the locker room, before departure. The world title, which until then had only come to Brazil through Santos de Pelé, was won after Flamengo's exquisite display, which won by 3 x 0. The three goals, all scored in the first half, came from Zico's moves : in the first and third, for direct assistance to Nunes and, in the second, scored by Adílio, after a free kick from Galinho hit by the opposing goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar. Voted the best in the field even without scoring, he received a coveted sports car from the sponsor of the match, Toyota, as an individual award, together with Nunes; both would demonstrate the great union of the group, selling the vehicles and dividing the money equally among the players. Even before the match, when asked about the British favoritism, he would have said: "they are favorites, yes, but for second place, which is very honorable". During it, in desperation, goalkeeper Grobbelaar shouted to defender and captain Phil Thompson: "Throw Zico away, Thompson, throw Zico away, in the name of God!". Afterwards, the opposing coach, Bob Paisley, declared: "You play a game that we don't know. You dance, that should be prohibited".

Club World Cup poster featuring Zico

The Golden Age at Flamengo continued the following year with the conquest of the Brazilian Championship, in a campaign highlighted by away wins, yet another response to criticisms that the team (and Zico) only played well at Maracanã: two 4 x 3, about Nautical and São Paulo; two 3 x 2 over Internacional and Guarani - in this match, Zico scored the three winning goals against the team of Careca and Jorge Mendonça. To complete, the cup was also won away from home, against Grêmio, in a 1 x 0 victory with a new assist from Zico to Nunes. Galinho had already been a hero in the first game of the decision, scoring a trivial goal in the left corner of Emerson Leão, drawing a game at home that was already ending. The second half of 1982 is no longer so good: returning from a painful elimination at the World Cup, Zico loses the two tournaments he competes with Flamengo. In the Copa Libertadores da América, Flamengo, as champion, enters the dispute already in the second phase of the tournament, in a group of three teams that will appoint one of the finalists. The club wins the two duels against River Plate and goes to the last round needing to beat Peñarol at home to force an extra game - the Uruguayans had won in Montevideo. At the However, it is the opponent who wins, in the middle of Maracanã - the final, interestingly, would be again against Cobreloa. The Campeonato Carioca is lost to Vasco. In the first semester of 1983, Flamengo was eliminated in the first phase of the Libertadores in the group they shared with Grêmio (which has the only vacancy) and Bolivians Bolívar and Blooming. At the same time, however, the team matched the Gauchos of Internacional as the biggest winner of the Brasileirão, winning their third title. The flavor was more special for having eliminated Vasco on the way in the quarter-finals, with Zico scoring the equalizer (which guaranteed the Flemish classification) in the 44th minute of the second half. The finals were against Santos. The paulistas, who aspired for their seventh national title, had won the first game by 2 x 1. On the return, playing injured, Zico ruined the Santos dream by scoring before the first minute, in a match ended in a red-black victory by 3 x 0. Zico lifted the cup aware that it would be his last match for Flamengo: although the transfer has not yet been announced, Galinho already knew if his sale to the Italian team of Udinese, in a transfer already agreed one month before the decision and kept confidential for eventual protests from the fans not to hinder the walk towards the title. Udinese, Zico for Udinese alongside Franco De Falco of Triestina in the 1983-84 Coppa Italia final. Coveted by more traditional clubs in the country, such as Roma and Juventus, his trip to Friuli's modest team caused a scandal in the rest of Italy. The Federation even suspended the purchase, which was budgeted at US $ 4 million (in values at the time) - the highest amount ever paid in the country by a player -, which revolted the residents of Udine, who started triggering messages of separatism. The motto was "or Zico or Austria!", A reference to the time when the region belonged to the Austrian Empire. The threat was taken seriously by the country's president, Sandro Pertini, who finally authorized the purchase of Zico. Galinho arrived in Udine treated from the start as a king. Even so, he kept his humble and professional attitude, trying to make everyone at ease: one of the team's reserves, Pradella, had even had chills and intestinal disarray the first time he was scheduled to play alongside the Brazilian. Dedicated to helping the club achieve the Serie A title, Zico did his part, leading a weak team to an honorable ninth place in the 1983/84 season, four points from the team that finished fourth (Internazionale), which would give a place for the UEFA Cup. Zico scored 19 goals, only one behind in the league's top scorer, with Michel Platini of champion Juventus. The detail is that the Frenchman played six more games, largely due to an injury that Zico had suffered in a friendly against Brescia. Playing often injured, knowing the team's dependence on him, Zico began to become disenchanted with the club's leaders, who had promised to form a strong team capable of fighting for the title, which had not been happening - besides him , the only players with some recognition were his teammate (and in the future also Flamengo) Edinho and a veteran ex-player of the Italian team, Franco Causio, with whom he was in the midfield. He began to dream of his return to Flamengo. The second season was marked by the struggle not to fall, with him playing only fifteen times, but still scoring twelve goals. Another reason for his desire to leave was the process he underwent in the Italian court for allegedly illegally sending money to Brazil, which would only later end in his acquittal. In an interview with the English magazine FourFourTwo, Zico clarified what happened:

