Sócrates

Club career

Sócrates was born in Belém do Pará. He began playing football professionally in 1974 for Botafogo-SP in Ribeirão Preto, but spent the majority of his career (1978 to 1984) with Corinthians, scoring 41 goals in 59 Brazilian Série A games, and 172 goals in 297 matches in total. In 1984–85, aged 30, Sócrates had his first experience abroad, playing in Italian Serie A with Fiorentina. He returned to his country after that sole season, representing Flamengo, Santos and former club Botafogo-SP, and retiring in 1989. During his period in Flamengo, he played 20 games, scoring 5 goals and won Campeonato Carioca: 1986. In 2004, more than a decade after retiring, 50-year-old Sócrates agreed to a one-month player-coaching deal with Garforth Town of the Northern Counties East Football League in England. He made his only appearance for the club on 20 November, against Tadcaster Albion, coming on as a substitute twelve minutes from time.

International career

Sócrates was capped 60 times for Brazil between May 1979 and June 1986, scoring 22 goals. He captained the national team at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, and also appeared in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. In the latter edition, he scored twice, starting with the game's only goal against Spain in the group stage. he added another in the round-of-16 4–0 win over Poland, shooting his penalty kick without running; in the following game, against France, he tried to convert it in the same fashion, but had his…

A former centre-forward, who later made a name for himself as a midfielder, playing in either an attacking or central midfield role, Sócrates was an elegant, talented, and technical playmaker, known for his great through passes, precise long balls, link-up play, and his vision on the field, as well as his physical strength; he was also a two-footed player. While he was mainly known for his ability to orchestrate attacking plays, he was a prolific goal scorer himself, courtesy of his powerful and accurate shot with his right foot, and his ability to make attacking runs into the area from behind. He was also an accurate penalty taker, while his height, heading ability, and elevation allowed him to excel in the air. He was also known, however, for often not taking part in his teammates' celebrations whenever he scored a goal. Although he was not the quickest of players, and preferred to play the game at a slower tempo, he possessed good acceleration. His intelligence and ability to read the game were also highly valued, and his signature move was the blind or "no-look" back-heel pass. Sócrates was a key member of the Brazil national team of the early to mid-1980s; Jonathan Wilson said that "Socrates was the brain of Brazil. He might not quite have had the flair of Zico, but he was the central intelligence". Former coach at Fiorentina, Giancarlo De Sisti, said: "Socrates was a very intelligent man, he had great class." In addition to his playing ability and intelligence, he was…

Sócrates was the firstborn child of Raimundo and Guiomar Vieira. He was born in Belém, Pará. In January 1960, the family relocated to Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, after his father Raimundo earned an important position as revenue supervisor. This job earned Sócrates' father the status of a small-town hero in Igarapé-Açu, where the family lived at the time. His father's new salary allowed Sócrates to attend the best school in Ribeirão Preto, Colégio Marista. In a biography written by the journalist Tom Cardoso, it is revealed that the small library Sócrates' father had built in his home, containing philosophy books and other works, came under threat during the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état. Sócrates watched his father rid himself of books that he so loved. He recalled: "In 1964, I saw my father tear many books, because of the coup d'état. I thought that was absurd, because the library was the thing he liked best. That was when I felt that something was not right. But I only understood much later, in college." Sócrates married four times and had six children. Outside football, he worked as a columnist for a number of newspapers and magazines, writing about politics, economics and sports. He also appeared on Brazilian television as a football pundit. At the time of his death, Sócrates was writing a fictional book about the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Sócrates was a qualified physician, having earned a medical degree from the Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, part of the…

Pelé named Sócrates in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in March 2004 and World Soccer named him one of 100 best footballers in history. In October 2008, he was inducted into the Pacaembu Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame. In 2022, the magazine France Football (as part of its Ballon d'Or honours), together with Peace and Sport and the Socrates family, created the Sócrates Award, in his honour. The award is given to: "players who use their influence and resources to make a positive impact off the field. Every year, the award will identify the best actions in support of the community by committed champions."