Socrates, the footballer, who has died aged 57, captained a Brazilian side whose skill and showmanship delighted fans everywhere; the team did not win a World Cup, but it’s unwavering commitment to the philosophy of the joga bonito – the beautiful game – is regarded by many as a greater achievement.
It was a style driven by the team’s tall, languid, bearded skipper, who often seemed to operate at walking pace, so comfortable was he on the ball. In fact, the flowing attacks he orchestrated from midfield were launched at lightning speed with deft flicks and piercing through balls delivered with either foot. The understanding he developed with the other celebrated names of Brazil’s 1982 World Cup team – Junior, Falcao, Zico, Eder, Serginho – appeared telepathic. Passes were played without looking, and unerringly found their target. Socrates was so adept at the back-heel that Pele once remarked that he could play better going backwards than most players could going forwards.
He had an eye for goal too, scoring 22 times in his 60 appearances for the national team. But above all Socrates treated football as a game, to be enjoyed. “Is that why you have come all this way? To discover whether it is more important to win or to play beautiful football?” he recently asked a British journalist who had travelled to Brazil to meet him. “Beauty comes first. Victory is secondary. What matters is joy.”
Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira was born on February 19 1954 in Belem do Para, northern Brazil. His father enjoyed reading Greek literature and named the boy after the philosopher. “Just to show that there could be no confusion he insisted on adding Brasileiro (Brazilian),” the footballer recalled later.
When Socrates was a child his family moved to Ribeirao Preto in the state of Sao Paulo, where in 1974 he eventually joined the local club, Botafogo. As if to underscore his unusually casual attitude to the game that dominates so many lives in Brazil, he refused to commit himself full-time to the club until he had completed his degree in Medicine at the local university.
Such was his talent, however, that Botafogo allowed him to skip training sessions to finish his studies, and soon he became both a qualified doctor and the team’s star player, notching up 24 goals in 57 appearances.
By 1978 he had turned professional and joined Corinthians, the club in Sao Paulo which – along with Rio de Janeiro’s Flamengo – dominates football in Brazil. At the time the country was ruled by a military dictatorship, and Corinthians had a reputation as a centre of democratic opposition, acquiring influence and significance that stretched well beyond the pitch. This manifested itself in the movement known as Democracia Corinthiana, in which the club’s directors, staff and players all had a vote to settle any decision of significance.
It was an obviously political organisation, and Socrates (a self-confessed idealist who named one of his six children Fidel) was at its heart.
He played for Corinthians for six years, until 1984, making 297 appearances and scoring 172 goals during a spell in which the club was champions three times. Even then, however, victory was not paramount. Sometimes the team took to the field carrying placards emblazoned with such messages as: “Direct elections now”. One poster of the squad carried the slogan: “Democracy: Winning the championship is a minor detail.”
With his long, flowing locks, headband and wispy beard, backed up by outrageous skill on the ball, Socrates was an embodiment of rebel chic. But his rebelliousness also took a toll on his health, and he demonstrated as significant a commitment to beer and cigarettes as he did to his political ideals.
It is a testament to his physical power that such indulgence had no discernible impact on his performances on the pitch. He started playing for the national team in 1979, making his debut in a 6-0 win against Paraguay, and by 1982 was captain of a group of players considered as worthy of pulling on the golden shirt as the constellation of stars which had gathered around Pele in 1970.
Like the 1970 team, the Socrates-led squad that headed to the 1982 World Cup in Spain was determined to win with attacking firepower and flair; no matter how many goals the opposition might score, Brazil was certain it could score more.
It was a devil-may-care attitude that almost saw the side lose its first game, against the USSR. After going behind in the first half, however, Brazil came back to win the game with two of the goals of the tournament. With 15 minutes remaining, Socrates collected a Soviet clearance 40 yards from goal. Skipping over one potentially leg-breaking challenge, he feinted past another defender before unleashing a right-footed shot from 25 yards into the top left-hand corner. Then, with two minutes of the game remaining, Eder flicked up a cross field pass and volleyed the ball into the net from a similar distance; in neither case did the Soviet keeper move.