I signed an image use contract in Brazil and, in Italy, the president of Udinese signed another advertising contract. It would take an authorization from the Italian Federal Revenue Service to be able to advertise in Italy. I respected that and fulfilled my other contract. But then the tax agents filed a lawsuit against me and I had to appeal. I then showed the contract I had signed in Brazil, which respected Brazilian laws, and proved that I paid taxes correctly. The funny thing is that I ended up paying more taxes than a citizen of Udine normally paid. I paid something close to $ 500,000 and was sued for tax evasion due to a contractual error. I appealed and was totally absolved. It was totally legal and I did nothing to avoid paying my taxes. Only the press didn't mention that. Zico did not fail to reproduce his characteristic play in Italy, terrifying the opposing goalkeepers with his free kicks, generating even fierce debates in sports programs on the country's television channels: "How to avoid Zico's goals?", They argued. During his time at Udinese, Zico scored 17 goals from his 57 goals. Of the "normal" goals, two are remembered in particular: the 1-0 victory, in November 19 83, scored in the 41st minute of the second half, on the then champion, Roma, who had never lost to Udinese. Another was a bicycle on his debut at the mythical San Siro Stadium, in a game against Milan, lowering the score at the end of the match to 3 x 2 - he would still find time to assist Causio for the equalizer. He was also very applauded and had his name shouted and sung by the opposing fans, a fact that occurred against Ascoli, Genoa and Catania. Against Ascoli, fans, reporters and even the opposing goalkeeper applauded him after scoring a beautiful goal. In Genoa, the entire stadium sang his name and in Catania the fans of the rival team not only shouted and sang his name but also cheered for him: every time he touched the ball he was cheered and when a foul appeared near the area , cried out for Zico to charge her. At the end of the game, Brazilian player Pedrinho, from Catania (and his colleague at the 1982 World Cup, as well as ex-opponent of Vasco), was asked by a reporter: "Could you have won the game?". And he replied: "How could we if even our fans were rooting for Zico?" In a survey conducted in November 2006 by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on the greatest Brazilian players in Italy, Zico appears in first place, ahead of Mazzola, Falcão, Careca, Ronaldo and Kaká, among others. His charisma and talent continued to remain in the heart of the Udinese fan even after his departure: in 1989, four years after leaving the club (which had fallen to Serie B two seasons after the idol left), he filled the Comunale del Stadium Friuli in the match that marked his farewell to the Brazilian team. Twenty years later, in November 2009, Galinho received Udine's honorary citizenship. Who synthesized in a better way the great metamorphosis he performed in the city was a journalist from "Il Gazzettino de Veneza", the professional in charge of following him, Luigi Maffei. For us Friulians, Zico has the same meaning as a Ferrari engine placed inside a beetle. We feel the only ones in the world to own such a wonderful and absurd car.

Return to Flamengo

Zico statue on display in Gávea

After two seasons in Italy, Zico returned in the second half of 1985 to his heart club. The return was made possible by an operation organized by the Structural advertising agency, financed by Sul América Seguros and supported by Rede Manchete, called Projeto Zico, which included the creation of an advertising film in which six boys fanatical about Flamengo - Cebola, Gênio, Pulga, Bochecha, Limão and G / 18 - went to Italy to get the idol back. The first game on the return to Brazil, on July 12, 1985, was a friendly against a combination of international stars, such as Paulo Roberto Falcão, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Cerezo and Maradona. Flamengo beat Amigos de Zico by 3 to 1. Zico scored a free kick. Jacozinho, left-winger from CSA de Alagoas, scored the goal of Amigos de Zico. The first official game, on July 14, was a red-black 3-0 victory over Bahia, with goals from Zico, Tita and Chiquinho.

