Zizinho

For the 1980s footballer also known as Zizinho, see Gerardo dos Santos.
Zizinho
Personal information
Full name Thomaz Soares da Silva
Date of birth (1921-09-14)September 14, 1921
Place of birth Niterói, Brazil
Date of death February 8, 2002(2002-02-08) (aged 80)
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1939–1950 Flamengo 329 (146)
1951–1957 Bangu 274 (122)
1957–1959 São Paulo 60 (24)
1959–1960 Uberaba 1 (0)
1961–1962 Audax Italiano ? (16)
National team
1942–1957[1] Brazil 53 (30)
Teams managed
1960 Bangu
1965-1966 Bangu
1967 Vasco da Gama
1972 Vasco da Gama
1980 Bangu

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Thomaz Soares da Silva, also known as Zizinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ziˈzĩɲu]; born October 14, 1921 – died February 8, 2002), was a Brazilian football player, who played as an attacking midfielder for Brazil's national team.[2][3] He came to international prominence at the 1950 World Cup, where he scored two goals. He was lauded as a complete player, renowned for his incredible array of offensive skills such as dribbling, passing, shooting with both feet as well as dead ball ability and extraordinary vision.

Career

Born at Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, he played for Flamengo, Bangu, São Paulo FC, Audax Italiano of Chile among others teams. In Flamengo, he won state championships in 1942, 1943 and 1944.

In the 1950 World Cup he helped Brazil to progress to the final, but their surprise 2-1 defeat to Uruguay tarnished his reputation. Zizinho played a total of 53 times for his national team, scoring 30 goals. He turned down last minute invitations by the CBF to join first the 1954 world cup squad and then the 1958 squad, citing on both occasions that it would be unfair on the player being dropped at the last minute to make way for him.

Pelé always said that Zizinho was the best player he ever saw. "He was a complete player. He played in midfield, in attack, he scored goals, he could mark, head and cross."[4]

Playing honours

Club

International

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Thomaz Soares da Silva "Zizinho" - Goals in International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  2. ↑ "World Football Legends - Zizinho (1921-2002)". World-football-legends.co.uk. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Obituary: Jair da Rosa Pinto". The Guardian. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ Bellos, Alex (12 February 2002), "Obituary: Zizinho", The Guardian
  5. ↑ 100 World Cup heroes (40-21): Sportsmail's countdown continues with Gazza, Kempes, Hagi and Jairzinho
  6. 1 2 IFFHS' Century Elections Archived October 7, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.


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