Émerson Leão

He was a FIFA World Cup champion in 1970 as a reserve player, at age 20. He then played the two following World Cups as first team player. He was the first Brazilian goalkeeper in history to be team captain (during the 1978 World Cup). Dida repeated the feat in 2006 in a group stage match against Japan. In the 1986 World Cup, Leão was a reserve player. He played 80 times for the Brazil national football team. At club level, he played for several clubs, his longest term being at Palmeiras, where he won several titles, like Campeonato Brasileiro and Campeonato Paulista.

Leão has been a manager since 1987. He was São Paulo manager in 2005, winning the Campeonato Paulista of that year. He then moved to Vissel Kobe of Japan, where he stayed for only four matches. On 18 July 2005, he became the manager of Palmeiras, a position he held until March 2006. His peak as a manager was his second stint with Santos, between 2002 and 2004, when he won the Campeonato Brasileiro in 2002, and was runner-up in both Copa Libertadores de América and Campeonato Brasileiro in 2003. Leão is often seen as a hardliner, since he demands perfect physical shape of his players, along with discipline and mutual respect. He is not fond of having well-known players on his teams, since he believes that this might cause relationship problems within the squad. He was the manager of the Brazil national team from 15 November 2000 until 9 June 2001. From 11 matches, his Brazil side won 4, drew 4 and lost 3. Like his predecessor Vanderlei Luxemburgo, he struggled to have top players available for qualifying matches. He tried to centre the squad around Romário and younger players with little international experience. He also became the first sitting coach to travel to Europe to assess his players' activities there, where he was asked by the Europeans to not release Rivaldo and Roberto Carlos for matches that were not crucial. Leão was dismissed by Atlético Mineiro on 4 May 2009. On 3 June 2009, Sport Recife signed the coach for the 2009 Brasileirão championship. On 26 April 2010,…

Club

International

Managerial

Player

Club Palmeiras Campeonato Brasileiro: 1969, 1972, 1973; Runner-up: 1970, 1978 Campeonato Paulista: 1972, 1974, 1976; Runner-up: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1986 Copa Libertadores Semi-Final: 1971 Vasco Campeonato Brasileiro Runner-up: 1979 Campeonato Carioca Runner-up: 1979, 1980 Grêmio Campeonato Gaúcho: 1980; Runner-up: 1981, 1982 Campeonato Brasileiro: 1981; Runner-up: 1982 Corinthians Campeonato Paulista: 1983 Brazil FIFA World Cup: 1970 Independence Cup: 1972 Copa América runner-up: 1983

Individual

Bola de Prata Best Goalkeeper: 1972 Campeonato Paulista Best Goalkeeper: 1972, 1974, 1976 FIFA XI: 1979 IFFHS Brazilian Best Goalkeeper of XX Century: 2º IFFHS Brazil All Times Dream Team (Team C): 2021

Manager

Sport 1987 – Copa União Yellow Module 2000 – Campeonato Pernambucano Shimizu S Pulse 1992 – Kanagawa Cup Verdy Kawasaki 1996 – Emperor's Cup Atlético Mineiro 1997 – Copa Conmebol Santos 1998 – Copa Conmebol 2002 – Campeonato Brasileiro São Paulo 2005 – Campeonato Paulista