Socrates

[N.O.R.F]

One of the most elegant midfield generals in soccer history, Socrates, began his career in Botafogo. He was never a teenage star and didn’t make his debut in the Brazilian national team until he was 25. He was blessed with wonderful skills, vision and seemed to have so many options when he was on the ball. He was able to play the ball wherever and whenever he wanted. His heel-kicks became famous world wide. These rare skills combined with the fact that he was a medical student more than justified him being nicknamed “the doctor”. Socrates captained Brazil’s fantastic World Cup team of 1982 partnering Cerezo, Falcao and Zico in midfield. He scored twice in that tournament, one of them being a marvellous goal against the Soviet Union when he dribbled past two players before firing it home from long range. Brazil didn’t reach the semifinals in that tournament, but played some wonderful soccer.

 

 

Socrates was not an ordinary athlete, infact he didn’t look at himself as an athlete. He smoked a pack of sigarettes every day, and that was one of the reasons to why he never settled in Italy when he arrived there in 1984 to play for Fiorentina. The lifestyle didn’t suit him and he went back to Brazil a year later.

 

In 1986, Socrates again was instrumental for Brazil in their attempt of winning the World Cup, but France and Platini won on penalties in the quarterfinal after a wonderful match. Socrates missed one of the penalties in the shoot-out. He was the only player of the survivors of the 1982 team who really reached the same level, but it wasn’t enough to take them through. He scored more than a goal every third game in average for Brazil, which is excellent for a midfielder and added two more to his account in the Mexico World Cup.

 

At clublevel he played most of his career for Botafogo and Corinthians for whom he won three Sao Paulo state championships. Socrates also played for Flamengo winning a Rio state championship before ending his career in 1990 playing for Santos.

[N.O.R.F]

Antonio de Oliveira Filho, better known as Careca, was among his country’s most promosing players in the early eighties. His powerful right-foot shot and pace made him lethal in front of goal. He started his career in Guarani and would have played up front for Brazil in their magic World Cup team of 1982 had he not been injured on the eve of the finals.

 

 

He moved to Sao Paulo after the World Cup in Spain and had several successful seasons there and was Brazilian champion of 1986 beating his old club Guarani in the final. The World Cup was held in Mexico that same year, and Careca was determined not to miss it again. He played a key role in yet another great Brazilian team which reached the quarterfinals and were beaten by France on penalties in one of the classic games in soccer history. Personally, Careca had a great tournament and scored five goals making him second on the topscorers’ list after Lineker.

 

Careca was soon tempted to join a top club in Europe and after staying another season with Sao Paulo, he teamed up with Diego Maradona and fellow Brazilian Alemao in Napoli in 1987. Careca was now ranked as one of the best strikers in the world and with Napoli he won several trophies, among them the Scudetto (Serie A championship) and the UEFA Cup beating Stuttgart with Careca as one of the goalscorers.

 

After six years in Napoli, he moved to Japan in 1993 as one of the foreign stars trying to set the Japanese league alight. Careca was then 33 and spent three years in Asia before returning home to Brazil in 1997. He was nearly forty when he retired having played in the lower leagues for a couple of years.