Zico

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Zico
Personal information
Full name Arthur Antunes Coimbra
Date of birth March 3, 1953 (age 54)
Place of birth    Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nickname Galinho (The Little Rooster),
The White Pelé,
God of Soccer (Japan)
Playing position Manager
(former Attacking midfielder)
Club information
Current club Fenerbahçe
Youth clubs
1967-1971 Flamengo
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1971-1983
1983-1985
1985-1989
1991-1992
1992-1994		 Flamengo
Udinese
Flamengo
Sumitomo Metals
Kashima Antlers		 217 (124)
39 (22)
37 (12)
30 (25)
24 (15)   
National team
1976-1989 Brazil 71 (48)[1]
Teams managed
1999
2002-2006
2006-		 Kashima Antlers
Japan
Fenerbahçe

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Arthur Antunes Coimbra (born in March 3, 1953), better known as Zico, is a former Brazilian footballer, one of the best midfielders in the world and possibly the world's best player in the early 80's[2] He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Zico represented Brazil in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups, and scored 66 goals in 88 matches for Brazil. He was chosen 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 FIFA World Cup campaign, on a team considered one of the best Brazilian national squads ever[3]

Zico has coached the Japanese national team, appearing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and winning the Asian Cup 2004, and was announced as the head coach of Fenerbahçe of Turkey on July 4, 2006.[4]

Contents

[edit] Early years

Zico came from a lower-middle-class family, in the suburbs of Quintino, Rio de Janeiro. In common with many Brazilians, he spent much of his youth dreaming of playing professional football. 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 the sport.

Physically Zico was not 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.[5]

[edit] 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 four national titles (1980/82/83/87). 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.[3]

As a bianconero, playing against friends Cerezo and Falcão from AS Roma.
As a bianconero, playing against friends Cerezo and Falcão from AS Roma.

In the 1978 World Cup against Sweden, Zico headed a corner kick into the goal in the final minute of the match, apparently breaking a 1-1 tie. However, in a call that became infamous, the referee disallowed the goal, saying that he had blown the whistle to end the match while the ball was still in the air.[6]

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 the 1983-84 Italian League season, Zico scored 19 goals - one less than the championship top scorer Platini, having played 6 matches less than the French footballer.

Ultimately Udinese failed to win 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 FIFA World Cup while still injured, and missed a penalty during regular time in the quarter-final match against France. The match ended in a tie which led to a shootout. Zico then scored his goal but 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.[7]

In December 1989 Zico made his last official appearance for Flamengo in a Brazilian National Championship match against rivals Fluminense.

With 731 matches for Flamengo, Zico is the player with the 2nd most appearances for the club. His 508 goals make him the club's top scorer ever.

The achievements of the greatest idol in Flamengo's history[8][9] 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.

[edit] Brief retirement

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.

[edit] Japan

Zico interrupted his political assignment to when he accepted the offer to join the Sumitomo Metal Industries Soccer Club in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture to help the club secure a place in Japan's first professional soccer league that was set to launch in 1993. Zico played for Sumitomo in 1992, the last season before the old Japan Soccer League was disbanded and reformed as the fully professional J. League. When the new league launched, the small town club, renamed Kashima Antlers, was not expected to compete with richer, more glamorous clubs like Yokohama Marinos and Verdy Kawasaki. However, Zico helped the Antlers to a runners-up finish in its inaugural season and the club cemented its place among the league's elite.

His discipline, talent and professionalism meshed very well with Japanese culture, and his influence earned him the nickname, "God of Soccer" (サッカーの神様 sakkā no kamisama?) from Japanese soccer fans.[10]

[edit] Retirement, Beach Soccer and CFZ

Zico retired from professional football during the 1994 season but received an invitation to play Beach Soccer. He returned to Kashima to become the Antlers' technical adviser in 1995, splitting his time between Japan and Brazil - where he still managed to find time to play Beach Soccer. One year later, in 1996, he founded CFZ (Zico Football Centre) in Rio de Janeiro. By this time, he was a local legend in Japan for having built a contender from almost nothing and putting the city of Kashima on the map. A statue in his honor stands outside Kashima Stadium.[11]