It was a win which established the Brazilian players’ credentials as the showmen of the competition, a reputation which they fully justified in their second match, against Scotland. Despite again conceding the first goal, Brazil roared back, attacking from all positions on the pitch to bamboozle a defence which included Alan Hansen. They finished 4-1 winners, completing their group by demolishing New Zealand 4-0.
At the time the format of the World Cup format included a further group stage; the two other sides in Brazil’s second group were Italy and Argentina, with only the top team qualifying. After Argentina lost both of its games, a spot in the semi-finals was down to a decider between Italy and Brazil.
Paolo Rossi put the Italians ahead after five minutes, but seven minutes later Brazil, with their talismanic captain running midfield, drew level. Picking up the ball in his own half, Socrates drilled a pass forward to Zico, marked closely and brutally by the Italian defender Claudio Gentile. Dragging the ball back swiftly with his heel, Zico left Gentile flat-footed and then, just as the Italian looked set to make a covering challenge, returned the ball to Socrates, who had continued his run. Despite a tight angle, the Brazilian captain casually struck the ball passed Dino Zoff. As the players celebrated a goal of apparently effortless fluidity and skill, John Motson, commentating, rhapsodised: “It’s there! Socrates! A goal that sums up the philosophy of Brazilian football.”
Paolo Rossi put Italy ahead again, before Falcao equalised for Brazil. Then, following poor marking by the never-formidable Brazilian defence, Rossi got his hat-trick and Italy’s winner. As the referee blew the final whistle, fans were already declaring it one of the greatest games in World Cup history. Likewise, the Brazilian team was soon regarded as the best side not to have won the competition.
Some players, like Falcao, were devastated not to have gone on and won the competition. But, outwardly at least, Socrates was unconcerned. “At least we lost fighting for our ideals,” he noted. “And you can compare that to society today. We have lost touch with humanity, people are driven by results. They used to go to football to see a spectacle. Now, with very few exceptions, they go to watch a war and what matters is who wins. That is why I value the squad for this World Cup – it might just be a team with ideals.”
It was an outlook that shaped the rest of his life. In 1986 he played again in the World Cup, but missed with a lackadaisical penalty in the quarter-finals as Brazil lost to France. By then he had joined Flamengo, following a single miserable season with the Italian club, Fiorentina. But his playing career was rapidly reaching its conclusion and, in 1989, at the age of 35, he retired.
He returned to Ribeirao Preto to practise medicine, but was hardly an exemplar to his patients. He remained devoted to drinking and smoking even as it began to affect his health; while he occasionally promised to limit the drinking, he said that quitting cigarettes was beyond him. “I can’t kick the cigarettes but what can you do? It’s a problem but we all have to die of something, don’t we?”
He spent his off-field years dispensing advice – both sporting and political – in newspaper columns and on television. In 2004 he made a single, widely-publicised appearance for the Northern Counties League side Garforth Town. Coming on with 20 minutes to go, he touched the ball four times, none to any effect.
In recent months he was repeatedly treated in hospital for intestinal bleeding. He is survived by his wife and children.
Socrates, born February 19 1954, died December 4 2011
It was an obviously political organisation, and Socrates (a self-confessed idealist who named one of his six children Fidel) was at its heart.
He played for Corinthians for six years, until 1984, making 297 appearances and scoring 172 goals during a spell in which the club was champions three times. Even then, however, victory was not paramount. Sometimes the team took to the field carrying placards emblazoned with such messages as: “Direct elections now”. One poster of the squad carried the slogan: “Democracy: Winning the championship is a minor detail.”
With his long, flowing locks, headband and wispy beard, backed up by outrageous skill on the ball, Socrates was an embodiment of rebel chic. But his rebelliousness also took a toll on his health, and he demonstrated as significant a commitment to beer and cigarettes as he did to his political ideals.
