The World Cup in Brazil is almost upon us so it’s time we looked at another Brazilian footballing genius in the form of the irrepressible Zico.
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Zico was the main man in the Brazil team for a very long time. He played in three World Cups for them, ’78 in Argentina, ’82 in Spain and ’86 in Mexico. Known as the ‘White Pele’, he was an attacking midfielder with a reputation for incisive passing and incredible free-kicks. Every Brazilian is born with the knack of taking great free-kicks, so you had to have something pretty special to be the free-kick taker of choice for the national team. Here’s one he banged in against Scotland at the World Cup in Spain in 1982. Sublime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGbYsn2Blus
Like most Brazilians, he had a much longer name, Arthur Antunes Coimbra, but he was nicknamed Zico and he’ll go down as one of the all-time greats. He was at the height of his powers during the ’78 and ’82 World Cups and even though Brazil did not win either tournament, he was the man everyone feared in a team full of explosive talent. For an attacking midfielder, his goalscoring statistics are ridiculous. In 697 club games he scored 476 goals and in 71 matches for Brazil he managed a staggering 48 goals. Makes Frank Lampard look a bit shabby.
Flamengo was his club in Brazil and he had two hugely successful spells with them. In between he played in Italy for Udinese, where he is still revered by the passionate Italian fans. The number 10 jersey is not given out to anyone when playing for Brazil as it represents such iconic significance for the South American country, but Zico wore it with distinction. He also played in Japan for Kashima Antlers and this is where, by his own admission, he scored the greatest goal of his career. Witness this piece of genius.
Brought to you with thanks to Pot Noodle Brazilian BBQ Steak Flavour.