[edit] Statistics

Team Goals Matches Goal average
Flamengo 508 731 0.69
Udinese 56 79 0.69
Sumitomo Metals 27 31 0.87
Kashima Antlers 27 57 0.47
Brazil National Team 66 88 0.75
Brazil Olympic Team 1 8 0.12
Youth years 81 116 0.69
Others 60 70 0.85
Total 826 1180 0.70

[edit] Major achievements

[edit] Club honours

[edit] International honours

[edit] Individual honours

[edit] Beach Soccer


Preceded by
Elías Figueroa		 South American Footballer of the Year
1977		 Succeeded by
Mario Kempes
Preceded by
Diego Maradona		 South American Footballer of the Year
1981, 1982		 Succeeded by
Sócrates
Preceded by
César
Roberto César		 Brazilian Championship Top Scorer
1980		 Succeeded by
Nunes
Preceded by
Nunes		 Brazilian Championship Top Scorer
1982		 Succeeded by
Serginho Chulapa
Preceded by
Waldemar Victorino		 World Club Championship Best Player
1981		 Succeeded by
Jair
Preceded by
Paolo Rossi		 World Soccer Player of the Year
1983		 Succeeded by
Michel Platini

[edit] Coaching career

Zico: The Movie was shown in Japan.
Zico: The Movie was shown in Japan.

After the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Japan Football Association looked for a replacement for the outgoing Philippe Troussier, and chose Zico as his successor. Despite his lack of coaching experience besides his stint as Brazil's technical coordinator during the 1998 World Cup, Zico had great understanding of Japanese soccer from his playing days and his role as Kashima's technical director. In addition, JFA had grown tired of Troussier's clashes with the media while the players were frustrated with his micromanagement. In contrast, Zico commanded respect from reporters and urged players to express themselves on the pitch.[12]

Although Zico attempted to instill a free-flowing, attacking mentality to the team, his regime got off to an uneven start, which included a 4-1 loss to Argentina in 2003. Japan had a respectable showing at that year's Confederations Cup but struggled again in the beginning of 2004, only narrowly beating Oman in the first stage of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and several players were suspended after a drinking incident.[13] Although Japan had not lost in its nine previous matches, he was rumored to be on the verge of resigning and a small group of fans marched in the streets of Tokyo demanding his firing.[14]

He stayed on, however, and won the 2004 Asian Cup despite intimidation from Chinese fans and a team that featured just one European-based player, Shunsuke Nakamura.[15] He then helped Japan qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup with just one loss.

Despite the rocky start, injuries to key players and even a bizarre offer from Garforth Town,[16] Zico has led Japan to its third World Cup finals appearance and the third Asian Cup title in four tries. His Japanese team is heavily influenced by Brazil's short passing style, but he has been flexible enough to switch between 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 formations. In addition, he has had a respectable record on European soil, beating Czech Republic and Greece and drawing with England, Brazil and most recently Germany.

However, Japan failed to win a single match at the Finals, losing twice (to Australia and Brazil) and drawing once (to Croatia), and scoring just two goals while giving up seven. He resigned from Japan at the end of the World Cup campaign. British writer and Japanese soccer observer Jeremy Walker criticized Zico for his coaching decisions in the Australia match[17] and for his player selection, writing, "Zico did nothing to bolster his defence, instead staying loyal to the players who had been around for some time."[18]

In July 2006, signed a two-year deal with Fenerbahçe SK.[4]

[edit] Major achievements

Preceded by
Flag of Germany Christoph Daum		 Fenerbahçe S.K. managers
2006		 Succeeded by
present
Preceded by
Flag of France Philippe Troussier		 Japan national football team managers
2002-2006		 Succeeded by
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivica Osim