The celebrations, however, gave way to agony shortly after, after suffering an unfair foul by Márcio Nunes, in a match against Bangu. The blow devastated his legs: Zico had sprained his two knees and left ankle, a bruise on the head of his left fibula and deep abrasions on his right leg. He had to undergo three operations on his left knee and a long period of recovery due to the consequent muscle problems. He only chose them because he would have to end his career if he didn't. "I decided to try, because I did not admit the idea of being forced to leave the fields. One day I wanted to stop football and not football to stop me", declared Zico, who, due to the recovery, had the curvature of his left leg changed, to also change the way you step. There was also the extra motivation for holding a new World Cup in the following year. To play again, he had to endure up to eight hours a day in Gávea's weight room, struggling to get new centimeters for his left leg, which had suffered atrophy. The answer to those who already considered him a former player came in February 1986, on the eve of the Cup, in a Fla x Flu. The rubronegros celebrations before the match were destined for Socrates' debut as a Flamengo player that day. After the game, the celebrations took place as a result of Zico's gala performance, which scored three goals - one of a foul - in the 4 x 1 Flamengo match. In Flamengo, the reward would come with the state title that same year and, in the following, it would be the fourth Brazilian championship, with the conquest of the green module of the Copa União, with him having already changed his style of play: he replaced his momentum with cadence, dribbling towards the goal with first touches and throws. The 1987 cup would be the last one raised by Galinho in Flamengo, and would not be recognized by CBFuntil 2011, when it was made official as a Brazilian title, alongside the yellow module, which appointed the Sport and Guarani teams as representatives of Brazil in the 1988 Libertadores. However, shortly thereafter, the CBF went back, recognizing only Sport-PE as the only champion of 1987 by court order. In 1988, Flamengo would lose Carioca to Vasco (as in the previous year) and, in the Brasileirão, they would be eliminated in the quarter-finals by Grêmio. Zico decided to stop playing in the second half of 1989: Flamengo had lost the State to Botafogo. His last professional game at Flamengo ended in the best way: a 5-0 victory over Fluminense, in Juiz de Fora, in a game in which Galinho did not spare dribbles, throws and an unforgettable goal in his specialty. "It was everything I wanted. To finish with a goal and just the way I like it most: foul."

Sumitomo Metals / Kashima Antlers

In 1991, he returned to football to play in the still incipient Japanese football. In Japan, he played for Sumitomo Metals and his original club, the current Kashima Antlers, from 1991 to 1994, when he left the fields for good. His time in Japan, together with other famous players already retired or about to retire, is today pointed out as one of the biggest reasons for the popularization and professionalization of football in the country, which would finally promote the first professional edition of the Japanese championship in 1993. final, against Verdy Kawasaki (current Tokyo Verdy), he received one of the rare expulsions in his career, spitting on the ball for his irritation with the performance of the referee, who would be favoring the opponent (who ended up with the title). The goals of the final, however, came from players inspired by Zico playing in the newly professionalized Japanese football: by Kashima, his former teammate from Flamengo Alcindo; by Verdy, the former opponent of Vasco Bismarck and also Kazu, a Japanese who played in Brazil. Zico retired after the end of the second edition of the J-League, with Kashima placing third in the overall standings. Even though he failed to win the Japanese championship title, Zico was very revered in the country, who learned to love football a lot because of the charisma and performances of the veteran idol, who even won a statue in his honor there. Oswaldo de Oliveira, who would coach Kashima, summed up Zico's importance for the club:

Zico participated in the formation of Kashima even in the beginning, when the club was an amateur. His concept is fabulous and even today the fans bring him a banner in every game. Antlers was going to be a factory club, and Zico made him big, gave him history and tradition.

When he was already at Kashima, Zico returned to play at Maracanã once, as a special guest of former rival Roberto Dinamite, for his farewell friendly, between Vasco and Deportivo La Coruña de Bebeto, former colleague of both. The occasion was famous for being the only time that Zico entered the field with the Cruzmaltina shirt. He continued to play football a year after leaving the lawns, but in the sand. Back in Brazil, where he founded the club that bears his name, CFZ (Centro de Futebol Zico), he participated in the Brazilian team in the first two world championships of the so-called beach soccer (1995 and 1996), being champion in both and, in the first, also the top scorer and best player.

International career

Brazilian Olympic Team

For the Pre-Olympic Team, Zico was one of the highlights of the national team during the qualifying tournament for the 1972 Olympics, having even scored the qualifying goal. However, in an unexplained way, he was cut from the team that went to the Games in Munich. His disappointment at the absence made him think about quitting playing at the time.

Later, the press reported that he was not summoned because of a problem that his brother Nando had with the Military Dictatorship.

"I always put it in my head that I was taken out because of football, not because of these political problems. Actually, everyone who was in command was in the army. It was what was in charge at the time."

Zico, in an interview given in 2011.

