Paulo Roberto Falcão

Internacional

Falcão began his professional career at Internacional of Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul, where he played from 1972 to 1980, winning three Brazilian National Championships (1975, 1976, 1979) and reaching the finals of the 1980 Copa Libertadores, eventually losing to Nacional. During his time at Internacional, he was surprisingly left out of the Brazil squad for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, though he made the shortlisted pre-tournament 40. Falcão won Golden Ball magazine's Placar twice as the best player in the Brazilian championships of 1978 and 1979. In 1979, Falcão achieved the highest score in the history of the Golden Ball.

Roma

In 1980, Falcão transferred to Serie A club Roma for £650,000. In his first season in Italy (1980–81), he was able to master the language and had his mother and sister living with him to help settle him in. He played well, scoring three goals in his 25 games as Roma finished second in Serie A to Juventus. This was a controversial championship, as Roma had a goal ruled out for an unclear offside against Juventus during a defining draw in Turin. Consolation came with a Coppa Italia win for Roma, beating Turin in the final on penalties – Falcão himself scored the decisive spot kick. Although Roma slipped to third in his second season (1981–82), personally for Falcão it was better than the first, with six goals in 24 games, becoming one of the foreign stars in Serie A. At the end of this season, he was called…

Falcão made 34 appearances for the Brazil national team between 1976 and 1986, scoring six goals. He was a member of the side that finished third at the 1979 Copa América, scoring his only goal of the tournament in the second leg of the semi-finals, a 2–2 draw against eventual champions Paraguay, although the latter nation advanced to the final 4–3 on aggregate. He was surprisingly left out of Brazil's 1978 World Cup squad, despite being included on the 40–player shortlist before the tournament. This happened because, influenced by national teammate Emerson Leão (who claimed to have done the same with Zagallo four years earlier), Falcão unsuccessfully demanded from manager Cláudio Coutinho a definition about his situation in the team. Falcão was a key part of Brazil's celebrated 1982 World Cup team, playing along with Toninho Cerezo, Zico, Éder and Socrates in a 4–2–2–2 formation. The team is widely regarded as one of the best teams not to win the World Cup. Initially expected to serve as a substitute during the tournament, Falcão entered the starting lineup after Cerezo's suspension, winning 2—1 against the Soviet Union. Falcão went on to start in each match of the tournament and scored the fourth goal in the match against Scotland that ended 4–1 to the Brazilians, plus another goal in the decisive 4–0 win over New Zealand. In the second phase of the World Cup, in the so-called "Group of Death," Brazil obtained a 3–1 win against the reigning World Champions and rivals…

From 1990 to 1991, Falcão was the manager of the Brazil national team, leading the team to a second place finish at the 1991 Copa América, behind rivals Argentina. His second and longest coaching experience was with América from 1991 to 1993. He also coached Internacional in 1993. After a brief hiatus, in 1994, he was appointed manager of the Japan national team. In April 2011, after 16 years without managing a club, he was signed by Internacional, replacing Celso Roth. Following three consecutive defeats in the Brazilian league, he was sacked in July. In February 2012, Falcão returned into management, signing an eleven-month deal as head coach of Bahia. He only returned to coaching duties in September 2015, being appointed manager at Sport. Falcão returned to Internacional in July 2016, but was sacked after three losses and two draws, only one month later. On 17 November 2022, he joined Santos as a sporting coordinator. On 4 August 2023, Falcão left his role at Santos.

An elegant and technically gifted player, with an eye for goal from midfield, and an ability to orchestrate his team's attacking moves, Falcão usually functioned in a holding role as a deep-lying playmaker (regista), although he was capable of aiding his team defensively, as well as creatively and offensively, due to his physique, work-rate, and tenacity. He was known in particular for his flair, control, vision, passing and long-range shooting ability, as well as his tactical intelligence, organisational ability and leadership. His role has also been likened to that of a metodista ("centre-half," in Italian football jargon), due to his ability to dictate play in midfield as well as assist his team defensively.