[edit] Trivia

Winning Eleven 8
Winning Eleven 8

[edit] External links

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ CBF Official website
  2. ^ John Brewin. "World Cup 1982 (Spain)", Soccernet, 2002-04-23. Retrieved on 2006-07-03.
  3. ^ a b Daniel Pearl. "No flair please, he's Brazilian", BBC, 2006-04-03. Retrieved on 2006-07-03.
  4. ^ a b "Fenerbahçe sign Zico as coach", Reuters, 2006-07-04. Retrieved on 2006-07-04.
  5. ^ From Quintino's Juventude to Flamengo.
  6. ^ Zico - Legends of the Football World Cup. Retrieved on June 23, 2006.
  7. ^ Zico conquers The World.
  8. ^ (Portuguese) Zico: Profile.
  9. ^ (Portuguese) Zico - 50 years.
  10. ^ (German) Matthias Greulich. "The savior ventures more democracy", Der Spiegel, June 22.
  11. ^ Dominic Raynor. "Rising sons with higher hopes", Soccernet, 2006-05-24.
  12. ^ "Japan look to Zico", 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2002-08-01.
  13. ^ "Japanese players dropped over alleged drinking incident", Associated Press, 2004-03-19.
  14. ^ "Under-fire Zico gets boost from supporters", Agence France-Presse, 2004-03-06.
  15. ^ "Hand of Nakata gives Japan Asian Cup victory", Agence France-Presse, 2004-08-07.
  16. ^ "Samba stars to join Garforth Town", BBC, 2004-10-27. Retrieved on 2005-10-29.
  17. ^ Jeremy Walker. "Maki left on sidelines during Aussie onslaught", FC Japan, 2006-06-13. Retrieved on 2006-07-04.
  18. ^ Jeremy Walker. "Tulio may have helped Japan's cause", FC Japan, 2006-06-26. Retrieved on 2006-07-04.


Flag of Brazil Brazil squad - 1978 FIFA World Cup Third Place Flag of Brazil

1 Leão | 2 Toninho | 3 Oscar | 4 Amaral | 5 Toninho Cerezo | 6 Edinho | 7 Zé Sérgio | 8 Zico | 9 Reinaldo | 10 Rivelino | 11 Dirceu | 12 Carlos | 13 Nelinho | 14 Abel | 15 Polozzi | 16 Rodrigues Neto | 17 Batista | 18 Gil | 19 Jorge Mendonça | 20 Roberto Dinamite | 21 Chicão | 22 Valdir Peres | Coach: Coutinho
Flag of Brazil Brazil squad - 1982 FIFA World Cup Flag of Brazil

1 Valdir Peres | 2 Leandro | 3 Oscar | 4 Luizinho | 5 Toninho Cerezo | 6 Júnior | 7 Paulo Isidoro | 8 Sócrates | 9 Serginho | 10 Zico | 11 Éder | 12 Paulo Sérgio | 13 Edevaldo | 14 Juninho | 15 Falcão | 16 Edinho | 17 Pedrinho | 18 Batista | 19 Renato | 20 Roberto Dinamite | 21 Dirceu | 22 Carlos | Coach: Santana
Flag of Brazil Brazil squad - 1986 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists Flag of Brazil

1 Carlos | 2 Edson | 3 Oscar | 4 Edinho | 5 Falcão | 6 Júnior | 7 Müller | 8 Casagrande | 9 Careca | 10 Zico | 11 Edivaldo | 12 Paulo Vitor | 13 Josimar | 14 Júlio César | 15 Alemão | 16 Mauro Galvão | 17 Branco | 18 Sócrates | 19 Elzo | 20 Silas | 21 Valdo | 22 Leão | Coach: Santana
Flag of Japan Japan squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Flag of Japan

1 Narazaki | 2 Moniwa | 3 Komano | 4 Endo | 5 Miyamoto | 6 K. Nakata | 7 H. Nakata | 8 Ogasawara | 9 Takahara | 10 Nakamura | 11 Maki | 12 Doi | 13 Yanagisawa | 14 Santos | 15 Fukunishi | 16 Oguro | 17 Inamoto | 18 Ono | 19 Tsuboi | 20 Tamada | 21 Kaji | 22 Nakazawa | 23 Kawaguchi | Coach: Zico
Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü - Current Squad

1 Volkan | 4 Appiah | 5 Ümit | 7 Mehmet | 9 Kežman | 10 Tuncay | 11 Tümer | 15 Aurélio | 16 Kerim | 17 Can | 19 Önder | 20 Alex | 21 Selçuk | 22 Serdar | 23 Semih | 24 Deniz | 25 Uğur | 27 Kemal | 29 Olcan | 30 Serkan | 34 Rüştü | 35 Lugano | 36 Edu | 46 Senyil | 47 Umut | 48 Osman | 49 Alper | 99 Deivid | Manager Zico
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../z/i/c/Zico.html"