Two years later, Zico gave an interview in which he said that he thinks the source of the problem is different:

“The biggest problem happened to my brother Antunes, who was not invited to the 1964 Olympic team because my father, Mr. Antunes, did not accept signing a drawer contract with Fluminense and, with that, the guy who was in the military, from Fluminense and CBD, said he wouldn't go to the Olympics either. In 1969 Edu was not, and everything was commanded by the military. If something had happened, I wouldn't even be taken to the 1971 Pre-Olympic Games. There was no point in taking me out because of that four or five months later. And it wasn’t just me, but my family was scalded from all these stories. "

Zico, in an interview with Jornal do Brasil, in 2013

Main Brazilian Team

Discounted his farewell game in 1989, in Udine, and matches by national teams At the bottom, Zico played for ten years for Brazil, scoring 66 goals in 89 matches, having left as the team's second top scorer, after only Pelé (later, he was overtaken by Romário). He competed in three World Cups, having not experienced the taste of the world title. His only cups for the National Team were won in the year of his debut, 1976: the Rio Branco Cup, the Roca Cup, the Oswaldo Cruz Cup, the Atlantic Cup and the US Bicentennial Tournament (in which he scored, in the 4 x 1 against the Italy, one of his most beautiful goals, dribbling three opponents and kicking left foot in the goal by Dino Zoff). He also won the England-Brazil cup, played in a single game at Wembley in 1981, when he scored the winning goal of 1-0 against English Team. His debut came in a valid match for Rio Branco. It was against Uruguay, in Montevideo. Scoring goal: with the game tied at 1 x 1 and with Rivellino and Nelinho expelled, Zico scored the winning goal in a free kick at the end of the match. Only in 2009 would Brazil again win the Uruguayan National Team at her home.

Zico went to the 1978 World Cup at a time when he was still on the team coached by Cláudio Coutinho. What would be his first goal in the tournament ended badly canceled: at the end of the debut in the first group stage, against Sweden, the referee (Welshman Clive Thomas) ended the match when the ball was in the air after a corner kick , before Zico's header made her enter the net. For physical reasons and an alleged interference by the CBD command in the team lineup, he lost the position of holder in the third game to Jorge Mendonça, starting to enter in the course of the matches. He scored against Peru, from a penalty, his first World Cup goal. He said goodbye to the Cup in the match against Poland, the last of the second group stage, when he suffered a serious muscle problem when he caught his ankle in a move with opponent Zbigniew Boniek - if Brazil passed the final, Zico would not play. The team had to settle for the decision of the third place, won after being tied in points and with less goal difference than the host Argentina, after the victory of 6-0 against Peru, the great scandal of the tournament. Perhaps a greater drama came at the 1982 World Cup, where Brazil was experiencing enormous favoritism. Zico scored four times in the world cup: foul against Scotland, in a game in which he met three Liverpool players against whom he had played six months before: Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness; two against New Zealand (one of them by volleyball); and another against Argentina.

In the match against the rivals, he also gave Júnior a pass to score the third and also got involved in the second, having given Falcão a pass to watch Serginho Chulapa. The game was already valid for the second phase, where a group formed also by Italy would give a place for the semifinals. Brazil went to the game against the Italians and could draw to pass the stage: both had beaten Argentina, but Brazil had scored one more goal. Everything went wrong in the group's decisive match. Azzurra coach Enzo Bearzot had already seen Zico's skills in 1979, when he trained the Rest of the World Team in a friendly against Argentina commemorating the country's one-year anniversary at the 1978 World Cup. Zico had arrived in Buenos Aires minutes before departure, entering the second half. He scored the equalizer and led the FIFA team to victory in the comeback To annul Galinho, he climbed the violent Claudio Gentile, who had already stopped Maradona, based on many strokes, in the match against Argentina. In the only moment in which he managed to break free of Gentile's heavy scoring, Zico gave the pass to Socrates' goal, which tied the match 1-1.

In another moment, the opponent even pulled Zico's shirt so hard that he ended up tearing it. The move was inside the penalty area, but the penalty was not scored by Israeli referee Abraham Klein. Italy won by 3 x 2 in what Zico, until then tied with West German Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in the artillery of the world (prize that would be with the executioner Paolo Rossi, who had scored the three goals of the Italian victory in that match and would make others three later), considers his "biggest frustration in football". The third and final Zico Cup would be that of 1986. Galinho still lived the criticism mistrust in relation to his physical condition after the injury caused by Bangu's Márcio Nunes in 1985. His response for the National Team would come in April, in a friendly against Yugoslavia. In the Brazilian victory by 4 x 2, he scored another of his most beautiful goals, invading the opponent's area leaving behind a row of four defenders and still getting rid of the goalkeeper before concluding for the nets. Still, due to his recovery, he went to the World Cup as a reserve. He played three of Brazil's five World Cup matches against Northern Ireland in the first round, with Brazil already ranked; Poland, in the round of 16; and France, in Wednesdays. He did not score goals, losing the best chance he had to do so, a penalty against the French. Zico had just joined the match, already

tied 1-1, and made a sensational launch for Branco, who was knocked down in the penalty area by goalkeeper Joël Bats.