It is a testament to his physical power that such indulgence had no discernible impact on his performances on the pitch. He started playing for the national team in 1979, making his debut in a 6-0 win against Paraguay, and by 1982 was captain of a group of players considered as worthy of pulling on the golden shirt as the constellation of stars which had gathered around Pele in 1970.
Like the 1970 team, the Socrates-led squad that headed to the 1982 World Cup in Spain was determined to win with attacking firepower and flair; no matter how many goals the opposition might score, Brazil was certain it could score more.
It was a devil-may-care attitude that almost saw the side lose its first game, against the USSR. After going behind in the first half, however, Brazil came back to win the game with two of the goals of the tournament. With 15 minutes remaining, Socrates collected a Soviet clearance 40 yards from goal. Skipping over one potentially leg-breaking challenge, he feinted past another defender before unleashing a right-footed shot from 25 yards into the top left-hand corner. Then, with two minutes of the game remaining, Eder flicked up a cross field pass and volleyed the ball into the net from a similar distance; in neither case did the Soviet keeper move.
It was a win which established the Brazilian players’ credentials as the showmen of the competition, a reputation which they fully justified in their second match, against Scotland. Despite again conceding the first goal, Brazil roared back, attacking from all positions on the pitch to bamboozle a defence which included Alan Hansen. They finished 4-1 winners, completing their group by demolishing New Zealand 4-0.
At the time the format of the World Cup format included a further group stage; the two other sides in Brazil’s second group were Italy and Argentina, with only the top team qualifying. After Argentina lost both of its games, a spot in the semi-finals was down to a decider between Italy and Brazil.
Paolo Rossi put the Italians ahead after five minutes, but seven minutes later Brazil, with their talismanic captain running midfield, drew level. Picking up the ball in his own half, Socrates drilled a pass forward to Zico, marked closely and brutally by the Italian defender Claudio Gentile. Dragging the ball back swiftly with his heel, Zico left Gentile flat-footed and then, just as the Italian looked set to make a covering challenge, returned the ball to Socrates, who had continued his run. Despite a tight angle, the Brazilian captain casually struck the ball passed Dino Zoff. As the players celebrated a goal of apparently effortless fluidity and skill, John Motson, commentating, rhapsodised: “It’s there! Socrates! A goal that sums up the philosophy of Brazilian football.”
Paolo Rossi put Italy ahead again, before Falcao equalised for Brazil. Then, following poor marking by the never-formidable Brazilian defence, Rossi got his hat-trick and Italy’s winner. As the referee blew the final whistle, fans were already declaring it one of the greatest games in World Cup history. Likewise, the Brazilian team was soon regarded as the best side not to have won the competition.
Some players, like Falcao, were devastated not to have gone on and won the competition. But, outwardly at least, Socrates was unconcerned. “At least we lost fighting for our ideals,” he noted. “And you can compare that to society today. We have lost touch with humanity, people are driven by results. They used to go to football to see a spectacle. Now, with very few exceptions, they go to watch a war and what matters is who wins. That is why I value the squad for this World Cup – it might just be a team with ideals.”
It was an outlook that shaped the rest of his life. In 1986 he played again in the World Cup, but missed with a lackadaisical penalty in the quarter-finals as Brazil lost to France. By then he had joined Flamengo, following a single miserable season with the Italian club, Fiorentina. But his playing career was rapidly reaching its conclusion and, in 1989, at the age of 35, he retired.
He returned to Ribeirao Preto to practise medicine, but was hardly an exemplar to his patients. He remained devoted to drinking and smoking even as it began to affect his health; while he occasionally promised to limit the drinking, he said that quitting cigarettes was beyond him. “I can’t kick the cigarettes but what can you do? It’s a problem but we all have to die of something, don’t we?”
He spent his off-field years dispensing advice – both sporting and political – in newspaper columns and on television. In 2004 he made a single, widely-publicised appearance for the Northern Counties League side Garforth Town. Coming on with 20 minutes to go, he touched the ball four times, none to any effect.
In recent months he was repeatedly treated in hospital for intestinal bleeding. He is survived by his wife and children.
Socrates, born February 19 1954, died December 4 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment