César Sampaio

Born and raised in Jabaquara, a district of São Paulo, César Sampaio was spotted by Lima and invited to join the youth sides of Santos in 1983. He made his first team debut in 1986, and subsequently established himself as a regular starter. In July 1991, César Sampaio moved to Palmeiras for a fee of US$ 450,000, with Ranielli and Serginho Fraldinha moving in the opposite direction. An undisputed starter, he won several titles at the club. In 1995, César Sampaio moved abroad and joined J1 League side Yokohama Flügels. In January 1999, after being close to a move to Vasco da Gama, he returned to Palmeiras, being team captain during the club's 1999 Copa Libertadores title. In July 2000, César Sampaio joined La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruña. Rarely used and struggling with injuries, he returned to Brazil in October 2001, after being presented at Corinthians. César Sampaio departed Timão on 7 December 2001, and returned to Japan six days later after signing for Kashiwa Reysol. He later represented Sanfrecce Hiroshima and São Paulo, retiring with the latter in December 2004, aged 36.

César Sampaio joined the Brazil national football team during the Copa América in 1993, also took part at the 1995 edition of the tournament (where they finished as runners-up), but was not part of the team during the FIFA World Cup finals in neither 1990 nor 1994. He was later also part of the Brazilian squad that won both the Copa América and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1997, and played for Brazil at the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, where he made six appearances in the team's run to the final, which they lost to the hosts of the tournament, France. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, formed an effective defensive midfield partnership with Dunga. He became remembered for scoring the first goal of the entire tournament in the 4th minute of Brazil's opening match against Scotland, a header from a corner by Bebeto on the left; this was the fastest goal ever scored in an opening match of the World Cup. He also scored a brace in Brazil's 4–1 victory against Chile in the round of 16 during the same tournament. Sampaio is also remembered for helping Ronaldo when he suffered a convulsive fit in the night before the 1998 FIFA World Cup final.

A hard-working and efficient midfielder, Sampaio has been described by FIFA website as a "modern defensive midfielder who combined being an enforcer with playmaking from deep," and as a player who filled the void left by Dunga as the anchor in Brazil's midfield following his retirement after the 1998 World Cup, by dominating "the engine room." He was neither particularly quick nor flashy in terms of his playing style, however. He was also effective at pressing opponents. In addition to his defensive and creative duties, he was also capable of contributing to the offensive aspect of the game with goals. He is considered to be one of Palmeiras's greatest players ever.

After retiring, César Sampaio worked as a director of football of Pelotas, Rio Claro and Mogi Mirim. On 4 November 2011, he returned to Palmeiras under the same role, departing on 21 January 2013, after the club's relegation. César Sampaio was named the director of football of Fortaleza on 23 November 2016, but left his role on 3 March of the following year. In January 2015, he became the president of Comercial do Tietê. On 22 December 2019, César Sampaio left Comercial to join Tite's staff at the Brazil national team, as his assistant. He was a part of the coaching staff during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, leaving with Tite in late 2022. In October 2023, César Sampaio moved to Flamengo, again as Tite's assistant; the duo left nearly one month later. On 4 January 2025, he returned to his first club Santos, as permanent assistant coach. On 14 April 2025, César Sampaio was named interim head coach of Peixe, after Pedro Caixinha was sacked. On his coaching debut two days later, his side defeated Atlético Mineiro 2–0 at home. Back to his assistant role after the appointment of Cleber Xavier, César Sampaio became a technical coordinator at Santos on 22 August 2025.