As it was still cold in the match, Zico reluctantly hit the penalty, which he himself acknowledged to have charged badly. The draw lasted in overtime and the place in the semifinals was decided in the series of penalties. Appointed to hit again, Zico hit his charge in the decision, but Sócrates and Júlio César would lose theirs and Brazil would end up eliminated. It was Galinho's last official game for Brazil - interestingly, the ace lost only once for the National Team in the fateful game against Italy in 1982. In the 1990 World Cup, coach Sebastião Lazaroni, even talked to Zico if the player could not rethink his decision not to play in the Cup. Galinho chose not to play football anymore, having other plans: that year, during the presidency of Fernando Collor, he was National Sports Secretary, a public office he held until the following year.

Game Characteristics and Style

"My business was not to make fun, it was to score."

Zico, about his characteristics as a footballer.

Zico is recognized worldwide for his gigantic skill in free kicks. No wonder, in 2016, he was elected by experts as the greatest Brazilian hitter in history. To reach perfection, Zico tied a shirt at each angle, when there was no goalkeeper available, and started to practice free kicks. The ball always had to hit the cloth - a place that the goalkeeper could hardly reach. Zico managed to train more than 200 charges like that, practically every day.

However, Zico was more than an expert hitter for fouls. In his repertoire, easy dribbling, excellent vision of the game and an intelligence above normal. Therefore, for many sports journalists, such as Celso Unzelte, for example, Zico was the most complete player that Brazil has ever had.

According to Fernando Calazans, sports columnist for the newspaper O Globo, Zico acted in the role of the so-called “number one” in the 4: 3: 1: 2 system, as he mastered various functions (creating, attacking and defending). For the columnist, in the history of Brazilian football only Zico performed the same efficiently, as he participated in the marking, allowing his teammates to collectively defend themselves, and as a bow and arrow player, he created like no one and attacked even better. According to Mario Magalhães, when he returned to the pitch after his injury, his knees were no longer the same. And with his knees kicked, Galinho combined talent with intelligence to reinvent himself on the field. He started to perform the function then called striker. Weakened physically, Zico started, especially in the second half, to become more planted in the middle of the field and in the offensive midfield, launching his companions with the generosity of a Santa Claus for the whole year.

Career Post-hanging the cleats

Political Career

During the presidency of Fernando Collor, Zico was National Secretary of Sports. He held the position in the 1990s and 1991.

His best known project was the "Lei Zico", which modified the structure of Brazilian football, reducing the power of clubs in relation to players. Among the topics regulated by the Zico law, there are, for example, the creation of the Superior Sports Council - an entity destined to enforce the law itself - and the organization of sports justice.

The "Lei Zico", as Law 8,672 became known, was enacted on July 6, 1993, and promoted and implemented the modernization of sports legislation.

About this Law, Professor Álvaro Melo Filho, clarifies the innovative aspects brought by the standard.

“With the‘ Lei Zico ’the concept of sport, previously restricted and focused only on performance, has been expanded to understand sport at school and the sport of participation and leisure; Sports Justice gained a more consistent structure; the professional club was allowed to transform, form itself or contract a commercial company; in short, the State's interference was drastically reduced, strengthening private initiative and the exercise of autonomy in the sports field, further exemplified by the extinction of the old National Sports Council, created in the Estado Novo and which never lost the stigma of a bureaucratic organ , with notarial and police activities in the sports system, in addition to accumulating normative, executive and judicial functions. In other words, with the ‘Lei Zico’ all the authoritarian sports debris was removed, using legal instruments that aimed to facilitate the operability and functionality of the legal-sports system, where the ban gave way to induction ”. Still on the law, lawyer Mauro Lima Silveira teaches us: “Law 8.672,‘ Lei Zico ’, authored by Sports Secretary Artur Antunes Coimbra never had any application, but it had a real influence on the 'Pele Law'. It simply copied most of the devices on that one. Driven by reasons that are beyond discussion, the Extraordinary Sports Minister Edson Arantes do Nascimento understood that the sports legislation should not be called 'Lei Zico', but 'Lei Pelé'. And so this attack on Brazilian sport was born, full of unconstitutionality and disrespect for national sport ”. The relationship with Collor, considered harmonious at the beginning of his role as minister, deteriorated after allies of the former president complained about the effects of the Zico Law. One of the most controversial points of the law was the raising of financial resources for sports entities through bingo.

Charged by politicians who supported him, the then president shelved the bill, enough for Zico to resign. “That went head-on with some sectors that had supported it. He [Collor] shelved it. He stopped with the direct contact he had with me. I prepared my farewell letter, because I had nothing else to do ”.

After this adventure in politics, Zico returned to the pitch to play in Japan.

Beach Soccer

After hanging up his soccer shoes in 1994. Zico went to play beach soccer. He defended the Brazilian Beach Soccer Team between 1995 and 1996. In that period, he scored 41 goals with the national team's shirt and was twice champion of the World Championship, Copa America and the International Japan Tournament.

Coach

First experience

Despite having been asked several times to take up positions at Flamengo, Zico was reluctant to accept. It is speculated that this is due in large part to the directions taken by the administrations of the Rio club, which since the time of Zico have been gradually accumulating debts and bad results. I already said that you never want to be a Flamengo coach so as not to tarnish that wonderful image you have with the fans. His first experience on a coaching staff was as an assistant to Zagallo for the 1998 World Cup.

Zico was called after Brazil's average results in friendly preparations - the country had not played in the qualifiers due to its automatic classification as champion of the previous edition. He would be marked for having been in charge of transmitting to Romário the information that he would be cut. Despite the decision being made by the entire commission, Baixinho would blame Zico for the cut, and only in 2009 would he apologize to him. Subsequently, Zico temporarily took over as coach of Kashima Antlers, when the team was going through a crisis. He was technical director of the team, which had fired Zé Mário due to bad results. In the emergency, Zico commanded the team, and his figure encouraged the players, making the team leave the last positions and finish among the first.

Japanese Selection

As of June 2002, he became the coach of the Japanese team, succeeding the Frenchman Philippe Troussier, who had coached the country at the World Cup that year. He was soon called as the first option by Masaru Suzuki, president of the Japan Football Association - Suzuki was the president of Kashima at the time when Zico had good results as the club's interim coach. After elimination in the first phase of the 2003 Confederations Cup, Zico led the Japanese to the title in the 2004 Asian Cup. With the continental title, Japan was credited to compete in the following year in the Confederations Cup and, although eliminated in the phase of groups, did not do badly, having been close to eliminating the Brazilian team at this stage.

Zico in 2007

Zico's Japan would be reunited with Brazil the following year, at the 2006 World Cup, with a new elimination in the first phase and a football short of what was expected. Zico said he did the best he could for the Japanese team and did not regret any decision he made. Although he did not achieve the same results as his predecessor, his work was recognized for having inspired better posture by Japanese players, teaching them to have more confidence and improvisation skills. It was while training the Japanese team that Zico developed the taste for being a coach; until then, his intentions after leaving the lawns was to be a leader.

It was a matter of retribution for what Kashima and all of Japan did for me. I didn't want to be a coach at all, but in a difficult moment, I took over. We got great results in that period and moved from relegation to fifth place. I handed the team over to Toninho Cerezo, continued as director, and when the president of Kashima Antlers took over the federation, he made me a very special request. I think there were some things missing for Japanese football to take a turn and I had to be in there for that. Then I got the taste and continued. It worked. "

Fenerbahçe

After the World Cup, Zico was hired to train the Turkish Fenerbahçe team, helping to popularize him in Brazil. Commanding a team whose squad had several former Brazilian soccer players (Alex, Edu Dracena, Deivid, Fábio Luciano and, later, Roberto Carlos, in addition to the naturalized Turkish Gökçek Vederson, the Uruguayan Diego Lugano and the Chilean Claudio Maldonado), won in his first season the Turkish championship and, in the following, took the team to the quarterfinals. 2007-08 UEFA Champions League finals, this being the best participation of a Turkish club in the main European club tournament.

Bunyodkor

On September 22, 2008, he was hired to coach the Bunyodkor team, from Uzbekistan, the club where the star Rivaldo already played, replacing Mirjalol Qosimov, who had taken over the Uzbek national team. Zico spent just over four months as coach of Bunyodkor, enough to bring more media to local football, to win the 2008 Uzbek Cup, over rival Paxtakor and leave him in the lead of the Uzbek championship, which club subsequently also won. In addition, the club also reached the semifinals of the AFC Champions League.

As a CSKA Moscow coach in April 2009.

CSKA Moscow

On January 9, 2009, he announced the replacement of Bunyodkor for CSKA Moscow, replacing Valeriy Gazzayev. It debuted in the decisive stage of the UEFA Cup against Aston Villa and the team qualified for the round of 16 after a 1-1 draw in the first match and a 2-0 win in the home game. . However, in the next round, his club was eliminated by Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk and future tournament champion. In charge of CSKA, he led the team to win the Russian Cup and the Russian Super Cup in 2009. On September 10 he was fired from the club.

