Arthur Antunes Coimbra (born in March 3, 1953), better known as Zico, was a famous Brazilian football sensation and one of the best midfielders the world's ever seen. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004 and is often considered to have been the best Brazilian player after Pelé and Garrincha. Zico represented his country in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups, and scored 52 goals in 72 matches for Brazil. He was choosen 1983 Player of the Year and is considered one of the best players in football history to have never won the World Cup. He was Brazil's top scorer in their 1982 World Cup campaign, in a team considered one of the best Brazilian National Squads ever. Zico is also particularly famous for his propensity to score beautiful, sometimes seemingly impossible, goals.
Zico comes from a lower-middle-class family, in the suburbs of Quintino, Rio de Janeiro. In common with many Brazilians, he spent his youth playing football for fun all day and dreaming of playing professionally at night. While still a teenager, he caught the attention of the radio reporter Celso Garcia who took him to a trial at Flamengo, beginning his path towards being one of the most admired players in history of football.
Physically, he wasn't strong and his history of determination and discipline began with a hard muscle and body development program. A combination of hard work and also a special diet sponsored by his team enabled him to develop a strong body and become an athlete. This later proved to be essential for his success.
Playing career
While at Flamengo, Zico was a key player during the most glorious period of the team's history. Along with many other titles, in his first period at Flamengo he led the team to victory in the 1981 Copa Libertadores, the 1981 Intercontinental Cup, and three national titles (1980/82/83). On the field, Zico made goals in all imaginable ways, was also a great assister and team organizer, and was known for his excellent vision of the field. He was a two-footed player and an expert at free kicks.
In a multi-million dollar transaction, he was hired to play for Udinese, in Italy, from 1983 to 1985. Though leaving some Brazilian fans in sadness, he led Udinese to be among the best Italian teams. In Italy, Zico had personal disputes against Juventus's Michel Platini and Napoli's Diego Maradona. In 1983/84 Italian League, Zico scored 19 goals - one less than the championship top scorer Platini, having played 6 matches less than the French player.
Unfortunately - from Zico's point of view - Udinese hadn’t won any relevant competition and Zico eventually went back to Brazil and Flamengo, sponsored by a group of companies.
On his return, he suffered a knee injury after a violent tackle from Bangu's defender Marcio Nunes, which interrupted his career for several months. He played in the 1986 World Cup while still injured, and missed a penalty during regular time in the match against France. The match ended in a tie which led to a shootout. Zico, then, scored his goal and after penalties missed by Sócrates and Júlio César, Brazil was knocked out. Recovered from injuries, things improved for Zico in 1987 when he led Flamengo to their fourth national title. Many consider Zico to be the best player in Flamengo's history, and his achievements there inspired the Brazilian singer Jorge Benjor to write a song in his honour - Camisa 10 da Gávea - helping create the mystique of the club's number 10.
"Zico The Movie" was shown in Japan.
After Brazil's first presidential election in many years, the new president Fernando Collor de Mello appointed Zico as his Minister of Sports. Zico stayed at this political assignment for about a year and his most important contribution was a piece of legislation dealing with the business side of sport teams, as most of the teams in Brazil were (and still are in 2005) administered more like amateur associations than professional companies.
Zico interrupted his political assignment to accept a much more rewarding job, both financially and in happiness: in 1991 he joined the Sumitomo Metal Industries soccer division (the present Kashima Antlers). He helped develop from scratch the formerly small club from Kashima-cho (present-day Kashima city) into one of Japan's best sides.
Zico’s discipline, talent and professionalism meshed very well with Japanese culture. He has oriented the Japanese in all aspects of team development and, as a player, rapidly became a national idol after some of the most fantastic goals and assists of his career. He retired as a player in 1994 and became the technical adviser of Kashima Antlers, sharing his time between Japan and Brazil. In the following year he founded CFZ (Zico Football Centre) in Brazil.
Statistics
Major achievements
Club honours
International honours
Individual honours
Waldemar Victorino
1981
Jair
Japan's coach
Zico's influence and the recognition of his role in the development of Japan's soccer has been growing ever since: public squares have been named after him and statues of him have been erected and being the image used to promote latest Winning Eleven Asia's edition. He replaced Philippe Troussier as the head coach of the Japanese National Team in July 2002. After an uncertain start and several rumors that he would quit, including a bizarre offer from the English non-league team Garforth Town to join them as a player, he stayed in the job, winning the Kirin Cup and Asian Cup in 2004 and helping Japan to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. He has announced that he wil retire from coaching after the tournament.[1]
References and notes
- ^ Samba stars to join Garforth Town. BBC Sport. URL accessed on October 29, 2005.
- ^ Zico To Quit After World Cup. Goal.com. URL accessed on October 29, 2005.
Further reading