Olympiakos

On September 16, Olympiakos announced their signing for two years. The decision was a surprise even for the family. Zico is already watching the match against AZ Alkmaar, at the Karaiskákis Stadium in Athens, for the UEFA Champions League. On January 19, 2010, the club announced the "end of its cooperation with the coach" in a brief statement on the official website.

Iraqi National Team

On August 25, 2011, he left for Iraq to take over the country's selection with the main objective of classifying the selection for the 2014 World Cup. The signed contract is valid until 2014, but the idea is to remain until 2018.

On November 27, 2012, he announced, through a note on his website, the withdrawal of the Iraqi National Team for non-compliance with some contractual issues by the Iraqi Football Federation.

Al-Gharafa

In August 2013, after almost 1 year of unemployment, he was announced as the new coach of Al-Gharafa, from Qatar, this being his 2nd experience in Asian football.] Zico was fired after suffering three straight losses and leaving Al-Gharafa in the seventh championship placement, with no title chances.

Football Club Goa

On September 2, 2014, in a pioneering project to spread football around the world, as he had already done in Japan, Zico takes over the command of FC Goa, a football team in India. Soon after his arrival the club posted on its official website: "- The Legend is here, welcome Zico.

In his first season he took the modest FC Goa to the Indian Superleague semifinal.

In January 2017, Zico left FC Goa.

Kashima Antlers

On July 17, 2018, after 16 years of their last stint, Kashima Antlers announces his return to the position of technical director of the team.

Coaching Style and Characteristics

As a coach, Zico has a style inspired by Telê Santana: he is detail oriented, trains a lot of fundamentals (pass, dominance, cross, header, etc.) and is not to be shouting at the edge of the lawn.

Sports Manager

On May 30, 2010, at the invitation of the president of Flamengo, Patrícia Amorim, he assumed the position of executive director of football for the club. On October 1, 2010, he announced, on his personal website, his resignation, according to him, due to pressure suffered within the club.

Sports commentators

On February 16, 2011, he was announced as a sports commentator on TV Esporte Interativo. He made his debut on February 22 in the match between Lyon and Real Madrid. On April 28, he debuted his own program, also on TV Esporte Interativo, "Zico da Área" with sports journalist Mauro Beting and the participation of ex-footballer Bebeto. The program will be weekly, every Thursday at 8:30 pm and will last for 1 hour. On April 14, 2014, he debuted on Rádio Globo on the program Futebol de Verdade with Juninho Pernambucano.

Family

Zico is descended from Portuguese both on his mother's and father's side. His maternal grandfather, Arthur Ferreira da Costa Silva was from Oliveira de Azeméis and emigrated to Rio de Janeiro in the last years of the 19th century. Established with a ceramic factory in the Quintino neighborhood. Zico's mother, Matilde Ferreira da Costa Silva (19 January 1919 - 17 November 2002), was born in Brazil. The paternal grandfather, Fernando Antunes Coimbra, was born and lived most of his life in Tondela. That is where José Antunes Coimbra was born (June 10, 1901 - December 12 - member of 1986), who would become the father of the player. José Antunes Coimbra, at the age of 10, together with his family, emigrates to Brazil. Although he left Portugal very young, José always kept a close connection to his country of origin. In fact, he was a supporter of Sporting Clube de Portugal, as he followed the reports of his club's games through the radio for a large part of his life. Matilde Ferreira da Costa Silva and José Antunes Coimbra met in 1926, José Antunes was 25 years old and was a driver in the ceramic factory of Matilde's father; she was only seven years old. They married 17 years later, in 1943; she is 24 years old, he is already 42. From the marriage were born six children, five men and one woman: the oldest Zezé, Antunes (died on January 8, 1997), Zeca, Nando, Edu and Tunico, and finally Zico. Zico was born on Rua Lucinda Barbosa, number 7 in Quintino, at 7:00 am by natural birth. The name Arthur was chosen by his mother because of his grandfather (who would pass away a year later). Zico met Sandra Carvalho de Sá, who becomes the sister of Sueli, the wife of his brother Edu, in 1969, in training for Flamengo: she was passing by Gávea to sigh for her idol of the Flemish cast, the Argentine heartthrob Doval. On August 23, 1970, Zico and Sandra started dating and got married on December 18, 1975, in the church of São José, in Lagoa. Zico and Sandra have three children: Arthur Antunes Coimbra Júnior (born on October 15, 1977), Bruno de Sá Coimbra (born on October 16, 1978) and Thiago de Sá Coimbra (born on January 6, 1983).

Perhaps we can identify with all the events that marked an era of glory and great trajectories in which Brazil in turn shows itself first on the podium in a relationship that tells all the stories of the best climates between sports and events in which debated on television and social networks the final goals and completely the beginning of a great generation that was in the history of many athletes today who made their career in Brazilian football the best world football championships and that everything was formalized until nowadays as we are showing all history and commitments on a list of facts and achievements that established a great evolution in the economy of our country, improving all our stories in which many young people in the midst of a career that hit the world record in sports where everything is at the letter of the democracy of our country where they are examples of a suffering and struggling nation that they were consecrated in football cup competitions they obtained five achievements: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002 and the first world cup was on July 13, 1930 with the great opening of football in Brazil in which today we see that everything has a lot work and sweat to show that our nation starts in a good training of great and perfect athletes that by chance of a good class were consecrated the best of all times being great players and goalkeepers who obtained the best classification within a frame with everything paid and good physical training in which we can call 90 ° degrees in which Brazil comes face to face with all its socialized achievement in a contour of expanding true champions that have made our country the great and extraordinary competitive history of Brazilian football in which everything is by fight and all events are being formalized yet to show how much we are winners and that Brazil is a country of struggle and we are improving among beautiful classes So our love and dedication in making Brazilian people the most disputed in the world in which the trajectory is, that is, to show a little of our country and that Brazil is a country that has always shown its nobility among a past that we speak of from adolescence to today and we are the best!

Origin of Football in Brazil. Charles Miller, a Brazilian who studied in England and had contact with football there and, in 1894, brought a ball and a set of rules to Brazil. The first soccer game in Brazil was held in São Paulo, on April 14, 1895. We are here showing how it all started when full capacity sprang from great enthusiasm among a relationship of young people that stems from an era in 1894 , brought a ball and a set of rules to Brazil where an initiative began between beautiful and strong athletes who simply improved themselves to a training space in which everything started with the history of a football formation. The participating teams were the São Paulo Railway and Companhia de Gás and were formed by Englishmen who lived in the capital of São Paulo. The first team had the participation of Charles Miller, considered the father of Brazilian football, as he brought the first two footballs to the country on June 9, 1894. The match was won by the first team by 4x2.

In 1901, the Paulista Football League was created, which subsequently held the first Paulista Championship. Charles Miller's team was a sensation and was three times champion of São Paulo. The clubs that were emerging were getting organized and, until 1919, almost all Brazilian states already had a regional championship and its federation. In 1914, the Brazilian Sports Confederation (CDB) was created, which administered other sports besides football. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) was created in 1979, after the dissolution of the CBD. It is the entity that manages Brazilian football and has 27 linked state federations. Its headquarters is in Rio de Janeiro and organizes the main national championships. Football Day is celebrated on the 19th of July. The biggest fans in Brazil are concentrated in the southeast region. Internacional (RS) occupies the 7th position and is the team that has more fans in the southern region. Cruzeiro (MG) is in 6th place, with about 3% of Brazilians. Vasco da Gama (RJ), founded in 1898, has the support of 4% of Brazilians. Palmeiras (SP) has 6% of the national fans, with 2% more and in the 3rd place is São Paulo (SP), which was created in 1930. Known for its passionate fans, Corinthians (SP) was founded in 1910 and occupies the 2nd place in the ranking of fans, with 14% of the Brazilian fans. The first place is occupied by Flamengo (RJ), with 17% of fans and with great preference of the Northeastern population.

Due to the simplicity of football and its few rules, it quickly became popular in Brazil. For a game to be played, all it takes is a ball and a place to practice. It is an unpredictable sport and Brazilians constantly seek this emotion of the match. Football provides a way to express the Brazilian way of seeing sports and differentiates itself from other countries. Football brings to Brazilians a feeling of nationalism and unity, which only this sport provides and is able to unite crowds for one purpose. I believe that the capacity can be and be in our souls that through a conviction of our efforts we managed to show to the Brazilian people that football is made as well as we can transform our country that due to reforms we can express our content as we are great transformers that always we are showing our world and that we can change it with a lot of work and effort among a constructive variety in which the young person has his right and can show how much he is Brazilian that in the future we will progress because as we say that all reforms and plantations are up to date of the capacity when there is a general recognition among the society that acquires 50% percent of understanding while Brazil has to show its capacity until the 90º centigrade degrees that can preserve to us all our capacity and culture of a people that knows how to transform great young people into great athletes for tomorrow that is done to all great educational collaborators, psychologists, in Presidents and that we will forever advance a true future in which we can show the world how perfect we are and best friends in which we provide all our support, the satisfaction of a professional country and that peace and love be upon us all forever.

By: Roberto Barros